Red Hot Chili Peppers have just dropped “Poster Child,” the second single from their upcoming album, Unlimited Love. The album, which is set for release on April 1st, reunites the band with famed producer Rick Rubin.
In a new interview with Classic Rock magazine, the L.A. natives talk about the hair band scene that dominated the Sunset Strip as they were also making their bones in clubs around town. Flea remembered, “We were definitely against the hair-metal scene. We were, like, ‘F*** them. We’re the underground, art-rock, get-weird east side guys; those guys are just rehashing Aerosmith and Kiss.’ In retrospect it was all petty bull***. A lot of those bands were f***ing great. Guns N’ Roses was a great band.”
Frontman Anthony Kiedis spoke about the difference between the Chili Peppers and the other bands coming up at the time: “We were a party band, but you have to have something to bring to the party. Flea was instrumental in saying: ‘We have to be good, we have to write some new s***, we have to have something to move these people.’ We always came fully loaded.”
Flea explained, “There was a certain arrogance. A ‘F*** the world, f*** the system, f*** the authority, f*** the powers that be, we’re us and we’re doing our thing our way, we’re street kids’ thing. We were going hard and being wild.”
Kiedis added: “It didn’t dawn on us that there was something other than selling out clubs and making people happy and being original.”
- Red Hot Chili Peppers tour dates (subject to change):
June 4 – Seville, Spain – Estadio La Cartuja De Sevilla
June 7 – Barcelona, Spain – Estadi Olimpic
June 10 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Goffertpark
June 12 – Bratislava, Slovakia – Lovestream Festival
June 15 – Budapest, Hungary – Puskas Stadium
June 18 – Firenze, Italy – Firenze Rocks
June 22 – Manchester, England – Emirates Old Trafford
June 25, 26 – London, England – London Stadium
June 29 – Dublin, Ireland – Marlay Park
July 1 – Glasgow, Scotland – Bellahouston Park
July 3 – Leuven, Belgium – Rock Werchter
July 5 – Cologne, Germany – RheinEnergieStadium
July 8, 9 – Paris, France – Stade de France
July 12 – Hamburg, Germany – Volksparkstadion
July 23 – Denver, CO – Empower Field at Mile High (with HAIM and Thundercat)
July 27 – San Diego, CA – Petco Park (with HAIM and Thundercat)
July 29 – Santa Clara, CA – Levi’s Stadium (with Beck and Thundercat)
July 31 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium (with Beck and Thundercat)
August 3 – Seattle, WA – T-Mobile Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 6 – Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium (with The Strokes and King Princess)
August 10 – Atlanta, GA – Truist Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 12 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 14 – Detroit, MI – Comerica Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 17 – E. Rutherford, NJ – Metlife Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 19 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 21 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 30 – Miami, FL – Hard Rock Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 1 – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 3 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 8 – Washington, DC – Nationals Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 10 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park (with St. Vincent and Thundercat)
September 15 – Orlando, FL – Camping World Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 18 – Arlington, TX – Globe Life Field (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
TL; DR
- Flea recalled looking down on the L.A. hair metal scene in the 1980’s telling Classic Rock: “(We thought) ‘Those guys are just rehashing Aerosmith and Kiss. In retrospect it was all petty bull***. A lot of those bands were f***ing great. Guns N’ Roses was a great band.”
SIDE NOTES
The tracklist to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ ‘Unlimited Love’ is:
“Black Summer”
“Here Ever After”
“Aquatic Mouth Dance”
“Not The One”
“Poster Child”
“The Great Apes”
“It’s Only Natural”
“She’s A Lover”
“These Are the Ways”
“Whatchu Thinkin'”
“Bastards Of Light”
“White Braids & Pillow Chair”
“One Way Traffic”
“Veronica”
“Let ‘Em Cry”
“The Heavy Wing”
“Tangelo”
CHECK IT OUT: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2022 video for “Poster Child”: