1976–1979 The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in
Whitestone, New York, by Keith Streng (born 1955 in New York City) and Jan Marek Pakulski (born 1956 in Lewiston, Maine), two roommates who discovered that a previous tenant had left behind some instruments in the basement of the house they were renting. Streng, on guitar, and Pakulski, on bass, were soon joined by neighborhood friends Peter Zaremba (born 1954 in New York City), on harmonica, keyboards, and vocals, and Lenny Calderon (born 1956 in New York City), on drums.
1980–1989 In 1980, with the Red Star Records album not released (but later issued on cassette on
ROIR, and subsequently on CD and vinyl), the Fleshtones were signed by
Miles Copeland III at
I.R.S. Records, In 1984 they re-recorded "American Beat" as part of the soundtrack of the
Tom Hanks movie
Bachelor Party. Despite having a large cult following, the band never achieved commercial success:
Roman Gods debuted at No. 174 on
Billboard's album chart, the highest position that a Fleshtones release would attain until 2020, when
Face of the Screaming Werewolf debuted at No. 9 on
Billboard's Alternative New Artist Albums Chart, and 2021, when the "Mi Engañaste Bien" single entered the
Billboard Hot Singles Chart at No. 38. Zaremba was the host of
I.R.S. Records Presents The Cutting Edge on
MTV from 1984 to 1987. The I.R.S. Records-produced show featured up and coming underground artists. The program was short-lived but the format prefigured
120 Minutes. Zaremba's MC talents surfaced again in the late 1990s at New York City's "Cavestomp" Garage Rock festivals. In the mid-1980s, The Fleshtones regularly played at the
Pyramid Club on Avenue A in the East Village, and were instrumental in helping to start
Wigstock, the drag queen festival that became a New York City staple. In the late 1980s, The Fleshtones were without major-label support, though they continued to tour America and Europe steadily, including shows opening for
Chuck Berry and
James Brown. In 1987, The Fleshtones made an appearance on the final episode of
Andy Warhol's ''
Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes,'' an MTV program, during which they backed up famed English stage actor
Ian McKellen as he recited
William Shakespeare's Twentieth Sonnet. The Fleshtones recorded the title track to the 1987
horror comedy film
I Was a Teenage Zombie. They released the albums
Fleshtones vs. Reality (studio) in 1987 and
Soul Madrid (live) in 1989. I.R.S. Records released a best-of compilation,
Living Legends, in 1989. In 2002, they played at a Night of Remembrance and Hope festival at CBGB. In December 2003, the Fleshtones played at a CBGB 30th Anniversary show along with
The Dictators, and in August of the next year, played
Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival at Randalls Island in New York City with 39 other bands, including
The New York Dolls,
Iggy Pop,
The Strokes, and
Bo Diddley.
2010–present In September 2016, the Fleshtones toured China for the first time in the band's career. The tour was organized by Shanghai-based punk band Round Eye. In December 2024, they supported
The Damned and
Doctor and the Medics on their UK tour., and in January 2026 toured India for the first time in their career. == Book, tribute, feature documentary and reissues ==