ArtistInfo

Richard Lyons

voc, *1963 US, Castro Valley, California
Electronic
A.k.a. Dick Goodbody

Richard Lyons (b.April 19, 1959 – d.April 19, 2016) was a founding member of Negativland. He died on his 57th birthday from cancer. Lyons was born in Castro Valley, California. He grew up in Concord and Martinez, California, where Negativland came together in 1979. Lyons played an important role in the group's history when he brought the 1968 album "If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?" by Baptist minister Estus W. Pirkle to his bandmates. They in turn sampled and deconstructed it to create their own recording, 1987's "Christianity Is Stupid." He subsequently released a fake press release saying that the real-life axe murder of a Rochester, Minnesota family at the hands of 16-year-old family member Davd Brom was inspired by the song. After media outlets took it seriously, the group fashioned its next album – Helter Stupid – as a response, using a photo of an anchorman discussing the tune on the air with the caption "Killer Song."

Instruments

• Vocals
• Guitar
• Viola
• Organ
• Clarinet

Genres

• Electronic
• Spoken Word
• Rock
• Pop
• Folk

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