Kinesis v George W Bush

• 30th Oct 2003

Punk band Kinesis, who claim to be on “..a mission to destroy George W.Bush” were the star attraction at a government-sponsored concert to showcase the British music industry in New York.

With British music share of the US market plummeting from 32% in 1986 to a lowly 0.2%, Trade Partners, a government-funded organisation is backing the export drive. Four bands played the goodwill show for American opinion-formers on Saturday. But Kinesis’s set may have strained the special relationship – Asked what they would most like thrown on stage, the Bolton band answered “The head of George Bush”.

Heralded by Kerrang! as “a fearsomely effective cocktail of rage and poise” and seen by the NME as “potentially more important than any other band in the country”, their debut album, Handshakes for bullets, is littered with attacks on US politics and culture. It is a strident mission statement from four young men who believe that music can change opinions, motivate dissent and be the most important thing in your life.

In three years, Kinesis have gone from school friends self-releasing a debut mini LP from guitarist Conor's bedroom to one of the brightest hopes for British rock. Drawing on their experiences in hometown Bolton the foursome made a conscious decision to politicise their lyrics in response to what they saw as a moribund, star obsessed pop culture