Avengers

Avengers were formed in San Francisco, in the first wave of American Punk. Penelope Houston was the lead singer, primary songwriter, and her persona was a large part of the draw for the act. The other band members were James Wilsey (bass), D. Furious (drums), and Greg Ingraham (guitar). Critic Greil Marcus once said The Avengers were, "...San Francisco's best punk band - in their moments, they were, you knew, better than any other band playing that night anywhere in the world."

Avengers gained much publicity when they opened for the Sex Pistols in San Francisco, for their legendary final show at Winterland. The Avengers' 4-song EP was also produced by Steve Jones (of the Sex Pistols) in 1979 on White Noise Records.

Their discography also contains an earlier 3-song EP (on Dangerhouse Records) from 1977, a full album called "The Avengers" from 1981, a compilation of unreleased tracks and outtakes called "The Avengers Died for Your Sins" in 1999 on Lookout! Records, and a second compilation titled "The American in Me" on DBK Works (2004), on which controversy about the track "White Nigger" Arose, and was actually written by the legendary singer for The Germs, Darby Crash. Houston and Ingraham have reunited and currently perform as The Avengers with bassist Joel Reader (MXT, Pansy Division) and drummer Luis Illades (Pansy Division) touring the US and Europe.