16/12/2023
It's a Gold Album for Dead Kennedys!
43 years after its release on September 2, 1980, "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" has finally been certified Gold (yesterday, the 15th), by the RIAA! This is possibly the most influential independent album in American punk rock history, and this is long overdue.
This is DKs second Gold Album, after "Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death," awarded in 2007.
This took years of work to put together, and we are honored to have had DKs on Manifesto for the past 22 years!
Manifesto Records has released music from a celebrated list of artists. Founded in 1993, Manifesto is the successor to indie labels dating back to 1968, beginning as Bizarre Records (and its companion label, Straight Records). Over the next several years, Bizarre signed artists such as Alice Cooper, Tim Buckley, Captain Beefheart, Ted Nugent, Wild Man Fischer, and others. Later, a third label, Discreet, was added, and the labels released albums until 1975. Starting in 1988, the reactivated Bizarre/Straight reissued albums by Tim Buckley, Alice Cooper, The GTOs, Lord Buckley, Captain Beefheart, and others.
In 1994, in addition to the core albums by Tom Waits (his earliest recordings, released as The Early Years Volumes 1 and 2), and six albums from Tim Buckley, Manifesto began to release new albums and re-issues, including albums by The Wedding Present, and, later, Cinerama, and other British bands like Sing-Sing featuring Emma Anderson from Lush, ballboy, tribute albums to Tom Waits and Tim Buckley, and the reunion album of Concrete Blonde, Lilys and The Cranes. In 2005, The Wedding Present re-formed and Manifesto released the well-received Take Fountain, and later, El Rey. In 2001, Manifesto re-issued one of the most important catalogues in punk rock history — five albums by Dead Kennedys. Later, another live album was released, and in 2005 Manifesto also released Dead Kennedys’ first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, in both an original version and a new package with a new documentary DVD entitled Fresh Fruit for Rotting Eyeballs. With these last releases, the entire Dead Kennedys catalogue was now on Manifesto, where it remains to this day. In 2014, Manifesto released a box set of 7’ vinyl singles, all in the original packaging.
In 2009, Manifesto became the home of the imprint for The Turtles, called FloEdCo. We have released The Turtles’ Save The Turtles: The Turtles’ Greatest Hits; vinyl re-issues of It Ain’t Me Babe and Happy Together; and three albums by Flo & Eddie. In 2014, we released a box set of eight 7” vinyl singles.
Manifesto Records will continue to release and re-issue quality recordings in the future. Manifesto is distributed by eOne Distribution in the U.S. and Canada, and by Proper Music in the UK and Ireland, and H'art Distribution in the rest of Europe.
