Skrewdriver | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England |
Genres | |
Years active | 1976–1979, 1982–1993 |
Labels |
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Past members | Ian Stuart Donaldson Martin Cross Merv Shields Phil Walmsley Ron Hartley Kevin McKay John "Grinny" Grinton Jim "Sturmfuhrer" Rice Mark Radcliffe [1] [2] [3] [4] |
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Neo-fascism |
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Skrewdriver were an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, in 1976. Originally a punk band, [5] Skrewdriver changed into a white power skinhead rock band after reuniting in the 1980s. [6] Their original line-up split in January 1979 and Donaldson reformed the band with different musicians in 1982. [7] This new version of the band played a leading role in the Rock Against Communism movement. [8]
The band fell apart after Donaldson died in a car crash in 1993.
Ian Stuart Donaldson, formerly of the cover band Tumbling Dice, formed Skrewdriver as a punk rock band in Poulton-le-Fylde in 1976. [9] At first, Skrewdriver sported a punk appearance, but they later changed their image to a skinhead look. In 1978, Donaldson moved to Manchester, where he recruited guitarist Glenn Jones and drummer Martin Smith. With Kevin MacKay on bass, this lineup toured extensively and built a strong following, but certain venues were reluctant to book the band because of their reputation as a violent skinhead band. Performing largely for a skinhead audience, the first versions of the band released one album and two singles on Chiswick Records. Skrewdriver briefly adopted a rocker/biker-influenced look around the time they released the EP Built Up Knocked Down (1979). [10] [11]
Donaldson resurrected the band name Skrewdriver in 1982 with a new band line-up. Although the original band had a minor reputation for attracting violence at their concerts—Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof was reportedly knocked unconscious by a friend of Donaldson who believed that Skrewdriver's sound had been sabotaged [12] —they did not openly support any political ideology or organisation. [13]
The re-formed Skrewdriver eventually became openly supportive of white nationalist groups, after a lengthy period of publicly denying such support. [14] The band released the single "White Power" in 1983 and their second album, Hail the New Dawn , in 1984. Although both Skrewdriver and the band Sham 69 had skinhead followings and racist fans early in their careers, Sham 69 denounced racism and performed at Rock Against Racism concerts. [15] [16] Donaldson eventually aligned himself with neo-Nazism, saying: "I would describe myself as a British National Socialist, not a German one, and so don't think I'm at odds with British patriots." [17] The band became associated with the National Front and British National Party, raising funds for them (and affiliated organisations) through the White Noise record label. They released records on Rock-O-Rama, a label that became known for National Socialist sympathies. Skrewdriver was instrumental in setting up Blood & Honour, a neo-Nazi music promotion network.
Their song Smash the IRA became popular amongst Loyalists in Northern Ireland. It was one of a number of Skrewdriver songs covered by a Belfast band called Offensive Weapon, who also covered songs by Black artists such as Chuck Berry. [18]
Some members of the original Skrewdriver line-up objected strongly to the new direction in which Donaldson took the band. Roger Armstrong of Chiswick Records said:
It is a shame that the name was dragged through the gutter like that. The other three guys in the band were really pissed off too. Grinny the drummer came from solid Northern socialist stock. When they made records for us Ian Stuart showed no signs of fascism. The skinhead image was a—maybe in hindsight misconceived—fashion thing. It was cooked up by a bunch of us, including the band's then-management and the photographer Peter Kodik. [19]
However, John "Grinny" Grinton later stated in an interview that he had no problem with the new Skrewdriver, and that he became a member of the National Front along with Donaldson. [1]
Donaldson died in a car crash on 24 September 1993. A friend and fellow Neo-Nazi, Stephen Lee Flint, died from injuries sustained in the crash the following day. [20] Donaldson's death catalyzed the demise of Skrewdriver, and had a strong impact in the white power rock scene. [21] John "Grinny" Grinton died from cancer in June 2005. [22] [ unreliable fringe source? ]
Merv Shields died on 1 January 2022 due to COVID-19 complications. [23]
A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youth in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in the late 1970s. Motivated by social alienation and working-class solidarity, skinheads are defined by their close-cropped or shaven heads and working-class clothing such as Dr. Martens and steel toe work boots, braces, high rise and varying length straight-leg jeans, and button-down collar shirts, usually slim fitting in check or plain. The movement reached a peak at the end of the 1960s, experienced a revival in the 1980s, and, since then, has endured in multiple contexts worldwide.
Alternative TV are an English band formed in London in 1977. Author Steve Taylor writes: "Alternative TV pioneered reggae rhythms in punk and then moved on to redefine the musical rules".
Ian Stuart Donaldson, also known as Ian Stuart, was an English singer and neo-Nazi. He was the front-man of Skrewdriver, a punk rock band which, beginning in 1983, became one of the first Nazi punk bands. Donaldson raised money through white power concerts with his Blood & Honour network.
Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They changed their musical direction after seeing the Sex Pistols play live in early 1976. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The group's popularity saw them perform on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, and they appeared in the rockumentary film, D.O.A.. The original unit broke up in 1979, with frontman Jimmy Pursey moving on to pursue a solo career.
Blood & Honour is a neo-Nazi music promotion network and right-wing extremist political group founded in the United Kingdom by Ian Stuart Donaldson in 1987. It is composed of white nationalists and has links to Combat 18.
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Rock Against Communism (RAC) was the name of white power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and has since become the catch-all term for music with racist lyrics as well as a specific genre of rock music derived from Oi!. The lyrics can focus on racism and antisemitism, though this depends on the band.
Nicola Vincenzo "Nicky" Crane was an English neo-Nazi activist. He came out as gay before dying from an AIDS-related illness in 1993.
All Skrewed Up is the debut studio album by the British rock band Skrewdriver, released in 1977. It was issued with four different sleeve colours - green, orange, yellow, and pale purple. It was later re-released in 1990 as "The Early Years" with five additional tracks, including the singles "Unbeliever" and "Streetfight", originally issued on the German release. The Early Years is the only official release of the All Skrewed Up tracks on CD.
White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and some of them are members of prison gangs. The movement emerged in the United Kingdom between the late 1960s and the late 1970s, before spreading across Eurasia and North America in the 1980–1990s.
Rock-O-RamaRecords was a Cologne-based German independent record label that operated between 1980 and 1994, established and run by Herbert Egoldt. Though initially dedicated to releasing and distributing left-wing or apolitical German and international punk and hardcore, Rock-O-Rama became a leading label for white power rock and Rock Against Communism from the middle of the 1980s. Following a 1993 police raid, Egoldt closed the label in 1994 under the threat of legal action from German authorities.
The Radiators from Space, also known as The Radiators, The Rads, Radiators (from Space), and The Radiators Plan 9, were an Irish punk rock band. They have been described as Ireland's first punk band. Initially active 1976-1981, the band had a brief reunion in 1987-1988, and reformed in 2003 until the death of founding member Philip Chevron in 2013, with remaining members continuing as Trouble Pilgrims.
Skullhead was a nationalist Oi! band from the Newcastle area. It was part of the Rock Against Communism (RAC) movement.
The Nips are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976 as the Nipple Erectors by punk artist Shanne Bradley. They were Shane MacGowan's first musical group.
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No Remorse are an English white power rock band formed in London in 1985. They were one of the most prominent neo-Nazi skinheads bands of the Rock Against Communism scene. The band was led by Paul Burnley between 1986 and 1996, and by William Browning and Daniel "Jacko" Jack from 1996 onwards, following a factional dispute within British white nationalist politics.
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