Editing Dead Kennedys (section)

=== ''Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables'' (1980–1981) ===
[[File:Jello-Biafra.jpg|thumb|Biafra performing live]]
In early 1980, they recorded and released the single "[[Holiday in Cambodia]]". In June, the band recorded their debut album, ''[[Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables]]'', released in September of that year on the UK label Cherry Red. The album reached number 33 on the [[UK Albums Chart]]. Since its initial release, it has been re-released by several other labels, including [[IRS Records|IRS]], Alternative Tentacles, and Cleopatra. The 2005 reissue—the special 25th-anniversary edition—features the original artwork and a bonus 55-minute DVD documenting the making of the album as well as the band's early years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2626-fresh-fruit-for-rotting-vegetables/|title=Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables|website=Pitchfork|language=en|access-date=March 12, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816043201/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2626-fresh-fruit-for-rotting-vegetables/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 25, 1980, Dead Kennedys were invited to perform at the [[Bay Area Music Awards]] in an effort to give the event some "new wave credibility", in the words of the organizers. The day of the performance was spent practicing the song they were asked to play, the underground hit "California über alles". The band became the talking point of the ceremony when after about 15 seconds into the song, Biafra stopped the band—in a manner reminiscent of [[Radio Radio#1977 Saturday Night Live appearance|Elvis Costello's ''Saturday Night Live'' appearance]]—and said, "Hold it! We've gotta prove that we're adults now. We're not a punk rock band, we're a [[New wave music|new wave]] band." The band, all wearing white shirts with a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks to form a dollar sign, then started playing a new song titled "Pull My Strings", a barbed, [[Satire|satirical]] attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry, which contained the lyrics, "Is my cock big enough, is my brain small enough, for you to make me a star?". The song also referenced [[The Knack]]'s song "[[My Sharona]]". "Pull My Strings" was never recorded for a studio release, though the performance at the Bay Area Music Awards, which was one of only two times that the song was ever performed, was released on the band's 1987 compilation album ''[[Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death]]''. In a 2017 interview about the show Klaus stated, "We did one other performance of it at The Mabuhay and that was the only other time we performed it... like within a week of the Bammies"<ref>{{Citation |title=Ep023 – Klaus Flouride of Dead Kennedys – Longform Interview – The Vinyl Guide | date=November 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q91D5blBdO8 |access-date=2023-04-16 |language=en}}</ref> It’s unknown if this performance was ever recorded.

In January 1981, Ted announced that he wanted to leave to pursue a career in architecture and would help look for a replacement. He played his last concert in February 1981. His replacement was [[D.&nbsp;H. Peligro]] (Darren Henley). Around the same time, East Bay Ray had tried to pressure the rest of the band to sign to the major record label [[Polydor Records]]; Biafra stated that he was prepared to leave the group if the rest of the band wanted to sign to the label,<ref name="polydor">Nardwuar the Human Serviette, December 2005 interview with Jello Biafra and The Melvins, as reproduced in [http://www.alternativetentacles.com/batcasts/batcast-013-2006_04_25.m4a Alternative Tentacles Batcast No.&nbsp;15, April 25, 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603233500/http://www.alternativetentacles.com/batcasts/batcast-013-2006_04_25.m4a |date=June 3, 2011 }}</ref> though East Bay Ray asserts that he recommended against signing with Polydor. Polydor decided not to sign the band after they learned that Dead Kennedys' next single was to be entitled "[[Too Drunk to Fuck]]".

When "Too Drunk to Fuck" came out in May 1981 it caused controversy in the UK, as the BBC feared the single would reach the Top 30, which would necessitate its title being mentioned on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. It was never played, although it was simply called "'Too Drunk' by the Kennedys" by presenter [[Tony Blackburn]].