Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys were an American hip hop group from New York City, formed in 1980. For the majority of its career, the group consisted of Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass) and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar).

Originally formed as a four-piece hardcore punk band, The Young Aborigines, in 1978 by Diamond (vocals), John Berry (guitar), Yauch (bass) and Kate Schellenbach (drums), the band made a full transition to hip hop, releasing a string of successful singles. The Beastie Boys toured with Madonna in 1985 and a year later released their debut album Licensed To Ill. The group sold 26 million albums in the United States and 50 million albums worldwide, making them, according to Billboard, "the biggest-selling rap group" since the magazine began recording sales data in 1991.

In 2012, Adam Yauch died of cancer and the group disbanded and in 2016, John Berry died of dementia.

Links To Peel
Peel first started playing the band's material in the mid-80's and once predicted on his 29 December 1986 that the Beastie Boys will not be big in 1987, which turned out wrong when the band had several hits during that year, including their debut album Licensed To Ill selling eventually over ten million copies in the United States.

During the 90's, the group rarely got played by Peel and he was disappointed with their 1992 performance at Reading: Radio. In 1996, Peel played a track from the Beastie Boys new 12" single, which had a hardcore punk sound going back to their roots rather than the hip-hop, which they were well known for.

Shows Played
1985 1986 1987
 * 20 November 1985: Slow And Low (7") Def Jam
 * 14 October 1986: Paul Revere (12" Single") Def Jam
 * 17 November 1986: No Sleep Till Brooklyn (album - Licensed To Ill) Def Jam
 * 24 November 1986: Slow Ride (LP - Licensed To Ill) Def Jam
 * 02 December 1986: No Sleep Till Brooklyn (LP - Licensed To Ill) Def Jam
 * 26 May 1987: Beastie Boys (single - Polly Wog Stew EP) Rat Cage
 * 26 May 1987: Posse In Effect (album - Licensed To Ill) Def Jam

1989 1996
 * 27 May 1987: 'Holy Snappers (EP-Polly Wog Stew)' (Rat Cage)
 * 27 July 1987: 'She's Crafty (remix) (7 inch-double A-side with Girls)' (Def Jam Recordings)
 * 19 July 1989: Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun (album - Paul's Boutique) Capitol
 * 19 July 1989: Egg Man (album - Paul's Boutique) Capitol
 * 07 August 1989: Shake Your Rump (album - Paul's Boutique) Capitol
 * 10 August 1989: Johnny Ryall (album - Paul's Boutique) Capitol
 * 12 January 1996: 'You Catch A Bad One (12"-Aglio E Olio)' (Grand Royal)