A story about four crazy dudes who gather thousands of people at their performances.
Sex, drugs and funk and roll. RHCP is unique both in terms of music and in terms of its history, where there was a place for disappointments, glory, death and betrayal. Find out everything about these guys, you will fall in love with their music even more!
Moscow, 2016. Burn with napalm! 
Vocalist Anthony Kiedis will turn 54 this year, as will bassist Michael "Flea" Balzari. Drummer Chad Smith will turn 55 in November. Against their background, 36-year-old guitarist Josh Klinghoffer looks like a real youngster. But despite their considerable age, these old men do their show all over the world, with the same enthusiasm as 30 years ago.
1. School years are wonderful
The year 1973 stands in the yard. California is sunny and calm. From the open windows one can hear President Nixon's speech on TV, and from the bright red, lazily passing Chevy Impala across the street, Barry White sings his sensational single " Walkin' in the rain with The One you love“.
There is a fight in the school yard. Several boys enthusiastically mutuzyat each other, with varying degrees of success. Around them is a silent crowd, enjoying watching the fight. A tall boy passing by sees that the battle is unequal: several teenagers are pressing on one - thin, with short haircut and a keen eye.
Now it is not known for certain what prompted the boy passing by to get into that fight and stand up for his peer. When the offenders fled and only two remained on the battlefield, the tall one spat out bloody saliva and extended his hand with broken knuckles to the second: “Anthony.” The lean one, the second one battered in the fight, felt a heavy bump on his head and answered the handshake: "Michael."
Thus began the joint friendly path of the future music stars Anthony Kiddis and Michael "Flea" Balzari.
Left to right: Elaine Yehannes, Jack Irons, Flea, Hillel Slovak 
When Anthony and Michael became friends, Michael was already playing musical group Anthym. In addition to him, there were three other members in the group - Hillel Slovak (guitar), Jack Irons (drums) and Elaine Ehannes (who later left music). The performances of the team were rare, since all the participants were minors, and no one wanted to deal with them.
Anthony Kiddis started going to his friend's shows and became friends with the rest of Anthym. After some time, he already read his poems, of which he had a lot, opening each performance of Anthym.
The group in its "golden" composition 
The group performed more or less successfully, until one day Michael Balzari, who had already taken the pseudonym "Flea" (flea), announced his departure to another group called Fear. The remaining members of the band changed the name Anthym to What Is This? and tried to continue creative activity.
In that year, everything went to the fact that life would scatter friends across different teams. Someone will give up music, someone will last some more time in a little-known group, but the world will never hear the songs of Red Hot Chili Peppers.
2. Red hot hot peppers
In 1983, in the apartment of Anthony Kiddis, there was a phone call. Picking up the phone, Anthony heard the voice of his friend, who, according to old memory, offered to perform at the Rhythm Lounge club. After this proposal, Anthony, Flea, Hillel and Jack reunited into a single team, a week before the upcoming concert.
Seven days before the performance, the four musicians did not have any songs or a name. No one wanted to go back to the old Anthym; Anthony had a few poems to spare, and Flea had a couple of interesting funky bass chords.
Nevertheless, they took the stage and performed a freshly composed composition Out In LA, which they had not even really rehearsed. It turned out so cool and provocatively that the rumor about the newly minted group Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem(this is the name of the team that four friends came up with) reached the managers of a large record company EMI.
Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem in person 
6 months after performing at the Rhythm Lounge, Anthony, Flea, Hillel and Jack signed an 8-album contract with the EMI music label. After that, the musicians rename the group to Red Hot Chili Peppers and begin active touring, notable for their scandalous and shocking antics.
It was during that period of time that the musicians performed a cover version of the song Jimi Hendrix Fire naked, wearing long socks on causal places. At the strip club Kit Kat, the musicians played surrounded by naked girls. And in between concerts, they gladly participated in sexual proceedings and various scandals.
Archival recording of the same performance with socks
At some point, two members of the team, Hillel and Jack, had to make a choice: they were still in the What Is This? group, which had a contract with another music label. The guys made their choice and left the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Their places were taken by Jack Sherman (guitar) and Cliff Martinez (drums). In this composition, the musicians began recording their debut album led by Andy Gill, former member Gang Of Four."
Relations "Peppers" with their producer did not work out. Because of different views On the sound and style of the group, Anthony Kiedis constantly quarreled with Andy Gill. Once the musicians even sent Gill a pizza box filled with excrement. As a result, the debut album of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 10, 1984, was not liked even by the band members themselves, and turned out to be a complete failure commercially.
Flea, Jack Sherman and Anthony Kiedis 
After the release of the first record, Jack Sherman left the band, and Hillel Slovak became the guitarist again. The group What Is This ?, because of which he left Pertsev, turned out to be a failed project, and the musician returned to his friends to try together to fix the situation with a second album.
To record their second album, the musicians called George Clinton (producer of Funkadelic and Parliament), who found mutual language with a group. It was under his leadership that funk accents and punk arrangements appeared in RHCP music. The result of the joint work was the album “Freaky Styley” released in August 1985, which the group was satisfied with.
At that time everything Red members The Hot Chili Peppers were heavily addicted to drugs, and this influenced the music and lyrics of all the songs from the second album. With the record completed, the band embarked on their wildest heroin-filled tour yet. forgotten texts, guitar crap and other obligatory companions drug addiction.
RHChP sample of 1986. More punk than funk
In the spring of 1986, the group began work on the next album. The musicians are still heavily addicted to drugs, and the producer of the third album, Keith Levene, also turns out to be a heroin addict. It was a hard year - part of the money for the work on the new record was spent by the producer and guitarist on drugs. Against the backdrop of such disgrace, drummer Cliff Martinez leaves the band, and Jack Irons returns to his place.
Anthony Kiedis showed up at the studio when the songwriting was in full swing; he underwent rehabilitation at the clinic and returned to his colleagues clean of drugs and full of strength and energy. Instead of the useless Keith Levene, Michael Beinhorn became the producer and in September 1987 the third disc The Uplift Mofo Party Plan was released, in which punk rock triumphs over funk.
Rebellious lyrics, aggressive music
It was the first RHCP album to hit No. 143 on the Billboard Top 150 Albums. Such success turned the musicians' heads - Kiedis again got involved with drugs, along with guitarist Slovak, during a tour in support of The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. The logical finale was not long in coming - shortly after the end of the tour, in the summer of 1988, RHCP guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose.
It was a blow to everyone - the group took a sabbatical. Anthony Kiedis leaves for a lost village in Mexico, hiding from everyone there, including his grief. Drummer Jack Irons leaves a band that he says is "killing best friends". Flea deals with third parties musical projects. 1988 seems to be the last year for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
3. Recent history. Funk-o-mania with experience
Some time later, when the bitterness of loss has weakened a little, Anthony returns from a voluntary hermitage. Together with Flea, he decides to revive the "Peppers" in memory of the deceased Hillel. The search for a guitarist and drummer begins.
One day, Flea comes to Kiedis with an unusual request: their mutual friend, John Frusciante, needs help. He's supposed to audition as the guitarist for Thelonius Monster," but John is too shy to go alone and asks to join him.
During the audition, Anthony and Flea were amazed at the playing of John, who seemed to be a carbon copy of the deceased Slovak in his guitar playing style. Without waiting for the end, friends took Frusciante with them and fled the audition. So, John turned out to be the new guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
John, Anthony, Flea, Chad (1989) 
The drummer was more difficult. The musicians advertised in the newspaper, and every day they auditioned dozens of applicants. On one of those days, when the mood was already unimportant and the hope of finding an intelligent drummer began to fade away, another applicant appeared in the studio. Sitting down at the percussion stop, he began to play, along the way singing obscene ditties. That person was Chad Smith, who was immediately accepted into the group after such a performance.
In 1989, the album Mother's Milk was released, recorded by a new line-up. The title track Knock Me Down is dedicated to the deceased Slovak. In addition, the disc contains a cover of Hendrix's song "Fire", which was cut from the second album.
On Subway To Venus, Taste The Pain and Pretty Little Ditty, Flea plays trumpet in addition to bass. After the release of this album, the group goes on an exemplary tour, during which none of the musicians take drugs.
More funk than punk. That means no drugs!
In 1990, the Peppers signed a music contract with Warner Bros. and fall into the hands of a professional Rick Rubin. Rick rents a country "haunted house" and brings the musicians there. The album was written in this house, exclusively live, and sometimes even on the street (that's why in one track you can hear the noise of cars passing by).
It was the album BloodSugarSexMagik, which just blew up all the charts, which is possible. With sales of eight million copies, the album went platinum and stayed on the Billboard charts for over a year. The group could be seen on the covers of all music magazines, including Rolling stone, and tickets for their concerts were sold out in a matter of hours.
27 days before the participation of "Peppers" as headliners on the largest festival Lollapalooza, John Frusciante announces his departure from the band. As a matter of urgency, the musicians call for Arik Marshall of Marshall Law. Hard rehearsals begin - Marshall played five hours a day, for several weeks before the festival.
That same performance, with Arik Marshal
The performance of the group with Arik Marshal was successfully held in front of 60 thousand spectators at the Shoreline Amphitheater in San Francisco. However, despite all efforts, Arik subsequently failed to find a common language with the band, and Dave Navarro came to the place of the guitarist in 1993.
Permanent Rick Rubin again takes on new album"Peppers". The disc One Hot Minute is released in 1995 and the group is again at the top of fame. This album contains such hits as Airplane, Warped, Walkabout, My Friends and the masterpiece Pea. The great tour in support of this album began and ended in the US, but between these dates the band traveled to Finland, Denmark, Belgium, France, England, New Zealand and Australia - playing 64 shows in 21 countries.
The year 1997 is coming. There are rumors about the possible breakup of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. To stop them, the group is announcing a "Wild Tour" to places like Singapore, Taipei, Bangkok, Honolulu, Anchorage and Fuji. But immediately after the announcement, Anthony gets into an accident on his motorcycle, and breaks 11 bones.
The band is canceling shows in Alaska and Hawaii, and at the Fuji show, Anthony sat in wheelchair. After returning to the States, Chad Smith gets into an accident on his motorcycle. Fortunately, he only suffered a dislocated shoulder and was able to recover without surgery.
In 1998, Navarro left the group to devote more time to his solo project Spread, and John Frusciante returned to the Peppers. Rick Rubin again becomes the producer of a new album, the text and music for which the musicians came up with in just two weeks.
The very first single Scar Tissue from this disc called Californication climbs to the top of the charts even before the official release. After the official release, the album goes platinum in a matter of weeks. Musicians flash on the covers of magazines around the world and are preparing for a new tour. Chad Smith in Once again voted Best Funk Drummer. At the end of this tour, the band wraps up the legendary Woodstock'99 festival.
Carefully! Flea is completely naked in this video
Eighth studio album group called By The Way ready in 2002, but officially released in July 2003. Two weeks after its release, By The Way is number two on the Billboard charts. The video for the song of the same name becomes a nominee for the MTV Video Music Awards. Throughout 2003, the musicians toured in support of their new album with overwhelming success.
In between concerts, Anthony Kiedis writes a memoir called Scar Tissue, the sale of which begins in 2004. In 2005, the Peppers begin recording their next album, titled Stadium Arcadium. A week before the official release, the album appears on torrents, which greatly upset the musicians.
However, upon its official release, Stadium Arcadium received positive reviews from critics and five grammy awards, including the Best Rock Album Award. In addition, for the first time in the history of the group, RHCP takes first place in the US charts.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Los Angeles, USA (1983 - present)
A group called the Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of the world's most famous rock bands, which has been popular and in demand for almost thirty years now. Despite the fact that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are not a pop project, but more related to such genres as rock and psychedelic, their melodies are simple and understandable, so the number of their fans is quite large all over the world.
A group called the Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of the world's most famous rock bands, which has been popular and in demand for almost thirty years now. Despite the fact that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are not a pop project, but more related to such genres as rock and psychedelic, their melodies are simple and understandable, so the number of their fans is quite large all over the world. The style of this project is also characterized by funk elements, which make the compositions more acceptable for a wide range listeners.
The group was founded in 1983, when it was founded in America by four friends - Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Michael Balzari and Jack Ironson. They were a typical vocal-instrumental quartet, where Kids' vocals were present, as well as solos and bass guitars and drums. The band's debut performance took place at the Rhythm lounge club, and then the band attracted a lot of attention, not only from the public, but also from the well-known label. Some time after this performance, the Red Hot Chili Peppers signed their first contract with EMI.
The band's first two albums were not as successful as they should have been. Perhaps this is due to the rather tense relations between the participants that developed in the group in the early stages of its existence. In the period from 1983 to 1987, this team remained in the shadows, and was not popular even in the United States. Also in those years, the composition of the Red Hot Chili Peppers changed several times, some members left, others returned. In their work, everything was fine only when Michael Beinhorn took up the production of the next release. In 1987, a third album was released called "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan". After the release of this album, the group gained popularity, but few then guessed that just a year later Hillel Slovak would die from a drug overdose. This tragedy was a shock to all members of the team, and for a while the project was frozen.
By the beginning of the new decade, the group was restored, and new musicians joined it. In 1989, their fourth album was released, the songs of which were all dedicated to the memory of Slovak. Subsequently, this album became a bestseller, and the group finally became a commercially successful project. Two years later, the world saw the next Red Hot Chili Peppers album, and this moment was the beginning of their world fame. Musicians began to get on the covers of magazines, the world press began to be interested in them. Similar success entailed a world tour, which included a huge number of countries, including Japan.
The current line-up of the band is primarily vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith. As such, the group entered new XXI century and continues to this day. They recorded 10 albums, songs from which gradually became world hits. They have a lot of beautiful and unusual clips on their account, which, however, like the songs themselves, have a deep and rich meaning.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) created a style that combined funk, rock and rap and achieved the status of one of the most popular, inventive and eccentric bands of our time. Their performances always take place with wild energy and a charge of musical adrenaline. They have managed to sell over 60 million copies of their albums worldwide, and five of their albums have earned multi-platinum status in the US. They created two albums that largely determined the development of rock music in the nineties. These were Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) and Californication (1999), as well as one of the biggest releases of the last decade, the double disc Stadium Arcadium (2006).
Group history
The first prerequisites for creating a team Red Hot Chili Peppers originated in 1977, when guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons formed a hard rock band called Anthym in the US city of Los Angeles. The now-famous Flea became their bassist in 1979, at the same time another schoolmate, Anthony Kiedis, first tried himself as an entertainer. As the boys' musical experience grew, Anthym evolved into a band called What Is This?.
Soon, Kiedis and Flea moved to college, took up work and other projects. However, when they began to combine lyrics by Kiedis and Flea's music, the pair laid the foundation for future RHCPs. And that was in 1983. Of course, they needed like-minded people and asked Slovak and Irons to join them. They agreed, but at the same time kept the group What Is This?. For the first gig, at L.A.'s Sunset Strip, they used the name Tony Flow & the Miraculous Majestic Masters of Mayhem.
One of the first RHCP concerts in 1983
First albums
Having finally settled on such a group name as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the guys began to play in clubs in Los Angeles. And soon, after several successful performances, the group managed to sign a contract with EMI Records. At this point, Slovak and Irons made the decision to leave the band, with guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez taking their places. The debut album, released in 1984, was called the same as The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and famous song from this disc was the composition True Men Don't Kill Coyotes. great success The record did not bring, but for all the time it was possible to sell 300,000 copies.
Hillel Slovak returned to the band before recording Freaky Styley in 1985. IN musically the album was more interesting and varied than the previous one, but still did not reach high positions in the charts and great popularity.
Former drummer Irons appeared on the 1987 album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. The recording of the album was rather difficult due to the use of drugs by some members of the group. The album was able to get into the Billboard 200 and took 147th place there. In 1988, the team takes place tragic event. Their guitarist Hillel Slovak is dying of drug addiction. Has begun difficult period for the group and its members. Irons leaves the group forever, but Kiedis and Flea decide to continue their creative work.
Increasing popularity of the group
After searching and trying out several musicians, two new and promising musician- guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith. With this composition (you can call it classic), the group recorded their most significant albums, which gradually led them the highest peaks popularity: Mother's Milk (1989), Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), Californication (1999), By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006). Hits from these albums such as Under the Bridge, Scar Tissue, Otherside, Can't Stop, Dani California, Snow (Hey Oh) and many others thundered all over the world, increasing the army of the band's fans.
It is worth noting that the band had a period when their guitarist John Frusciante left. This lasted from 1992 to 1998. During this time, the group was able to record only one album called One Hot Minute 1995. During this period, Dave Navarro took the place of the guitarist.
After recording the double LP Stadium Arcadium, the band went on a lengthy tour in support of the album. After its completion, it was decided to take a break. The members of the group engaged solo projects And personal affairs. They got together only in 2009, but for the second time John Frusciante decided to leave the group. According to him, he decided to focus on solo work. In his place, the band was replaced by musician Josh Klinghoffer, who was the band's second guitarist on tour. With a new member, the band recorded the album I'm with You in 2011. The album performed well all over the world, hitting the charts in many countries.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in California in 1983 by vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Michael Balzary (better known as Flea), guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. The music combines elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock and psychedelic music. Around 60 million copies of the band's albums have been sold worldwide.
For the first time, the group attracted attention during a performance at the Rhythm Lounge club with the song "Out In LA", where the four immediately found their first fans. After the group was renamed "Red Hot Chili Peppers". A few months after the premiere, the band signed a contract with EMI.
At the time, Slovak and Irons were involved with another group, What Is This?, which in turn had a favorable deal with MCA. This forced them to leave the band, after which Cliff Martinez (drums) and Jack Sherman (guitar) took their place. It should be noted that Jack Sherman differed in style of play from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers' debut album was produced by Andy Gill. Jill put a lot of pressure on the group, as a result of which they developed strained relations. The Red Hot Chili Peppers album was released on August 10, 1984 and did not have any commercial success. bad relationship between Kiedis and Sherman led to the guitarist being fired. But, fortunately, at that time Slovak returned to the group.
The second album was produced by George Clinton. Released on August 16, 1985, Freaky Styley was also not commercially successful, however, unlike its predecessor, it more accurately reflected the style of the RHCP. At this time, Cliff Martinez left the group, and Jack Irons, who returned to the group, took his place.
The third album was produced by Michael Beinghorn. Thanks to the original line-up of the group, the new album "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan", released on June 25, 1987, was a success. At the same time, Slovak experienced serious problems with drugs, which led to his death on June 25, 1988. Hillel Slovak's death was a huge shock to the group, resulting in Kiedis leaving town and Jack Irons leaving the RHCP for good, stating that he "didn't want to be a part of what was killing his friends". Flea took on other projects.
After some time, the group started working on a new album. For this it was necessary to find a new guitarist and drummer. Through acquaintances, Kiedis and Flea came across John Frusciante, who impressed them with his playing to such an extent that the question of his participation in the group was instantly resolved. All that remained was to find a drummer. The band was advised to approach Chad Smith, who they chose after their audition. In August 1989, a new album "Mother's Milk" was released, which included songs that later became hits. The album was dedicated to the memory of Slovak.
In 1990, the Red Hot Chili Peppers signed a contract with Warner Bros, and Rick Rubin became the producer of the new album. During the work on the album, the band members retired to the mansion. On September 24, 1991, the album "Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik" was released, which became one of the best albums groups. Red Hot Chili Peppers hit the covers of the most famous magazines.
During one of his tours in Asia, John announces his retirement. Frusciante was replaced by Arik Marshall, who could not fit into the team. After him, Jesse Tobis was taken into the group, who also did not last long. In 1993, Dave Navarro was invited to the group.
Then the Red Hot Chili Peppers were assigned to work on the album "One Hot Minute". The album was released on September 12, 1995 and was commercially successful, and the songs "Airplane", "Warped" and "My Friends" became hits. The group takes part in the recording of soundtracks, for example, "Hard Charger" for the Howard Stern film, "Love Rollercoaster" for the cartoon "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" ("Beavis and Butt-Head Do America"), etc. In April 1998, Navarro left the group due to creative differences.
In April 1998 Flea visited John Frusciante and officially invited him back to the band. For the first time in six years, the group reunited. On June 8, 1999, the seventh studio album "Californication" was released, which became successful immediately after its release. Three more songs became hits: "Scar Tissue", "Otherside", "Californication". In 2000, the song "Scar Tissue" was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. In 2001, the RHCP released their first concert DVD.
On July 9, 2002, the eighth album of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, By the Way, was released. Grammy-winning Stadium Arcadium was released in 2006. In early 2007, the Red Hot Chili Peppers won 5 Grammy nominations: "Best Rock Album" ("Stadium Arcadium"), " Best Song"("Dani California"), "Album of the Year" ("Stadium Arcadium"), "Best Video" ("Dani California"), " Best Producer(Rick Rubin).
The Red Hot Chili Peppers returned to the studio to record their new album on October 12, 2009. According to Chad Smith, the band's next album is due out in 2010. On December 16, 2009, Frusciante's departure from the group was officially announced due to solo career. The most likely candidate to replace him is former session guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. On January 2, 2010, he officially confirmed his entry into the group.
Discography
What Hits!? (1992)
Out In L.A (1994)
Live In Hyde Park (2004)
Greatest Hits (2003)
