Formed: Washington D.C., USA

Band Bio Lineups / Discography

Alleged to be the first American Oi!/Skinhead band, Iron Cross polarised opinions in their home city of Washington D.C., the epicentre of the straight edge scene, and regularly had to fend off accusations of being racists, not least from Maximum Rocknroll. Eschewing the trash tactics of local heroes such as Government Issue and Minor Threat, they played their punk rock at mid-speed like their English heroes, as evidenced on the two cracking singles they made in 1982 and 1983, and their trio of basic-as-hell tunes on Flex Your Head. Their most well-known song was 'Crucified For Your Sins', which was covered by Agnostic Front, who made it their own.

Sab: We didn't start off saying, "Look, US Oi." We've been tagged with it. I feel very comfortable, privileged to be called that. It's like an honor. I'm glad we're associated with bands like the Last Resort and Infa Riot.

They had a problem with bassists, going through at least six of them whilst the rest of the lineup remained static.

Lineups (1981-1985):

Sab Grey - vocals
Mark Haggerty (ex-Broken Cross) - guitar
Dante Ferrando (ex-Broken Cross) - drums

And those pesky bassists:
John Falls - 1st bass player
Chris Haskett - 2nd bass player (first demo only)
Cynthia Connolly - 3rd bass player
Wendel Blow (ex-S.O.A.) - 4th bass player (Flex Your Head comp and Skinhead Glory 7")
John Dunn (ex-The Unwanted) - 5th bass player
Paul Cleary (Black Market Baby) - 6th bass player (Hated And Proud 7")

After this, Grey apparently kept the Iron Cross name alive all by himself, until 1985.

Haggerty and Ferrando formed Gray Matter in 1983, prior to the latter forming Ignition in 1986. Haggerty later played in 3 and Severin. Falls' post-Iron Career career included collaborations with Ian MacKaye in Skewbald and Grand Union, while Haskett found a steady job with the Rollins Band. Blow was also in Lethal Intent.

DISCOGRAPHY

Subsequent studio albums: 2 Piece And A Biscuit (as Iron Cross / Sab Grey And The Royal Americans, 2007).

Singles / Albums

Skinhead Glory (7", 1982)	Hated And Proud (7", 1983)
Extraneous Releases
Live For Now! (CD, 1999)	Crucified For Our Sins (CD, 1999)
Bootlegs / Demos / Promos
Skinhead Glory (LP)

Various Artists

Flex Your Head US LP 1982 (Dischord): Wargames / New Breed / Live For Now

20 Years Of Dischord US 3xCD 2002 (Dischord): Live For Now

Salad Days: Music From The Documentary Film + Additional Unreleased Tracks US LP 2018 (New Rose Films/LLC): You're A Rebel

Links