Boston Straight Edge Hardcore · 1981–1985

Photos

SSD playing live: singer Springa sings with his head thrown back at the microphone while the guitarists and drummer play behind him in front of a Marshall stack.
Springa out front
Guitarist Al Barile grimacing as he digs into his Gibson SG, wearing an IUE Local 201 union shirt, with the drummer playing behind him.
Al Barile
SSD's drummer, in a band shirt reading United As One, and a guitarist playing on stage in front of a hand-painted How Much Art backdrop.
In front of the “How Much Art” backdrop
SSD's drummer in a red United As One band shirt playing his kit, with How Much Art written on the sheet hanging behind him.
Behind the kit
SSD playing live on a packed club stage, the singer leaping into the air mid-song beside the guitarists and bassist.
All five on stage
An SSD band member leaps through the air with his bass mid-song while the singer holds the microphone and the crowd watches from beside the stage.
Mid-song leap
SSD playing live in a graffiti-covered club, the singer kneeling into the microphone while a guitarist jumps and the crowd crouches at the edge of the stage.
Live in the clubs
SSD playing surrounded by the crowd, a guitarist hoisting his guitar overhead while a fan looks on from the top of the speaker stack.
Surrounded by the crowd
SSD playing a packed low-ceilinged room with the bassist at the left and dancers spilling into the band beneath an American flag.
Packed room
A fan leaps high into the air off the stage at an SSD show while the crowd rings the dance floor.
Airborne
The crowd at the front of the stage at an SSD show, fists swinging and photographers leaning in.
Front of the stage
Dancers in the pit at an SSD show, one wearing a Negative FX shirt, with the crowd packed in around them.
The pit
A dancer on stage at an SSD show swinging his fists with the crowd and microphone stands around him.
Dancing hard
The Boston Crew gathered on a city sidewalk in painted jackets reading The Straight Edge, Negative FX, and Blitz.
The Boston Crew
The Boston Crew walking past a brick wall spray-painted with The Kids Will Have Their Say.
“The kids will have their say”
The Boston Crew walking in a long line beneath a granite wall, one of them rolling along on a skateboard.
On the move
Members of the Boston Crew hanging out on a busy city sidewalk, one wearing a jacket printed with The Straight Edge.
Straight edge on the street
Three young men, one in a shirt hand-painted with The Straight Edge, listening to a Boston Police officer backstage.
A word with the Boston Police
Black-and-white group photo of SS Decontrol posing with their guitars and bass in front of a wall of Marshall amplifiers.
The band in front of the Marshall stacks