Reagan Youth

Reagan Youth (a play on Hitler Youth) was a band started by singer Dave Rubinstein (Dave Insurgent) and his friend and guitarist Paul Bakija in Queens in the early 1980s. They have been labeled peace punk as well as hardcore. An important

Reagan Youth (a play on Hitler Youth) was a band started by singer Dave Rubinstein (Dave Insurgent) and his friend and guitarist Paul Bakija in Queens in the early 1980s. They have been labeled peace punk as well as hardcore. An important group in the New York/New Jersey hardcore scene, they performed very regularly at CBGBs and toured the U.S. extensively, often with other early punk bands such as the Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains and the Misfits.

They were in existence for almost ten years, but only managed to release one album during their existence as a band (in 1984): originally titled Youth Anthems for the New Order, it was rereleased as Reagan Youth (Volume 1) by the small independent label New Red Archives in 1989. This album eventually sold 40,000 copies. A second album, titled Volume 2, was completed and released in 1990, after the official breakup of the band. Both are still available on vinyl, as well as a CD titled A Collection of Pop Classics that combines both records. A collection of live recordings was issued in 1998 as Live and Rare.