No Labels

Band History compiled by Mark B.

No Labels of Raleigh, North Carolina formed in February 1982. The lineup settled with Ricky Hicks on guitar, Wayne Kerr on vocals, Woody Weatherman on bass, and Reed Mullin on drums (the latter two both in COC at the time as well). By the end of 1982, they had recorded a blistering 15-song demo, which was released in its entirety on the seminal NC tape compilation No Core. Several tracks from the tape by No Labels and COC generated a minor controversy in the zine Touch & Go for criticizing the exclusiveness of Washington DC's predominantly straight-edge scene. On the two bands' DC stop on their 1983 East Coast/Midwest tour, Ian MacKaye called their song "HarDCore" unjustified.

When their tour ended early due to one of the members catching mono, No Labels returned to Raleigh and broke up. The split was brief, however, and the band soon reformed with a new guitarist. Tracks from a second demo session (released as the Jayne Doe tape) made it on several national compilations released by labels like Mystic Records and Paul Mahern's Affirmation. No Labels was also included on No Core Records next NC compilation, the Why Are We Here? EP. The band faded away by 1984. Ricky turned up in the short-lived F.V.K., and Woody and Reed continued on with COC.