Kill the Poor

This article is about the single. For the film, see Kill the Poor (film).
"Kill the Poor"
Single by Dead Kennedys
B-side"In-sight"
ReleasedOctober 1980
Recorded1980
GenreHardcore punk
Length3:02
LabelCherry Red
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Jello Biafra
Producer(s)
  • Norm
  • East Bay Ray
Dead Kennedys singles chronology
"Holiday in Cambodia"
(1980) 		"Kill the Poor"
(1980) 		"Too Drunk to Fuck"
(1981)

"Kill the Poor" is a song by Dead Kennedys, released in October 1980 on Cherry Red Records as the band's third single, with "In-sight" as its B-side. The song is a satire of the elite, saying how if given the chance, they would use neutron bombs to wipe out the impoverished whilst preserving property. The title track was re-recorded for the band's first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980), although the single and album versions show little difference in comparison. The B-side of this single is also additionally on the compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987). A special "disco version" was played and recorded on March 3, 1979, and released on their live album Live at the Deaf Club.

"Kill the Poor" reached #49 in the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks on the chart.

Charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[1] 1
UK Singles Chart[2] 49

Cover versions

  • American metalcore band The Agony Scene covered the song for the special edition of their album Get Damned in 2007.
  • American heavy metal band Trivium covered the song as part of a series of covers recorded during the recording session of their album The Sin and the Sentence in 2017.
  • Russian punk band Pornofilmy covered the song with Russian translation named Нищих убивай (lit. 'Kill the poor') for their album Русская мечта. Часть 2 (lit. 'Russian Dream. Part 2') in 2016.
  • Dutch composer Maarten Regtien covered the song in the concluding part of his 2nd Trumpet Concerto[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "Dead Kennedys - Singles". officialcharts.com. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  3. ^ "M.Regtien ° Orchestral Works - Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra n° 2".