11. FEAR (the band) On Saturday Night Live in 1981. www.videosift.com. Fear also appeared on the 1981 Halloween episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL) at the suggestion of SNL writer Michael O'Donoghue and then ex-SNL cast-member John Belushi. Fear were hired at the behest of John Belushi, who was a huge fan of Fear’s, and Michael O’Donoghue, that season’s head writer. For its appearance on SNL's 1981 Halloween show, California punk band Fear invited fans to slam dance in front of the stage. now I have finally seen the tape. The situation rapidly spiraled out of control. the energy to be one of the folks there must have been awesome. For instance, until very recently the LA punk band Fear's 1981 appearance on Saturday Night Live—by far the strangest musical booking in SNL history and … Okay, this is pretty much the coolest thing ever. The band brought along troupe of slamdancers that caused $200,000 worth of damage to the set. In retrospect, that incentive was far outweighed by the disaster that ensued. Long before stoner-rappers Cypress Hill got the SNL boot for smoking a joint onstage and trashing their equipment in 1993, abrasive punk band Fear was said to have sparked a riot and caused $200,000 worth of damage to the set during their 1981 Halloween show appearance (above—introduced by host Donald Pleasance). By 1981, John Belushi, SNL's biggest breakout star at the time, had left the show for a movie career. John Belushi was a fan of Los Angeles punk band Fear, so much show that he agreed to make an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in 1981 if they could perform as the musical guests. In 1981, Belushi lobbied for the hardcore punk band Fear to play the Halloween special. This is the 1981 Halloween Saturday Night Live episode which featured as music guest the band Fear. The band's appearance included a group of moshers, among them John Belushi, Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat (and later Fugazi), Tesco Vee of The Meatmen, Harley Flanagan and John Joseph of The Cro-mags, and John Brannon of Negative Approach. how did all that come together? The punk band Fear destroyed the place. He even promised to appear in a small role in the episode as an extra incentive. On the 1981 Halloween episode of the show, doom-punk band Fear staged a full-fledged riot on … I had heard the stories. This is the legendary appearance by the hardcore punk band Fear on Saturday Night Live for the Halloween episode in October 1981. John Belushi, long gone from the show, persuaded the producers to book a young, purposely antagonizing punk band called Fear. Originating from Los Angeles, Fear didn’t even have a record deal at the time; Belushi had caught them on a local music video show called New Wave Theatre and befriended lead singer Lee Ving. 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