The Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 10, 1984 on EMI. The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, and is the only album to feature guitarist Jack Sherman.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers struck a deal with EMI records. However, guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons were also in What Is This?, who had signed with MCA records two weeks prior - thus, the two were unable to play with the band. The Chili Peppers found replacements with former Weirdos drummer Cliff Martinez and studio guitarist Jack Sherman.

The recording of the album was not a smooth process. Andy Gill and the band fought over creative issues, with Gill directing them towards a more “radio-friendly” sound. In Kiedis’ autobiography Scar Tissue, he says that he was demolished when he saw that Gill had written the word “shit” next to the title of the song “Police Helicopter” on a notepad as it was one of the first songs they had written and in Kiedis’ words “It embodied the spirit of the band which was the kinetic, stabbing, angular, shocking assault force of sound and energy”.

They went on tour to support the record but the rest of the band did not get along with Sherman. They only earned about $500 each from the tour. Both albums, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Squeezed by What Is This? did not do well, so Jack Sherman was fired from the Peppers and Hillel Slovak returned to perform on Freaky Styley, the Chili Peppers’ second album.