A San Francisco-based theatre rock band, popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and known for their live performances that combined quasi-pornography and wild satires of media, consumerism and politics.

A collection of high school friends from Phoenix, Arizona eventually merged to form the Tubes after relocating to San Francisco in 1969. The core band membership remained largely intact for more than a decade: Fee Waybill (vocals), Bill 'Sputnik' Spooner (guitar, vocals), Roger Steen (guitar), Prairie Prince (real name Charles L. Prince) (drums), Michael Cotten (synthesizer), Vince Welnick (piano) and Rick Anderson (bass). Singer Re Styles (born Shirley Marie MacLeod) (vocals) and ex-Santana percussionist Mingo Lewis were also fixtures for much of the band's early history.

The Tubes first album was produced by Al Kooper. The second album, for A&M Records, was produced by Ken Scott and called Young and Rich. It featured the hit Don't Touch Me There (arranged by Jack Nitzsche). The Tubes third album gave way to thematic experimentation with Now and after the classic live record What Do You Want From Live (recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon), their fourth for A&M, Remote Control, was a concept album produced by Todd Rundgren about a television-addicted idiot savant.

The Tubes' live shows in the late 1970s and early 1980s were spectacular, but while they earned the band a reputation for being one of the most entertaining live acts of all time, by the early 1980s they found themselves short of money.

Their proposed fifth album, the self-produced Suffer for Sound, was rejected by A&M Records, who dumped the band instead, finishing out its contract with the oddities collection T.R.A.S.H. (Tubes Rarities and Smash Hits). The band then signed to Capitol Records, scaling back the live shows and repositioning itself as a straight rock band.

The Completion Backward Principle, another concept album, was presented as a motivational business document, complete with pictures of the band members cleaned up and wearing suits. Outside Inside followed a few years later, and these two albums produced a few hits.

The band teamed up with Rundgren once again for 1985's Love Bomb, a flop that led Capitol to drop the band just as it was going on tour in support of the album, a tour that would leave the band a half million dollars in debt, forcing them to play low-budget gigs for a year to pay off their debts.

Waybill released an unsuccessful solo album and soon left the band. An abortive attempt with a new lead singer led to a few appearances before the band split up.

In 1988, the Tubes continued on with long-time friend from Phoenix, AZ, David Killingsworth on lead vocals and minus Welnick (who later joined the Grateful Dead), Cotten and Spooner.

With the addition of Gary Cambra on keyboards and guitar, Waybill eventually returned in 1993 for a European tour and launching of the compilation album for Capitol and 1996's Genius of America. In 2001, the band released a live album, The Tubes World Tour 2001, and continues to tour.