Really Red was one of Houston, Texas' first punk bands and existed from the late 1970s through 1985. The Really Red line up consisted of John Paul Williams on bass guitar, Ronnie "U-Ron" Bond vocalist/lyricist, Bob Weber on drums and Kelly Younger on guitar. Under occasional variations of their names, these were the original and only band members. Really Red evolved into one of the most prominent and popular Texas punk bands of that era. On special rare occasions Austrian avante gardefilm maker, Kurt Kren, would project his films as a backdrop for the band's performance. They helped kick-start the early punk scene in Houston and toured the USA several times and played some dates in Canada including a benefit for the Squamish Five in Vancouver. Along with their "paying gigs" they were known to do benefit shows for causes as diverse as The Nuclear Freeze Campaign, the Canadian Squamish Five Legal Defense, KPFT radio or even for a vet bill for an injured dog. They started their own independent record label, C.I.A. Records. Really Red toured extensively with DOA and Articles of Faith. They also were billed with many bands of note including, but not limited to, John Cale, Dead Kennedys, SPK, the Effigies, Red Tide, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, Stranglers, Dayglo Abortions, 999, Big Boys, The Dicks, MDC, Negative Approach, Sado Nation, Die Kreuzen, Personality Crisis, Culturcide, Mark Arm's Mr Epp and the Fastbacks. Among their accomplishments, Really Red were the first Texas punk band to tour extensively outside of Texas. In addition they were the first Texas punk band to have a full length album distributed nationally. Their song "Prostitution" appeared on the Alternative Tentaclescompilation album "Let Them Eat Jellybeans". The song "Nobody Rules" was included on the compilation "Cottage Cheese from the Lips of Death". That version was intended for their "Rest in Pain" album but due to a mix up it ended up on "Cottage Cheese" while the alternative version intended for that release showed up on "Rest in Pain". The song "Modern Needs" was included on Rhino Records compilation "Faster and Louder Hardcore Punk Vol 1". The song "I was a Teenage Fuckup" appeared on the soundtrack to the film American Hardcore. Their 1st single's A side "Crowd Control" was included on the bootleg album release Killed by Death Vol 2 while both sides of the single were legally included on the compilation album Deep in the Throat of Texas. Their 2nd single A side "Modern Needs" was included on the bootleg album release Killed by Death Vol 4. Really Red broke up in 1985 after releasing 2 albums, 2 singles, 2 EP's, and the tracks on various compilations. Their 1981 LP "Teaching You The Fear" was re-issued on Empty Records in 2004. Most of side two of their 2nd album, "Rest in Pain", departed from the punk genre into a dark soundscape that was a homage to the Red Crayola's "Parable of Arable Land" album. 2015 saw the reissue of all of Really Red's material, as well as unreleased rarities, by the Alternative Tentacles label. This release came as a two CD set "" and three full length vinyl albums. For years, as well as fronting Really Red, lead singer U-Ron created and hosted the original "Funhouse" radio show, on Pacifica's Houston station KPFT. The only member to continue making music has been drummer Bob Weber who did a California tour with the notorious Culturcide and then joined The Anarchitex. Both bands were also from Houston Texas. 2019, a tribute album is in the works with contributions from bands including DOA, Hickoids, Mudhoney, Gary Floyd/Dicks and MDC among many other notable groups.
