MC5

An explosive, counter-culture, garage rock colossus, MC5 took the swaggering strut of The Rolling Stones and turned it into a storming mix of outrageousness, sloganeering and ferocious rock'n'roll. Channelling the industrial noise, civil unrest and social experimentation of their home town Detroit, the band blasted away at the 1960s peace and love spirit of the time with a cacophony of distortion, feedback and screaming guitars - epitomised by their great call to arms, Kick Out The Jams. Led by front man Rob Tyner and guitarist Fred Sonic Smith, they became the soundtrack to the 1967 Detroit riots and played a set of blistering live shows at the city's Grande Ballroom. Second album Back In The USA (1970) is cited as one of the records that kick-started the punk movement, while High Time (1971) was a searing mass of psychedelic fury. However, as drug problems took their toll, the band split with a farewell show on New Year's Eve, 1972.

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