They are often referred to as being among the "founders" of hardcore punk, along with Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Angry Samoans, Germs, and Middle Class.

in early 1978 with himself on guitar, Dimwit's brother Chuck Biscuits on drums, Randy Rampage on bass,[5] and a lead singer known only as "Harry Homo", who suggested the band's name.

Lester booked another tour for them the following October, in the middle of which they flew back to Vancouver to open for The Clash at the Pacific Coliseum.

Soon after, Biscuits and Rampage left the band after a disastrous gig at the University of British Columbia's Student Union Building and were replaced by Andy Graffiti and Simon "Stubby Pecker" Wilde on drums and bass, respectively.

released their full-length debut Something Better Change on Friends Records in 1980 and continued touring the United States and Canada extensively.

After a short tour of California, Chuck Biscuits left the band and joined Black Flag.

War on 45 found the band expanding their sound with touches of funk and reggae, as well as making their anti-war and anti-imperialist political stance more clear.

[5] Meanwhile, the band's line-up changes continued after Let's Wreck the Party, with Dimwit replaced by Kerr Belliveau.

Belliveau stayed only three weeks with the band but recorded the Expo Hurts Everyone 7" as well as two songs for True (North) Strong and Free before being replaced by Jon Card from Personality Crisis.

The same year also produced a collaboration with Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra with Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors.

but, at the suggestion of promoter Dirk Dirksen, they did a farewell tour of the West Coast, playing their "final" show on December 1, 1990, at the Commodore in Vancouver.

In 1991, they released a posthumous live album entitled Talk Minus Action = 0 while Keithley pursued an acting career.

Fellow Canadian punk rock veteran John Wright from NoMeansNo suggested they hire Ken Jensen from Red Tide as the new drummer, which they did.

The album featured a more basic, sing-along type punk rock sound that was reminiscent of the band's late 1970s and early 1980s output.

[5] During this period, Keithley also oversaw the re-release of the band's classic early records on Sudden Death, several of which had been out of print for many years.

The line-up remained stable until 2008, when The Great Baldini left the band to be replaced by new drummer James Hayden.

Drummer Jesse Pinner (of the band Raised by Apes) took the place of Floor Tom Jones beginning on D.O.A.

's subsequent August 2010 tour due to Floor Tom Jones' commitments to his job at Canada Post.

announced an indefinite hiatus, and began their farewell tour on January 18, 2013, in celebration of the band's thirty-five year anniversary.

[13] On September 22, 2014, Keithley officially announced on the Sudden Death Records website that he had decided to reform the band with Paddy Duddy on drums and Mike "Maggot" Hodsall on bass, and would be embarking on a Canadian tour in October in support of the recently released live album, Welcome To Chinatown.