Formed in 1977, X quickly established themselves as one of the best bands in the first wave of LA's flourishing punk scene; becoming legendary leaders of a punk generation. Featuring vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist/bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer DJ Bonebrake, their debut 45 was released on the seminal Dangerhouse label in 1978, followed by seven studio albums released from 1980-1993. Over the years, the band has released several critically acclaimed albums, topped the musical charts with regularity, and performed their iconic hits on top television shows such as Letterman and American Bandstand.
X’s first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift, are ranked by Rolling Stone among the top 500 greatest albums of all time. The band continues to tour with the original line-up fully intact. In 2017, the band celebrated their 40th anniversary in music with a Grammy Museum exhibit opening, a Proclamation from the City of Los Angeles, and being honored at a Los Angeles Dodgers game where Exene threw out the first pitch and John Doe sang the National Anthem.
In 2020, X celebrated the 40th anniversary of Los Angeles. In 2019, X reissued and remastered their first four classic albums via their collaboration with Fat Possum Records: Los Angeles (1980), Wild Gift (1981), Under The Big Black Sun (1982), and More Fun In The New World (1983). In addition, the band recently re-entered the recording studio for the first time since 1984.
A collection of original songs, Alphabetland, were recorded with producer Rob Schnapf in two sessions. In November 2018, the band joined together to record fresh material for the first time since 1985’s Ain’t Love Grand. Five songs were recorded over the course of two days with producer Rob Schnapf. The first of these new songs is the recorded version of an older X song, "Delta 88 Nightmare," which previously was only included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of Los Angeles in demo form - never as a fully recorded and mixed track. The song was released as a 7" with the flip side being the newly recorded "Cyrano de Berger's Back,” one of the earliest songs John wrote for the band that became X. In January 2020, the band re-entered the studio to finish recording the album, again with Rob Schnapf, and seven more original tracks were laid down, 11 of the songs appear on this album.
The band continues to tour with the original line-up: Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake.
