Their debut single, 'Statues' was released in 1981, and ultra-fast debut album 'Land Speed Record' folllowed a year later. The follow-up 'Everything Falls Apart' began to show their more tuneful leanings, and mini-album 'Metal Circus' was the turning point that saw them gain major critical acclaim.
Their next release 'Zen Arcade' was an ambitious 'concept' double album about a young boy who leaves his troubled home, only to find that life is just as hard when fending for himself. This saw the final break with old-school punk rules and limitations, and cemented the band as a major influence for generations of new bands.
Following a non-album single in the form an incendiary reading of the Byrds 'Eight Miles High', their 1985 'New Day Rising' album continued to mix buzzsaw punk guitar histrionics with pop melodies. 'Flip Your Wig' came next, with a further sweetening of their powerpop sensibility, leading to much major label interest.
'Candy Apple Grey' was the first release for new label Warner Brothers, displaying a more mature and reflective songwriting style, whilst retaining the hard edge that runs through all of their work. The follow-up 'Warehouse: Songs and Stories' was another double album, but trouble soon followed, with the suicide of their manager on the eve of a tour affecting the band quite seriously. Within a year, Hart had departed (either quitting or being sacked, depending on whose story you listen to) and the songwriting partnership with Mould was forever splintered. The pair have never publicly forgiven each other and a re-union is highly unlikely.
Hart was the first to release solo material, and later formed Nova Mob, whilst Mould released two critically acclaimed solo albums before launching Sugar at the height of the grunge explosion, thus ensuring that Husker Du were acknowledged as the forefathers of the scene that spawned Nirvana. Both members remain active, with Hart releasing a solo album in 2001, and Mould releasing several albums simultaneously via the internet, as well as adding guitars to the soundtrack of the film 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'.
IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU'LL LIKE HUSKER DU: The Pixies, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Bob Mould, Grant Hart, Nova Mob, Sugar, My Bloody Valentine, Placebo, R.E.M., The Replacements, The Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr, The Ramones, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Who.