Red Hot Chili Peppers have gone into the archives and retrieved a number of rare videos from the band’s early days, which are now available to view on YouTube.
Titles include: “True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes,” “Jungle Man,” “Catholic School Girls Rule,” “Fight Like A Brave,” “Higher Ground,” and “Taste The Pain.”
“Coyotes,” which you can check out below, is from the band’s 1984 self-titled album, “Jungle Man” and “Catholic School Girls Rule” are featured on the band’s 1985 album Freaky Styley.
“Fight Like A Brave” is from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1987 album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, while “Higher Ground” and “Taste The Pain” are both from 1989’s Mother’s Milk.
It’s easy to forget, but in the late 80s, Red Hot Chili Peppersweren’t the same influential funk-rock band they are today. In 1989, the group was at a turning point that could have derailed their career. At this point, the Los Angeles natives were local favorites and a cult curiosity, particularly on the college circuit, with their wild blend of funk, rock, and their over-the-top live shows that would culminate in their notorious sock “costume”.
By the time they started sessions for what would become their Mother’s Milk album, the band had been through their share of tragedy. In 1988, founding guitarist and creative glue of the group, Hillel Slovak, died of a heroin overdose, dealing a huge blow to the band that also led to drummer Jack Irons leaving the group.
After a series of line-up changes, and frontman Anthony Kiedis kicking his own addictions, Red Hot Chili Peppers reformed with teenage guitar phenom John Frusciante and Chad Smith on drums.
Released on August 16, 1989, Mother’s Milk became Red Hot Chili Peppers’ much-deserved mainstream breakthrough. The band’s explosive sound was harnessed exquisitely by Beinhorn, but the result was years in the making: during their college-rock prime, RHCP had paid their dues and even worked with the king of funk, George Clinton, on their second album, Freaky Styley.