Reagan Youth is an American hardcore punk band from Queens, New York. It is formed by singer Dave Rubinstein (Dave Insurgent) and guitarist Paul Bakija (Paul Cripple).
Reagan Youth, a play on words between Hitler Youth and Ronald Reagan, is formed by singer Dave Insurgent (Dave Rubinstein) and guitarist Paul Bakija in Queens, NY, in the early 1980s. Reagan Youth has only one album, Youth Anthems for the New Order, during its existence, published in 1984>. The album was later reissued under the title Reagan Youth (Volume 1) by a small independent label, New Red Archives, during the year 1989. Finally, 40,000 copies of the album are sold.
A second album, titled Volume 2, was completed in 1990, after the group's official stoppage. Many of these records are still available in both vinyl and CD under the name A Collection of Pop Classics which compiles all these recordings. A live album released in 1998 under the title Live and Rare.
Their career ended in 1990, shortly after Ronald Reagan left his presidency, and the singer Rubinstein commits suicide three years later, due to personal problems (drugs, death of his mother, murder of his little friend). This is an important group in the hardcore punk scene of New York. They played regularly at the CBGB and toured the U.S often with bands like The Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, The Misfits or the Beastie Boys.
