London, UK · punk · dub

Ruts D.C.

1 upcoming festival

The Ruts' surviving members carrying forward punk that always had reggae in its bloodstream — 'Babylon's Burning' still smolders.

Ruts D.C. is the continuation of The Ruts, the London band that emerged during the late-1970s punk wave and became closely associated with the Rock Against Racism movement. Their best-known recordings, including "Babylon's Burning" and "Something That I Said", paired punk urgency with a rhythmic looseness drawn from reggae, a connection reinforced by their association with Misty in Roots.

After the death of singer Malcolm Owen in 1980, the remaining members regrouped under the Ruts D.C. name and moved further toward dub and reggae, working with producer Dennis Bovell. The band has continued in later years around founding members, performing both the early punk material and the dub-oriented work that followed.

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