X

Los Angeles, 1977

John Doe and Billy Zoom answered each other's ads in The Recycler, Exene Cervenka joined as vocalist and D.J. Bonebrake, formerly of the Eyes, joined last. Their first single, "Adult Books" and "We're Desperate", came out in 1978 on Dangerhouse. Los Angeles (1980, Slash) was produced by Ray Manzarek, and Wild Gift followed in 1981; they appeared in The Decline of Western Civilization and Urgh! A Music War the same year. They signed to Elektra in 1982 for Under the Big Black Sun, More Fun in the New World (1983) and Ain't Love Grand! (1985, produced by Michael Wagener). The Knitters, X without Zoom plus Dave Alvin, put out Poor Little Critter on the Road in 1985.

Zoom left in 1986, and the documentary X: The Unheard Music came out that year. See How We Are (1987) was followed by an extended hiatus and, in 1988, the live Live at the Whisky a Go-Go. They reunited for Hey Zeus! (1993) and Unclogged (1995), announced disbanding with the anthology Beyond and Back in 1997, and returned with Zoom for a farewell tour in 1998 or 1999, the sources differ. Alphabetland (2020, Fat Possum) and Smoke and Fiction (August 2, 2024) followed, the latter billed as their final album with a US farewell tour from July 6, 2024.

Rolling Stone's 2003 list of 500 greatest albums included Los Angeles and Wild Gift, and Pitchfork ranked Los Angeles 91st among 1980s albums. "Wild Thing" is a sports-event staple. More Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk (2019), edited by Tom DeSavia and John Doe, is a book about the scene, and the Grammy Museum opened X: 40 Years of Punk in Los Angeles on October 13, 2017. Doe and Cervenka tour as an acoustic duo billed See How We Are, with a Minneapolis date on August 5, 2026.