Fishbone Live Debut Protest Song "Party At Ground Zero" in 1985

Fishbone's earlier days may have been known largely for their party cuts and roaring energy, but it's no surprise that they successfully managed to wrap a politically charged song in their upbeat sound. That song is "Party At Ground Zero," lifted from their self-titled debut EP released in 1985.

The opening lyrics of the song lay out the grim reality of the track for you:

"Party at ground zero
A 'B' movie starring you
And the world will turn to flowing
Pink vapor stew" -
"Party At Ground Zero"

"Party At Ground Zero" takes on Cold War Politics and the continued threat of global nuclear war and dresses it up in a record with an upbeat energy you'll want to bop along to. Written by lead singer Angelo Moore, guitarist Kendall Jones and bass player Norwood Fisher, Moore revealed in a 2013 interview with SongFacts.com how the song came together.

"We started it out in the bedroom, Norwood and Fish's [drummer Phil Fisher] bedroom at their mom's house down in LA, around La Cienega and Cadillac - that's the aquarium. So I don't know who started playing that horn part, but somebody started playing it. Kendall wrote the lyrics, and he wrote the music. Norwood wrote a change, I wrote that change, [singing] 'That Fishbone is here to say,' I wrote that part. Kendall wrote all the other words, that [singing], 'Johnny, go get your gun, I'm going to party at Ground Zero,' he wrote that part, too. I think Norwood wrote a piece in there."

According to our setlist.fm data, the first time Fishbone performed "Party At Ground Zero" was on July 6, 1985 in Palo Alto, California. They performed 14 songs in total that night, opening with "Mister Zero" and closing the show with "Bonin' in the Boneyard." Check out the full setlist from the show below.

Fishbone - Palo Alto, California - July 6, 1985 - setlist

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Last updated: 28 Mar 2024, 19:09 Etc/UTC