The Tubes featuring Fee Waybill

The `80s theatre rock band The Tubes were formed in San Francisco in the previous decade. Their live performances are infamous for their inclusion of pornographic material, as well as their satirical commentary on politics, media, and consumerism.The roots of the Tubes go back to Phoenix, Arizona, when two young bands from that area moved to San Francisco in the late 1960s. The Beans and The Red, White and Blues Band merged, forming the Tubes that year. The band’s line up has more or less remained consistent over the years; it includes Fee Waybill, Bill “Sputnik” Spooner, Roger Steen, Prairie Prince, Michael Cotton, Vince Welnick, and Rick Anderson. Re Styles and Mingo Lewis also played with the band early on.

The Tubes often mocked show biz excess, particularly in their early career, when Waybill would front the group as “Quay Lewd,” a drunk, drugged out lead singer who could barely stand up. Their debut album featured the track “White Punks On Dope,” giving a nod to their rich, white teen fan base in the San Francisco area. The band was later covered by Nina Hagen as “TV Glotzer” on her band’s debut album. Vince Welnick passed away in the year 2006 amongst talks of re-forming the Tubes with all of its original members.

The albums of the Tubes include The Tubes, Young and Rich, Now, What Do You Want From Live, Remote Control, The Completion Backward Principle, Outside Inside, Love Bomb, and 1996’s Genius of America.