CHAPTER EIGHT

1988

In early January, Keith joined Sudden Impact on drums, which made the line-up Paul Dunbar on vocals, Flubs on bass, Danny Hooper on guitar and Keith on drums. Keith would continue to play in a punk band. Soon after, the band recorded three songs for a forthcoming compilation LP also featuring Brutal Attack, No Remorse and Skrewdriver.

On Saturday, 30 January 1988, Skrewdriver, Brutal Attack and Vengeance played the Star, Croydon, which was attended by no less than six representatives from national newspapers and magazines. Nothing of good was expected to be said about the bands, fans and organisers behind Blood and Honour, although, as the saying goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity. This was also Vengeance’s debut for Blood and Honour. Tom of Vengeance regarded this gig as their best yet.

No Remorse — This Time the World LP

1988 saw the release of the debut album by No Remorse, called This Time the World, on the French label Rebelles Européens (catalogue number RE 33 04 88). This Time the World was inspired by the book of the same title, the autobiography of George Lincoln Rockwell, who founded the American Nazi Party in 1959. The rewritten last chapter of the book ends:

      THIS TIME the traitors will not be able to find any group of White Men anywhere who will listen to their lies and go and murder the Jews’ enemies for them. There will be no place to hide... no place to start their eternal game of friendly subversion of their unsuspecting hosts... no place to generate their infernal hates and fratricidal wars... no place to set up their anvil of capitalist exploitation and their hammer of Communist revolution and slaughter.

      THIS TIME the traitors will have only one place left in which they can at last find respite from the insane hatemonster which has been eating out their diseased hearts for six thousand years!... And we shall provide that final solace. With deadly, incredible irony, fate is now repeating what happened in Germany on a world-wide scale!

      THIS TIME we shall not be soft-hearted and gentle like the Great Man who refused to use his tanks to slaughter the helpless British at Dunkirk because he believed even Churchill had some honor and loyalty to Britain and the White Race left.

      THIS TIME we shall not be content with ‘minding our own business’ here while the Jews stir up another world war to wash us away in oceans of irreplaceable White blood!

      THIS TIME we shall not permit traitors to ‘escape’ so that they can move in and betray them as the German Communist Jews did to America. None shall pass or escape retribution, not one!

      THIS TIME we shall not put our faith in anything or anybody but ourselves, and our unshakable will, impelled onward by an inscrutable destiny which has already demonstrated its determination to resurrect the good whenever it is crucified by evil, as it is now all over the wretched planet.

      THE LAST TIME our leader showed the way to victory in one single area of the earth. ‘Today Germany!’ he predicted ‘TOMORROW THE WORLD!!’

      Now it is TOMORROW! Now is the time, White Men!

      THIS TIME THE WORLD!!!

‘The Great Man’ and ‘Our Leader’ are, of course, references to Adolf Hitler. No Remorse vocalist Paul Burnley admired Hitler too, remarking:11 ‘Adolf Hitler is the greatest leader that has ever lived, more people would feel the same way if it wasn’t for the Hysteria and totally biased Media and the way they put him down. He did his best for Germany and the surrounding people. HEIL HITLER.’

Moreover, Paul Burnley had embraced the ideals of Hitler, explaining that ‘National Socialism produced one of the strongest and proudest nations the world has ever seen.’22 He believed that ‘the ideals set by the great leader Adolf Hitler have as much to offer Britain of the ’90s as it did to Germany of the ’30s, if not more.’33

The LP is dedicated to Rudolf Hess and Robert Mathews, ‘who gave up their lives for the cause,’ Nicky Crane who drew the cover, the British Movement and ‘National Socialists everywhere,’ amongst others. Robert Mathews was a white American nationalist, who in late 1983 founded the Order, which was named after, and partly modeled on, a fictional group in William Luther Pierce’s racist fantasy novel The Turner Diaries. The Order’s goals included the establishment of a white homeland where Jews and non-whites would be barred. Led by Mathews, the Order executed a series of bank and armoured car robberies that netted the group millions of dollars and ran a large counterfeiting operation. In June 1984, the Order murdered Alan Berg, a liberal, Jewish Denver-area radio talk show host known for his frequent on-air arguments with white supremacists. Eventually, by turning members of the Order into informers, the FBI was able to track down Mathews, who died in a shootout with federal agents.

The front cover, one of the better drawings from Nicky Crane, depicts three generations of White warriors: a Viking, a soldier from the Waffen-SS, and a skinhead wearing a No Remorse T-shirt. For historical clarity, it’s worth mentioning that not all of those who served with the Waffen-SS were white; there was an Indian Brigade of the Waffen-SS recruited from prisoners of war, although the SS runes collar insignia was not worn.

The No Remorse line-up for This Time the World was Paul Burnley on vocals, Mark Vince on guitar, Sean Heywood on guitar, Archie on bass and Stew Baile on drums. Sean Heywood was the Brutal Attack guitarist and added another dimension to the sound.

Musically, the album is competent Oi! although some might be tempted to label it Nationalist rock or white rock music. However, what really sets this album apart from all other Nationalist records which have gone before are the lyrics. Some are extreme. Some are explicit. Some incite racial violence. Some are crude. Some are taboo-breaking. And yet this did not deter Rebelles Européens from releasing such a ‘ground-breaking’ and controversial album. Curiously, Rebelles Européens seemed to operate without regard to the law. When asked why he started Rebelles Européens, record company supremo Gael Bodilis replied:44 ‘The reason for its creation is quite simple: No label wanted to produce politically engaged bands without self-censorship. All of these bands have got a right to express themselves. I had to give them the opportunity to do so with the same means and same production as other bands who sell ten times as many records. Music is an excellent way of spreading those ideas and it was becoming more and more necessary to have these skinhead bands known. Obviously there is one factor that I am not interested in [and that is] profit.’

The album starts off with the anthem-like title track, which offers a new political solution that dare not speak its name, but a political solution which is ‘not black power or communism,’ which ‘won’t believe the media lies’ and fights against the greed of capitalism.

‘Bloodsucker,’ perhaps the most extreme and racist song on the album, although some might call it uncomfortably honest, bemoans the inflated prices of goods often associated with Asian and Pakistani corner shops. The chorus exhorts the listeners ‘not to buy his offers’ and ‘burn him to the ground.’ Toward the end of the song, Paul Burnley states ‘One day the world will know Adolf Hitler was right,’ followed by a taboo-breaking shout of ‘Sieg Heil,’ the first of many shouts of ‘Sieg Heil’ to be heard on this album.

‘This Land is Ours,’ according to magazine Blood and Honour issue 4, ‘states the people’s rights to their land of origin.’ The next song is the rather bizarre county and western-sounding ‘Tree of Life’ with such lyrics:

No Remorse postcard...

No Remorse postcard with Paul Burnley on the right.

                  Summer’s fast approaching, the men who work the land

                  Reap the benefits of nature, the taste of life so grand

                  The beauty of the people, who praise the God and Sun

                  Know the tree is standing, protecting everyone

The ‘Tree of Life’ is probably a reference to the world-tree Yggdrasil. In Pagan and Norse mythology it is the tree on which Odin hung himself for nine days and gained the wisdom of the runes.

‘Race Traitor’ is a less-than-polite critique of race mixing, perpetuating certain racial stereotypes, namely that all blacks are ignorant thugs and that drug culture equals black culture. Rounding off the first side is ‘We Salute You,’ a tribute to Rudolf Hess, who is described in the chorus as ‘our hero.’ When asked what he thought about the recent death of Rudolf Hess, Paul Burnley replied:55 ‘The death of Rudolf Hess saddened us greatly. He sacrificed more than anyone in the world to stand by his Nationalist Socialist beliefs. This is why I wrote ‘We Salute You.’ He was treated badly by the four powers controlling his prison, Spandau in Berlin… If the leaders of the Nationalist/National Socialist parties/groups had half of the courage, honour or loyalty of this martyr then things would be a great deal better.’

There was even talk of a No Remorse joint single with Skrewdriver ‘as a tribute to Rudolf Hess,’ but nothing came of it.

Like the reworked version of ‘Streetfight’ by Skrewdriver, ‘Smash the Reds’ recalls the events of the 1984 ‘Jobs For a Change’ festival. ‘Nigger’ is a hate-fuelled anti-black rant and defiantly warns ‘don’t try and mess with the master race.’ ‘Hail the Order’ is a tribute to Robert Mathews66 and the Order and, more generally speaking, to those who continue to fight for white survival, a ‘never-ending struggle till these governments fall.’ The taboo-breaking ‘Six Million Lies’ denies the Holocaust and then exhorts ‘let’s make Europe Jewish-free.’ Indeed, one review of this album proudly noted:77 ‘Definitely won’t be popular with gentlemen of Semitic persuasion.’ ‘Mother England’ recounts a dream foretelling a terrible race war, burning cities and desolate towns, with the White race facing extinction. The dream continues:

                  But like the dawning of a daybreak I saw a glimmer of hope

                  White men congregating, the revenge of our folk

                  Guns were circulated, bombs were being deployed

                  Heroes were emerging, all resistance being destroyed

In this way, England becomes once again a ‘free and pleasant land.’

The sleeve lists a twelfth and final track ‘Sword of Defiance,’ but it does not appear on the actual vinyl. Paul Burnley explained:88 ‘There were two master tapes, one with 11 tracks and the other one with ‘Sword of Defiance.’ The ‘Sword of Defiance’ one got lost in the post on the way to France. It turned up later on so it was released on a Debout compilation LP.’

‘Sword of Defiance’ was included on the Debout! Volume 2 compilation album released that same year by Rebelles Européens (catalogue number RE 3306-08). ‘Sword of Defiance’ reveals the hard rock side of the band, complete with wailing guitar solos, perhaps hinting at a new musical direction even though it was recorded at the This Time the World sessions. The muffled lyrics are indistinguishable. Paul Burnley regarded ‘Sword of Defiance’ as ‘one of the best’ written by No Remorse, preferring the first version which appeared on the Debout compilation to the later LP version which ‘didn’t come out as well.’99

Well-received by nationalists far and wide, This Time the World really put No Remorse and also Paul Burnley on the international map, opening many doors. Similarly, Gael Bodilis was thankful for the exposure this risqué LP gave his small label. Unfortunately, despite the success of This Time the World, the band changed personnel. Archie had departed the band due to personal problems. Mark Vince moved on to bass and Sean Heywood temporarily took on guitar.

Paul Burnley and Eddie Stampton had a falling-out: ‘The last I saw of Paul was around 1988 outside Cutdown Records. I was on my way home from a court appearance at Bow Street Magistrates Court and popped in to see Des Clarke. I’d heard Paul had been spreading shit around about me and pulled him on it. Anyway, he made a funny comment so I nutted the little prick and he ran off. A couple of years later in 1990 when I got eight years for GBH I got a couple of letters off him but that was it.’ Eddie remained in contact with his brother: ‘As for John, he visited me a few times in prison and we remained firm friends. He even got me some work with him as a painter when I was released in late ’93, after having my sentence reduced on appeal. I last saw John around ’94 although I spoke to him on the phone a couple of years ago. John was always a top bloke, one of the lads.’

Above the Ruins — Songs of the Wolf LP

Years after its release as a demo, ‘Songs of the Wolf’ was given the vinyl treatment in the form of an album released by First Floor Records out of Köln, Germany, arguably one more subsidiary of Rock-O-Rama records; the record label design on the Above the Ruins album is almost identical to the average Rock-O-Rama release from the same period. Curiously, one track from the demo, ‘Storm Clouds Over Europe,’ did not make it onto this official vinyl release. Perhaps those involved with the label, which had previously released vinyl by the likes of Sheffield postpunk outfit They Must Be Russians and goth band Saigon, deemed the voice of Oswald Mosley too political. Perhaps those once involved with the band did not want the track put to vinyl. Anyway, the lyrics to the ‘missing’ track are:

                  Here it stands that bloody wall

                  Festers like an open sore

                  Cold eyes and talk of war

                  Storm clouds over Europe

                  On the left and on the right

                  Just silhouettes in their gun sights

                  Torch lights split night

                  Storm clouds over Europe

                  Europe raped by tyranny

                  One day I dream that we will see

                  A Europe strong - a Europe free

Once again Above the Ruins identify with a strong, free and united Europe, bemoaning the Berlin Wall, a symbol of a divided Europe.

There is a small but noticeable difference to how the songs sound on the demo when compared to the vinyl. Many would argue that this is to be expected, but the songs on the vinyl release sound remixed. This is yet to be confirmed. The LP sold poorly. The demo was later released on CD, again minus ‘Storm Clouds Over Europe.’

The demo also appears on the bootleg Sol Invictus Storm Clouds Over Europe LP, again minus ‘Storm Clouds Over Europe’! There are two editions of this bootleg LP on Anthropophagus Records: the first is the regular edition with hand-screened cover limited to 200 copies; and the second is the ‘special’ edition with painted cloth bag and booklet limited to 30 numbered copies. The booklet is noteworthy not only for the song lyrics, even those of ‘Storm Clouds Over Europe,’ but the accompanying imagery, which was probably the handiwork of the bootleggers rather than the band: the ‘big Three,’ Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin, pictured together at the Yalta Conference of February 1945, which divided up Europe and delivered Eastern Europe to Communist domination; a Russian T-34 tank; various runes; heraldic mottos; and Romanian Corneliu Codreanu, the founder and charismatic leader of the nationalist Iron Guard or the Legion of the Archangel Michael, also known as the Legionary Movement.

Julius Evola met Corneliu Codreanu in March 1938 in Bucharest and sensed a kindred spirit in him: ‘Among all the leaders of the national movements we have met during our journeys through Europe, few, or none, have given us so favourable an impression as Codreanu. We have discovered in speaking with him as perfect an agreement of ideas as with few others, and we have met in few the capacity to rise so resolutely from the plane of the contingent and to relate to premises of genuinely spiritual nature a will of political-national renewal.’ Evola was still ‘dazzled’ by Codreanu when he met a friend later for lunch.

After Above the Ruins, Wakeford formed Sol Invictus, whose first vinyl output, released in that same year of 1988, was the Against the Modern World mini-LP (LAYLAH Records, catalogue number LAY 21). The title Against the Modern World derives from the book of the same name by Julius Evola. According to the insert that came with the mini-LP, the line-up was Tony Wakeford, Ian Read and Gareth Smith. Suspiciously, two years later, on the Sol Invictus Sol Veritas Lux CD (SVL Records), which features the first two albums from Sol Invictus, the name of Gareth Smith cannot be found, erased as if he had not existed. A certain Gary Smith would later play bass for No Remorse. So are Gary Smith and Gareth Smith one and the same person? The answer is yes.

Gary Smith is often linked with Above the Ruins, but he was not a band member.1010 However, he was a member of the neo-folk band Sixth Comm, fronted by Patrick Leagas, originally a member of Death in June. Gary Smith plays bass on the Sixth Comm Content With Blood LP released by Eyas Media Ltd in 1987.

On Thursday, 3 March, Rock-O-Rama Records, working in conjunction with Blood and Honour, signed up Skrewdriver, Brutal Attack, No Remorse, Sudden Impact and Vengeance for two albums and two singles per year (otherwise 30 songs a year) for three years. Blood and Honour hailed this historic event as ‘a great leap forward for our movement and as more bands sign, the nearer to a large-scale breakthrough we will move.’ This was good news for Blood and Honour, but as one fanzine wrote: ‘It will be interesting to see how the five bands get on, writing material for two albums and two singles a year.’ Two full-length albums per year was challenging for most bands, even for full-time bands. Moreover, Ian Stuart was also convinced to record as a solo artist.

We Want the Airwaves

In early 1988 White Noise Records released the Skullhead / Palazard split 12″ entitled We Want the Airwaves (catalogue number WNR 001). The front cover design, drawn by Kev Turner of Skullhead, depicts a white fist holding an old transistor radio, ‘symbolic of our struggle to destroy the capitalist system that dominates the music industry, and the heavy influence of left-orientated hacks in the business.’1111 Skullhead contributed one track, the superb and catchy ‘Look Ahead,’ which marked a great step forward musically for the band when compared to the material released on their debut album White Warrior. Kev Turner sings:

                  Where are you when we need you

                  Cos you’re in pink and your hair has grown

                  Don’t mean you have to be a cunt

                  Don’t mean you cannot support the Front

                  If you were really what you said you were

                  Then no matter what you’d always be there

                  Cos loving your land isn’t a craze

                  Being patriotic isn’t a fashion phase

                  So nationalists get your heads together

                  Don’t stop dead look ahead

                  No matter how you dress stick together

                  Don’t stop dead look ahead

                  You used to be a skin good luck to you mate

                  Well some of us change

                  And just cos you’ve turned casual

                  Don’t let your thoughts rearrange

                  Cos we’re still together and our minds the same

                  We all still love our land

                  Nationalism’s serious it ain’t a game

                  So don’t let your dress sense get out of hand

                  This don’t apply to everyone

                  For changing to whatever from a skin

                  In fact it’s wrote to spur you on

                  Ex-skins everywhere never give in

                  But if you turn red cos your hair has grown

                  And fashion says that the Front ain’t kitsch

                  Then you’re the lowest scum that I’ve ever known

                  A brainwashed posing trendy shit

For Kev Turner, ‘Look Ahead’ represented a turning point and therefore was of great personal significance, as he explained:1212 ‘Prior to this record, we had been a staunch skinhead band. This track was written at a time when a lot of my mates were turning casual but we were still keeping the “National Revolutionary” faith. We started to realise that our message was directed at all sections of Nationalist Youth. Although we will always have our roots firmly in the skinhead movement, we now class ourselves as a Nationalist rock band. “Look Ahead” is the starting point of our “All Nationalist Stance.”’

On the flip side, the ‘socially aware’ Palazard contributed one track of heavy metal or hard rock called ‘Red Light Runaway,’ which was not well-received by the skinhead fraternity. The song describes how a young woman, because of the boring and mundane lifestyle she is forced to live, turns to prostitution for her kicks, despite the fact she is very attractive.

Palazard from Wales formed in 1983. Their name is a shortened version of Palace Wizard. They gigged for about 18 months or so, but split up due to musical differences. In 1986 Jevs, the lead guitarist reformed the band, though he left shortly after Big John joined on drums.

Palazard were a strange choice of bedfellows for Skullhead. They were not a political band as such. Admittedly, most of their songs were about ‘wine, women and fighting, the sort of things that touch the lives of ordinary people all over the country,’1313 but the band did have a more serious side. They were concerned about the threat of nuclear war, drug pushers ‘who cock up the lives of young people when they should be out enjoying themselves,’ and attacks on the environment by big business, which were hardly the same concerns Skullhead had.

Promoted by White Noise, Palazard would have appeared on the compilation LP No Surrender Volume 3 if it were not for the events of 1987 and the founding of Blood and Honour by Ian Stuart. When Chris Hipkin, the editor of British Oi! skinzine, attended the 1988 National Front AGM [Annual General Meeting] he met Derek Holland who ‘was ranting and raving about his new discovery, Palazard, and how they’d be bigger than Skrewdriver.’ Chris Hipkin later reflected: ‘So much for his vision!’ Curiously, 100 copies of this split 12″ became available for sale some five years after its release.1414 Of course, there are many possible reasons for this besides poor sales.

Nazi chic

A number of shops in and around the once fashionable Carnaby Street, in London’s West End, started to stock Blood and Honour merchandise. There was the Merc, Sherry’s and Cutdown. The most important of these outlets was Cutdown, which had two shops: there was the clothes shop at 19 Ganton Street and the first-floor record shop at 22 Fouberts Place. However, in April, under the instruction of Westminster Trader’s Association, the landlords of 22 Fouberts Place forced Cutdown to close their first-floor record mini-shop. Determined to carry on, Cutdown then started to sell records out of their nearby clothes shop in Ganton Street. Cutdown advertised its wares in Scootering magazine. Interestingly, the Public Enemy England’s Glory LP was described as ‘previously banned in the UK.’

Exposed by the press, the likes of the Merc and Cutdown continued to sell ‘Nazi music, fashion and literature.’ It was good business and Cutdown proprietor Andrew St. John cared only for the sound of ringing cash tills. However, Carnaby Street was proving ‘not big enough’ for both the Merc and Cutdown. Like two gunfighters, they squared up and it was the Merc that got the proverbial first shot off. Cutdown said of this:1515 ‘The next-door shop, the Merc, jealous that, as usual, we were selling more records than they were, found an ancient clause in our shop contract that stated that we were not allowed to deal in records on the premises. The outcome of this was that [the] Merc were able to become the only so-called ‘specialists’ in records in the area and got away with charging their expensive prices.’

Cutdown tried to find a new shop, but met with little luck. It blamed ‘local political organisations’ that had made it clear to all prospective landlords that they would not welcome a shop ‘specialising’ in the sale of Nazi and Blood and Honour paraphernalia. According to Cutdown: ‘Time and time again, we found a suitable shop premises, only to have it withdrawn from sale as soon as they found out who we were and, more to the point, what sort of customers we had!’1616

Mike from Feltham, who frequented the ‘specialist’ shops in Carnaby Street, frustratingly recalls that RAC records were often sold out. He agreed with several of his friends that ‘if anyone was in Carnaby Street and saw a record we hadn’t got, they’d buy several copies so we could all have one before they sold out again.’ He also met and got to know Nicky Crane:

             I met and spoke to Nicky Crane on many occasions, mainly at the shops in Carnaby Street or when he was out and about cycling around Central London. He used to work as a bicycle courier and I spent a lot of time in London so would see him on the street now and then. I know he had a formidable fighting reputation and was thought to be intimidating, but I never saw that side of him. I’m certainly not a hard man and have never pretended to be, so perhaps he didn’t see me as a threat in that way, so didn’t feel a need to show his toughness. It always surprised me how quietly spoken he was for such a big and intimidating-looking guy, he seemed almost shy. I got to know him well enough that if I saw him in advance of a gig he would tell me exactly where it was taking place so I didn’t have to bother with redirection points and I could lead others to the gig myself. I always regarded it as a bit of an honour that he trusted me enough to do that, particularly as I never socialised with him or Ian Stuart, I just used to see them at gigs or in the shops in Carnaby Street or around.

Jim the Skin, who had recently relocated from Berwick to the bright lights of London, also frequented Carnaby Street and recalls:

             London was a different kettle of fish compared to Berwick, loud, fast-paced and full of foreigners, which only helped to harden my attitude towards them and the Government who I felt were hell-bent on destroying Britain from within. On arriving I was living in a squat on Lordship Lane, Broadwater. That didn’t last long as the Blacks attacked the house we were living in as it was a white household and only three years after the riots so a no-go area for police or white people. Shame as the houses were fantastic, but no one wanted to live there. Anyway, we only just managed to get out with our lives. I then went to live in Tyres Estate, Bermondsey. A small enclave of council flat squats that the council at the time had given up. Great community and all white. It was also a stone’s throw from Carnaby Street and Brick Lane. Saturdays were for Carnaby Street. The skinhead fashion had subdued somewhat, however the birth of Blood and Honour breathed a new life into it bringing a new breed of skinhead. All dressed in black, organised and politically extreme with its own shop by the name of Cutdown that not only encouraged this extremism (though not directly but through its merchandise) but also acted as a meeting point. Each Saturday hundreds of skins would turn up at various times and hang around the various pubs and streets. This only acted as a magnet for the press, reds and football casuals and so each week would see some sort of disorder. Going to and from Carnaby Street dressed as a skinhead in those days was danger-ous, however the hint of some carry-on only spurred us on. One thing of note is that about this time the Asians who had shops in Carnaby Street saw the monetary value of White Power items and started selling them too. The place turned into a mini Nuremburg with Swastika flags, sunwheels and the like being able to be purchased from most shops with no fuss and even a thank-you and a joke.

For Jim the Skin, if Saturdays were for Carnaby Street, then Sundays were for Brick Lane: ‘I went as everyone else did from the BM to League of St. George and now the fledgling B&H movement. The NF and the BNP would flog their papers whereas everyone else would turn up, have a chat, then move on to the pubs down Bethnal Green Road and if you were lucky, which was every week, a fight would ensue later that night against some ‘enemies of the state.’ Across the road from Brick Lane was a pub called the Stick of Rock owned by a member of Cock Sparrer. Even though he had nothing to do with right-wing activity it was a favourite haunt and we all assembled there one Saturday to attack an Angelic Upstarts gig that was playing at the Astoria.’

A summer of concerts

Blood and Honour planned two concerts: Friday, 1 April in Brighton on the south coast with Skrewdriver, Brutal Attack and No Remorse and Saturday, 9 April in London with Skrewdriver, Brutal Attack, No Remorse and Squadron. The two concerts did not take place.

On Saturday, April 2, Cutdown staged the ‘Main Event’ concert at the Astoria, London, headlined by the Angelic Upstarts.1717 There was no love lost between vocalist Mensi of the Angelic Upstarts and Ian Stuart, who accused Mensi of selling out his nationalist beliefs to ‘make more money being left-wing.’1818 The Angelic Upstarts had also played a number of gigs for Rock Against Racism. Ian Stuart attended the ‘Main Event’ concert. One skinhead recalls: ‘I was in the VIP bar with Ian Stuart before the gig started and Mensi was there with all his Red Action cronies. Ian went up and offered him out and the cunt shit himself even though we were outnumbered 3 to 1.’ This was not the end of the matter. By the time the Angelic Upstarts played Ian had around him a ‘small army’ of Blood and Honour skinheads and supporters. What followed has been the subject of much debate. Accounts differ, some dramatically.1919 William from West London said of the concert and its inevitable conclusion:

             I still vividly remember and smile when Ian Stuart gathered an awesome skinhead firm to smash the Angelic Upstarts and Red Action up at the Main Event. The Main Event was run by Cutdown which was a Blood and Honour front and Mensi, lead singer of the Upstarts, had been mouthing off about doing this and that to 28 and Ian. Red Action had also been trying to get Ian around his Kings Cross home. So the Upstarts were invited to play and as the Upstarts were members of and the main Red Action band, the trap was set to catch them all in one place. There was a little verbal before the concert about it going off, but they ‘the reds’ thought the crowd, venue, security and event in general was too big for anything to happen. The Upstarts were greeted with nazi salutes and cries of ‘Sieg Heil.’ In front of literally thousands Ian attacked Mensi from the audience after giving out a predetermined signal he would attack first and on his own. He shouted down Mensi and offered him out. Mensi tried to hit Ian with the mic, but Ian grabbed it off him and began swinging it at Mensi, who was still on stage, behind a safety barrier and quite a few feet above the crowd. The whole band shit out and ran, never to play London again until long after Ian’s passing. Afterwards skinheads literally hunted down every red in the place and dealt out swift justice. It was a humiliation that the Upstarts have never lived down in skinhead circles and cemented their move to only playing to dirty punks, gays, dress-up skinheads and reds; the street cred was gone and that’s something which cannot be replaced.

On Saturday, April 16, No Remorse made their European debut at the headquarters of the Front National Belge (Belgian NF) in Brussels, supported by RAC bands Fight Action from Belgium and Bunker 84 from France. The gig went ahead amongst much media attention.2020 Even so there was no trouble at the gig. Blood and Honour reported:2121

             After various venue cancellations, the organisers of this gig found an excellent place for Belgium’s biggest ever National Socialist gig. At 8 o’clock that Saturday evening things started off in the right way with the appearance of local band Fight Action who got a good reception with numbers entitled ‘National Socialist,’ ‘1940’ and the 4-Skins’ classic ‘Chaos.’ Next on were the top French band Bunker 84. ‘Victim of Democracy’ was the highlight of their 20-song set. It’s a catchy song about Rudolf Hess. About 300 European people travelled to see this R.A.C. spectacular and now the headliners No Remorse were on stage and although there may have been 5 to 10 different nationalities present everyone was united under a hall of right-arm salutes. A hilarious sight was that of the audience (mainly skinheads) doing a country and western dance to ‘The Tree of Life.’ After delivering two new songs ‘Son of Odin’ and ‘What’s It All About?’ No Remorse went on to play ‘Smash the Reds’ three times at the request of the enthusiastic skinheads. All in all it was a great night and unforgettable European debut for No Remorse and I’m sure it will enhance the sales of their new LP This Time the World.

Pure Impact said of the first skinhead gig in Brussels for a very long time:2222 ‘There had been a lot of problems organising it as a left-wing party called up everyone to put pressure on the owners of the gig hall to cancel the gig. Finally, a nationalist party let them use their hall. There were about 150 skinheads at the gig, coming from Belgium, France, England, Holland, Germany and Austria. First on was Fight Action who played their first gig but got a positive response. Then Bunker 84 took the stage and they really got the French moving. They played an enjoyable set with about all their album’s songs. And finally top of the bill No Remorse who got about everyone stomping. Their most memorable song was “The Tree of Life.”’

On Monday, April 18, the Glory and Violent Storm played the PWD Club at the North Star pub in Cardiff. Admission was £2. This was Violent Storm’s first gig and it was a gig that vocalist Billy had no wish to remember: their ‘shit’ equipment contributed to the poor sound and hardly anyone turned up. And yet, in contrast, Chris Hipkin of skinzine British Oi! has fond memories of that night out:2323

             I only met Billy of Violent Storm about a fortnight before the gig. Wyn, Spike (another Cardiff skin) and I were in town and Spike knew him of sorts. We got talking and Billy seemed a nice bloke. He told us about the gig and where everyone was meeting beforehand etc… It was Violent Storm and the Glory, an Oi! band from Leicester, at a small pub in the rough back end of Butetown, Cardiff’s docks area. Renowned for its ‘cultural brothers,’ we were told to meet in nearby Grangetown from where we could take a safe enough route to the venue without attracting the attention of the locals. However, the Rhondda valley boys didn’t know of our meeting place, just the location of the venue, and boldly walked straight through Butetown, attracting some unwanted attention to say the least.

                  The venue was small, but good enough. Violent Storm ripped through a great little set, ‘Combat the Nation’ being played three times I think, which got everyone jumping about. The line-up was Dennis on guitar, Brydon on bass, Billy handling the vocals and Clarkey behind the drums. I was impressed by the band’s views and energy, as well as by the camaraderie of everyone there. The Glory played well and Mark Magee the guitarist ended up being a good help in future years with British Oi! After the gig we all said our farewells and went our own ways, bar the Rhondda boys who had some unfinished business. The word is that on their way home they had a little skirmish and gave a good account of themselves.

Incredibly, despite the openly nationalist and racist credentials of the band, Violent Storm still wanted to record for Link Records run by Mark Brennan, the former bass player of the Business, which specialised in Oi! bands past and present whilst deftly tip-toeing its way through the political minefield. The offer from Link Records never came. In the meantime, the band recorded a demo that Chris Hipkin funded. He recalls:

             I got to know the band and regularly went down the ‘skinhead house’ on Clive Street, Grangetown. I should explain that it was a large house divided into bedsits and full of skins. The band practiced there and we used to have a beer together. Somebody knew a bloke who had a small mobile four-track recorder and was willing to record some songs for the band. I offered to pay the cost, £35 I think, because I had found work on the YTS [Youth Training Scheme] as a trainee brickie, which probably made me the only one working, and I was still doing the fanzine. Billy sorted it out for this bloke to set his gear up in Clarkey’s bedsit and it was here that the demo was recorded. Then a few of us went to this fella’s house and mixed it. We were well chuffed with the results! Derek Holland wanted to put it out on a single for the White Noise Club, which the band welcomed, but it never happened as such.

Brydon, the bass player, was eventually kicked out of the band because ‘he was not turning up for practices and gigs and so on’ and was replaced by Paul Casey, also a member of the NF. Casey became one of Chris Hipkin’s best mates. Clarkey left the band after he moved to Stoke with his girlfriend. Sheeley’s brother, Darren, took over on drums. Like Sheeley, Darren was apolitical.

On Saturday, 7 May, Skrewdriver, Brutal Attack, Sudden Impact and Squadron played the Barn, Portsmouth on the south coast. Posty Rob from Stanwell drove Skrewdriver down to the gig:

             Pick up from Kings Cross, equipment and as many people as I could take. Making our way out of London I was asked if I had got any tapes. The answer was no, but I proposed to pick some up at my place which was on the way. That’s what we did. Next I was asked if there were any off-licences where we were going to stop. There was in a parade of shops opposite the Happy Landing pub. Previously I had been told by a punk in the Happy Landing that I would never be welcome in there because of my political views and if I did go in there I would never come out alive. We parked up. And just as the likes of Nicky Crane, Mad Matty Morgan and Ian Stuart got out of the van to go to the off-licence a couple of people from the Happy Landing walked past. A priceless and unforgettable moment! They got back in and we were on our way again. On the A3 the van suddenly starts rocking from side to side. I pulled up in a layby, got out and spoke to Ian. He explained that Mad Matty Morgan was having a fight with Adolf. Ian told me to tell Mad Matty Morgan to get out. I replied: ‘I’m not telling him to get out, you tell me!’ He answered: ‘It’s your van.’ It was. We agreed that he could stay in the van if he calmed down.

Skrewdriver, 7 May...

Skrewdriver, 7 May 1988, Portsmouth

There was a good turnout for this gig. Finding themselves stretched, the police responded by telling the local Asian shops and restaurants to close early. Sudden Impact headlined. For Squadron, this was their first live performance. Guitarist Jim thought it was a great gig, but would later acknowledge that they should have played better. Rob of Squadron also played drums for Brutal Attack that night.

On Saturday, 14 May, Skrewdriver and Brutal Attack played the Bowler Hat pub, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs. Interestingly, a journalist from The People attended this concert with the full blessing of Ian Stuart and Blood and Honour. His ‘special investigation’ would appear in print weeks later.

On Saturday, 28 May, Rebelles Européens staged the ‘2nd Anti-Communist festival’ in the Brittany port of Brest in France. Advertised to play were British bands Skrewdriver, Brutal Attack and No Remorse, as well as French RAC bands Legion 88, Skin Korps, Brutal Combat and Bunker 84. Skrewdriver did not make the journey, No Remorse did. Brutal Attack may have. Anyway, one hour before the ‘rock concert’ was due to start the police intervened and cancelled it. Disgruntled, the three hundred skinheads present, many of whom had travelled from all over Europe, ran riot, which left eight black people injured.

During the fracas, No Remorse guitarist Sean Heywood and one of the road crew were arrested by the police. Hauled before a court, they were jailed for one month and banned from France for five years. The rest of the group endured a miserable 36-hour trip home, sleeping in train stations with no money. Even No Remorse was forced to admit: ‘It was in simple terms a disaster.’2424 And yet Blood and Honour praised Gael Bodilis, the mastermind behind Rebelles Européens, for staging the festival.

Stew then dealt No Remorse a blow by proclaiming his retirement from the band, but not before he had recorded a demo of new material which would become the next album. No Remorse struggled to find a replacement drummer, but after a break of a couple of months they were back with a new line-up and ready for action again.

Skrewdriver did not make the journey to France because Ian Stuart was in police custody. A night out had turned sour when he was arrested with three others after a fight with some homosexuals. One local newspaper reported:

             Four men charged with using unlawful violence after assaults on homosexual men in King’s Cross were remanded in custody by Highbury magistrates. Stephen Sargent, 22, a plasterer of Fordham Road, New Barnet, Ian Donaldson, 30, of Argyle Square, Euston; Mark Walsh, 21, a road sweeper of Malvern Road, Hackney; and Christopher Walsh, 22, a labourer of Stockwell Gardens, Stockwell, are all charged with using violence under the Public Order Act at Euston Road and York Way… They were due to appear again in court yesterday, Wednesday.

Remanded in Wormwood Scrubs prison for two and a half months, Ian Stuart appeared before a magistrate five times before the case against him and his three co-defendants was dropped due to a lack of evidence. Little wonder that a Blood and Honour editorial described the charges against Ian Stuart as trumped up. The same editorial continued: ‘The real reason for holding Ian in the custody of Her Majesty’s Government is that he is an active promoter of all that is good for Britain, just as Pearce, Tyndall etc… have been in the past.’2525

On Saturday, June 18, Squadron supported Condemned 84 at the King’s Head, Ferryhill, which is some seven miles from the city of Durham. Squadron only managed five numbers before they were forced to stop when fighting broke out between rival northerners. [Squadron would later thank on their first album those on their side at Ferryhill.] Shok then left Squadron ‘to further his career as a football hooligan’ and was replaced by Lenny, a former member of Squadron Security.2626

On Sunday, July 3, Skullhead and Violent Storm played in Newcastle. It was billed as the ‘Never Say Die’ concert. Vocalist Kev Turner of Skullhead was actually on weekend release from prison. One review had this to say of the concert:2727

             This was the first time I’d seen Violent Storm but I had heard a lot about them. They opened up with ‘Combat the Nation,’ a very powerful number which had the faithful Welsh lads up straightaway. This went down a storm and I was impressed with Violent Storm after this first number. They went on with a few more numbers which included ‘Violent Storm,’ ‘Land of My Fathers’ and ‘Under Attack’ which was dedicated to Chris of British Oi and White Noise. They sounded absolutely brilliant and very professional. There was a lot of Skins dancing around and having a good time at the front of the stage but there was no security at all. There was a few that followed and amongst these were ‘No Cause,’ ‘Stand or Hide,’ ‘Media Lies’ and ‘Hands Off Ulster,’ which was dedicated to everyone who hates the IRA murdering bastards. These were closely followed by ‘Pure Impact,’ ‘Menace to Society,’ ‘A Riot Tonight’ and they finished off an excellent set with ‘Mad World,’ which was also a very good song. Overall I was impressed with Violent Storm and was very pleased when they got back up to do an encore which was another chance to hear the brilliant ‘Combat the Nation.’ This song practically filled the floor and everyone was joining in on the chorus.

Violent Storm regarded this concert as their best yet. Now to Skullhead, but there was a problem; having not sung for some 20 months, Kev Turner had become hoarse while rehearsing earlier in the day. It was announced that Skullhead would perform the first number without Kev. The concert review continues:

             And then was uproar as Kev took the stage. They launched into ‘White Warrior,’ a favourite with everybody judging by the amount of skins dancing. They sounded brilliant and you couldn’t tell that Kev was a bit hoarse. The next song was for the war heroes… ‘No One Cares.’ This went down a storm with a lot of people and dancing about. Skullhead continued on with ‘Murdered by Scum,’ dedicated to the memory of Peter Mathewson. Amongst the few that followed were ‘Politics of the Streets,’ ‘Blame the Bosses,’ ‘Hang the IRA,’ ‘Support White Noise,’ ‘Unity,’ ‘What You Gonna Do’ and ‘We Don’t Trust.’ It was time for a dance I thought, so up I got just in time for my favourite of all Skullhead material… ‘Last Chance.’ Kev said: ‘This is for everybody who follows the true NF and not the Flag Wankers.’ He went on to say: ‘This is your last chance’… After ‘Last Chance’ came the Blitz classic ‘Someone’s Gonna Die.’ This must have been one of the most popular numbers all night with everyone joining in on the chorus and singing along. There was a short pause and they launched into ‘White Power,’ the old Skrewdriver song. Everybody on the dance floor jumped about madly as they had been for the last few numbers. Skullhead had been on stage ages so Kev said ‘This is your last one’ and they sung ‘Support White Noise’ one more time which was dedicated to everybody associated with White Noise.

Encore followed encore: ‘Politics of the Streets,’ ‘Unity,’ ‘Look Ahead,’ ‘White Power,’ ‘Someone’s Gonna Die’ and, finally, ‘White Warrior,’ which was dedicated to everyone British and proud. Skullhead left the stage to loud applause and so ended ‘Never Say Die,’ a concert which had passed off without any hint of trouble whatsoever and a concert which had passed off without any sieg heiling.

On Saturday, July 16, Violent Storm supported Section 5 at the Bowler Hat pub, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs. Starting off with ‘Combat the Nation,’ they played a 35-minute set including ‘Violent Storm,’ ‘Mad World,’ ‘Land of My Fathers,’ ‘Stand or Hide,’ ‘Under Attack,’ ‘Media Lies,’ ‘Hands Off Ulster,’ ‘No Cause’ and ‘Riot Tonight.’

On Sunday, 17 July, The People newspaper published a three-page ‘special investigation’ by Martin Turner into the rise of Blood and Honour under the title ‘Evil face of youth’ and the subheading ‘On tour with Britain’s sickest bands… The Nazi-loving groups out to corrupt our kids.’ Blood and Honour and its supporters were demonized in much the same way as the Waffen-SS after the Second World War, but again participants like Ian Stuart and Nicky Crane, who are heavily quoted, must have thought that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Then again Ian Stuart was able to argue: ‘Many people feel that races and cultures don’t mix. It might be touching nerve ends, but the truth is that blacks are taking our jobs and leaving the white man with unemployment. Then look at the Jews. Their staple diet is money and controlling everything that smacks of a pretty profit. Then you have the Communists who want the nonsense of equality for all.’

Vengeance — Forward Into War! LP

Recorded in May 1988 and released a few months later, Forward Into War was the debut album by Vengeance (catalogue number RRR 70). The band was still a three-piece: Vernon on bass and vocals, Tom Tyler on drums and Andy on guitar. The front cover artwork by Vernon, which is not a million miles away from the design on the front cover of the Iron Maiden ‘Trooper’ 7″, is something special.

This album has a unique sound unlike any other nationalist record of the time; the music is heavy, raw, primitive, intense and powerful, more metal than punk or Oi! The band described their style of music as ‘White rock,’ but it is not the ‘White Rock’ of Skrewdriver or Brutal Attack or No Remorse. The glass-chewing vocals are gruff, making most of the lyrics difficult to make out. The lyrics to ‘Fight For Your Life,’ reproduced in the pages of Blood and Honour, are:

                  April 23rd, hear the footsteps on the ground

                  The youth are dressed in black and they’re marching all around

                  This year it’s going to be like it’s never been before

                  It’s St. George’s Day and we’re going to war

                  We will never run and hide

                  We’ve got the power, we’ve got the pride

                  Join us now, you’ve got no choice

                  We’ve gotta give our land a voice

                  So fight - Fight for your life

                  Fifty feet away the scum look and stare

                  They better run fast cause dyin’ time’s here

                  A crash of thunder, the sky goes black

                  St. George is with us now - Time to attack

                  Into battle we march in the name of a nation

                  The enemy freeze in fear of their annihilation

                  We smash them to the ground and drive them to the sea

                  England rules once again our land is once more free

                  Into battle we march in the name of our land

                  We’ll fight the enemy of our country, the red land

                  We’re standing strong, we’re standing proud

                  We’ll never run and hide

                  If you get in our way, we’ll push you to the side

Elsewhere, the songs angrily protest against police oppression and harassment (‘Armed and Dangerous’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’), and celebrate the bulldog spirit of Britain’s armed forces that defeated Argentina in the Falklands War and, more generally, of the street-fighting youth ‘who will rise again’ (‘Bulldog’).

Unique for the time, Forward Into War was released along with a video shot in the studio whilst the album was being recorded. The album brought the band some success and fans from Belgium, Australia and the States. The band continued to write new material and hoped to ‘enter the studio again in January 1989 to record their second album.’2828 If this second album was recorded it was never released, officially or otherwise. Therefore, it should be assumed that Vengeance never did make it into the studio to record their second album.

On Saturday, August 27, Skrewdriver were due to headline a Blood and Honour-organised concert in London. Support was advertised as Brutal Attack, No Remorse, Sudden Impact, Squadron, Vengeance, and Lionheart. The concert did not go ahead. Blood and Honour allege that one of Patrick Harrington’s friends discovered the whereabouts of the venue and passed this information onto Harrington who ‘then teamed up with the Reds to put pressure on the owners of the hall.’2929 The pressure proved too much for the owners, who cancelled the booking the day before the concert was due to be held. Blood and Honour tried to secure an alternative venue, but all of their desperate attempts were in vain. The organisers estimated ‘that there would have been around one thousand people attending the concert,’ which would have made it the biggest RAC concert yet.

On Bank Holiday Monday, 29 August, Section 5, Close Shave, Violent Storm and Alcoholic Beverage [or the Alcoholic Beverages] played the Bowler Hat, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.

On Thursday, 29 September, Violent Storm supported Condemned 84 in Cardiff.3030 Chris Hipkin was present and remembers: ‘The club had a ban on DM boots, quite amusing to see quite a lot of the boys having to take their boots off at the door and walk round the gig in socks! Good gig and I know the Violent Storm lads felt they were treated like royalty as the club even put a buffet on for the bands.’

Brutal Attack — As the Drum Beats LP

Originally titled Rocking for Race and Nation, but thought ‘too harsh’ by Rock-O-Rama Records, As the Drum Beats became Brutal Attack’s second album (catalogue number RRR 73). The line-up on this album was Ken on vocals, Sean Heywood on guitar, Len Fleckney on drums and Martin Cross on bass. With the exception of Ken, it was a new line-up. Martin Cross had been recruited from Skrewdriver and Len Fleckney had replaced Tony who had left the band to join the army. Ken considered Len Fleckney as ‘probably the best drummer on the Nationalist scene today.’3131 Len Fleckney had played with mod revival band Eleanor Rigby, appearing on the Censorship LP released in 1987.

Musically, As the Drum Beats marked a departure for the band, who now veered in a direction ‘somewhere between skin and rock music.’3232 Despite the less than perfect sound and some bland ‘fillers’ to pad out the running time, including a truly horrible cover version of ‘All Right Now’ by Free, this album does have some memorable, tuneful and diverse highlights, from the heavier numbers like ‘I Got the Power,’ ‘Red Storm Rising’ and ‘As the Drum Beats’ to the power ballad ‘European Unity.’

The lyrics, for the most part, promote the virtues of pride, loyalty, integrity, racism, strength, self-sacrifice and nationalism, best exemplified by ‘R.A.C.’

                  You take me apart for my nationalist stance

                  Take a knife to my heart without giving me a chance

                  You shut down the papers that tell the truth

                  And sentence us to prison with no real proof

                  Rock against communism

                  I fight for freedom just like my father did

                  Rock against capitalism

                  The evils that the world have got to be rid

                  Long live the nationalists!

                  The tide is turning, I can’t take no more

                  It’s time we picked ourselves off the floor

                  For too long they’ve spread their lies

                  Now the white man can unite as the last dove dies

                  On the streets or on the battlefield

                  To this red peril we will never yield

                  With our hands on our hearts we salute

                  And with our fingers on the trigger

                  Those traitors we shoot

                  How long have we stood in silence

                  Given in to pressure and left-wing violence

                  Now hit back and get what you want

                  Show them that your proud to stand at the front

The final chorus ends with a shout of ‘Long Live the National Socialists!’3333 For those that had any lingering doubts about the political agenda of Brutal Attack, this certainly clarified the matter. But did it? Curiously, when asked if Brutal Attack were a nationalist or a National Socialist band, Ken McLellan once responded:3434 ‘Our stance has always been and will always be Nationalist as it is more refined than National Socialism. I find National Socialism outdated and outmoded. It was great years ago when it was new, but now refined Nationalism has better ideas.’ Even though Ken McLellan refused to see the use of reliving the past, he acknowledged the fact that the revolutionary ideas of Adolf Hitler ‘are the basis for everything we fight for.’3535

‘Rocking for Race and Nation’ or ‘Rockin’ For R’n’N’ as it appears on both the sleeve and the record label thanks to the interference once again of Rock-O-Rama Records continues in a similar lyrical vein to R.A.C.:

                  Our skinhead hearts, they beat as one

                  Yeah they beat in time to the battle hymn drum

                  United we will stand, united we will fall

                  We will answer in defiance to the communist call

                  For England we will win in the end

                  We are the ones who stand by their word

                  Shot full of passion, undying and unheard

                  If we stand together, we will win in the end

                  The awakening of the phoenix is just around the bend

                  For England we will win in the end

                  In the eyes of the law we’re never in the right

                  But they’re unthinking parasites with narrow-minded sight

                  We’ll blow away this web of lies that has been laid

                  And triumph into glory, relive the imperial days

                  For England we will win in the end

                  You see, I love my land and all it stands for

                  I’ve fought so many times, don’t mind another war

                  No one stands a chance I’ve beaten them all

                  So come and listen to me, heed the spirits call

                  For England we will win in the end

                  There is a rose I want to live for

                  There is a country I’m willing to die for

                  England, red, white and blue

                  With the spirit of St. George it will see us through

                  For England we will win in the end

Rather than tamper with the song title, Rock-O-Rama Records really should have addressed the issue of the horrible guitar solos, which ruin the song. Anyway, ‘We Won’t Run,’ whose guitar solos actually complement, is more of the same themes:

                  We will reclaim our Empire restore all that is ours

                  From this tangled bed of thorns an English rose now flowers

                  We will never hide from our obligation

                  We will lay down our life for our race and nation

                  The Red, White and Blue is flying overhead

                  With true undying loyalty to victory we are led

‘Red Storm Rising’ warns against the spread of communism, berates the West for sitting idly by, and then defiantly claims:

                  Now let me tell you about the white storm on the horizon

                  There’s a new breed of street fighter just waiting for the call

                  Now let me tell you about the white storm on the horizon

                  That’s you and me yeah me and you, and we are never going to fall

Inspired by the support Brutal Attack had received from Europe, the emotionally stirring song ‘European Unity,’ written by Martin Cross, takes the band into new uncharted lyrical territory:

                  You know our nation’s been put in hands of fools

                  Misusing their powers, corruption their number one tool

                  We’re all to blame for playing their deadly game

                  So let’s reach for an aim and don’t go down that road again

                  European unity, white power, pride and dignity

                  European unity, our lands free from alien creeds

                  Our forefathers fought for our freedom you see

                  At least that’s what we’re told what we’re led to believe

                  So how come our nations overrun?

                  By alien cultures and the vultures, the Zionist scum

                  So listen white man, listen very carefully

                  It’s time to wake up, time to make a stand you’ll see.

                  United we’ll win, come here our call

                  If we stick together nothing’s gonna make us fall

                  It won’t be easy it’ll be a long hard task

                  And there are those traitors who hide behind the nationalist mask

                  But we’ll pull through, cos truth wins in the end

                  So let us start let me hear you sing these words

Martin Cross would later comment that the ‘White Nationalist message of truth, pride and unity,’ a message he wanted to spread, was important to him. The album ends with that cover version of ‘All Right Now’ by Free, which was included because Ken McLellan admired the band and front man Paul Rodgers in particular. Overall, As the Drum Beats is a solid and competent release and hinted at the ‘pleasures’ to follow. Sean Heywood was later replaced by a young skinhead from Jersey called Will Browning, who never recorded for the band. A violent bully, Will Browning was never far from trouble. He excelled himself one night, attacking a gay man outside the Bell, a notorious gay pub in Kings Cross, and then a group of black people in a nearby burger bar. Arrested, he was later sentenced to three years for grievous bodily harm and one year for affray.

Skrewdriver — After the Fire LP

The Skrewdriver offering for 1988 and for Rock-O-Rama Records was the 12-track After the Fire LP (catalogue number RRR 75). Engineered and produced by Mark Sutherland, After the Fire was his last for Skrewdriver and for Rock-O-Rama Records, whose continual interference had got to the point where he said ‘no more.’ For this album, Skrewdriver enlisted the help of Ross McGarry on guitar.

The front cover artwork, once again drawn by Nicky Crane, reinterprets an illustration by Georg von Sluyterman von Langeweyde, an enthusiastic member of the SA who is best known for his wood engravings, and depicts three Tyr runic grave markers beside a leafless tree. Tyr was the original Norse god of battle/war and his rune Teiwaz has an association with death, especially death in battle. Soldiers of the Waffen-SS killed in action were often buried under the Tyr rune rather than the Christian crucifix. The use of this runic symbol might mean nothing and yet everything: the unflinching racial warrior ideal and self-sacrifice, with which the Waffen-SS is often associated.

After the Fire is in a similar musical vein to White Rider, although more hard-edged. The lyrics are more of the same and speak of racial struggle, police oppression, traitors, media lies, riots, world wars, and European brothers and unity, but specifically ‘Forty-Six Years’ is Skrewdriver’s tribute to Rudolf Hess, ‘Land of Ice’ is about Skrewdriver’s venture to Sweden in December of 1987, which even includes one line sung in Swedish, and ‘A Time of Change’ is another venomous rant about the leaders of the Official National Front with such lyrics:

                  Stood against us are the scum

                  They are worried because their time will come

                  One that called himself a revolutionary turned out to be gay

                  Just a mummy’s little rich boy, it’s a time of change

                  They call themselves political soldiers but they have a massive yellow streak

                  A soldier has strength, but they are bent, limp-wristed and weak

                  Pathetic little mummy’s boys, there was nothing they wanted for

                  But come the day when they have to pay, we’ll see who they were working for

The cleverly crafted lyrics to ‘After the Fire’ use the metaphor of a burnt-out field which has come alive again to prophesy the rebirth of National Socialism:

                  The new age is approaching and with it we shall be

                  The field was 1945 and the seeds were you and me

‘As Life Bleeds Away’ evokes the First World War, although parts could equally apply to the Second World War. The song differentiates between the soldiers dying on the battlefield and the politicians back home, described as traitors, who have ‘only thoughts of profit.’ The notion of betrayal, being stabbed in the back by politicians is, of course, not far removed from Hitler blaming Germany’s military defeat in the First World War on its left-wing politicians as well as the Jews. The song goes on to lament:

                  In a war fought against a brother, in a war from which we’re suffering still

                  A continent still mourns her children, in a war in which white pride was killed

The last two songs on the album are cover versions, which are not great: ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd and the antiwar ballad ‘The Green Fields of France’ (also known as ‘No Man’s Land’ or ‘Willie McBride’) by singer-songwriter Eric Bogle, which he wrote after a visit to the military cemeteries in Flanders and Northern France. In the song Bogle sits by the graveside of an Irish soldier called William McBride, who was apparently 19 when he died in 1916, and asks the soldier a series of questions. The Skrewdriver songbook subtitles the song ‘No More Brother Wars.’ Released late 1988, perhaps around Yuletide, After the Fire was well-received. Around the same time Skrewdriver Services published in a songbook the lyrics to albums White Rider and After the Fire. Ian Stuart wrote in the foreword:

             Our fight begins in Europe and spreads across the White World. Certain moments in our lives make us realise the massive importance of our task. I have walked through Antwerp in the early evening as Nationalists gather in the bars. The beautiful architecture in the Flemish City embodies European genius — the evening in Rotterdam, as the lights of the great Dutch city sparkle as we have been made welcome by our comrades — an afternoon in Stockholm, frost upon the ground, then a journey to Gothenburg as the beauty of Sweden and Scandinavia hypnotizes.

                  I think of Germany, France, Italy and all the other great nations of Europe, then of our cousins in the U.S.A., Australia and beyond. White men made these Nations and if White Men do not stand up and fight their enemies our world will crumble.

                  If this happens, when we are gone, someday and somewhere, the ghosts of the warriors who did fight will stand and accuse the cowards and traitors who did not. That will be the day of reckoning.

Vintage Skrewdriver patch...

Vintage Skrewdriver patch

Gods of War compilation LP

The four leading Blood and Honour-affiliated bands, namely Skrewdriver, Brutal Attack, No Remorse, and Sudden Impact, appeared on the Gods of War compilation LP released by White Power Records (catalogue number WP 4). The front cover artwork, featuring Thor wielding his mighty hammer, was also used as the front cover to the second edition of the Blood and Honour magazine. No Remorse kick off the album with two songs, which were recorded weeks before the sessions for This Time the World. ‘Shadow of Death’ is a cautionary tale of drug addiction:

                  Thieving and poncing to make ends meet

                  Picked up, uptown by man with a tash

                  He says he’s got a job for you with plenty of cash

                  A lot of rich clients who pay for their needs

                  Now you’re on the game you’ll never be free

                  The time is getting nearer you’re in the shadow of death

                  No one will hear you in your last dying breath

                  Lying in the gutter is what the paper said

                  Another young rent boy has ended up dead

                  In modern-day England, how can this be?

                  Drugs and abduction are set to run free

Paul Burnley and No Remorse were vehemently anti-drugs. Indeed, according to the introduction to the No Remorse songbook: ‘Scenes where drugs and race mixing are openly accepted don’t interest us in the least. They can have their drugs and their homosexuality and their other demonic plagues. We are striving for a new age of clean living and racial purity and we believe that one day that mighty task will be achieved. We are doing our bit for race and nation…’

The second track ‘White Pride World Wide’ is an even more focused statement about white unity, concluding ‘National barriers mean nothing to me/The only thing that wins is White unity.’ A third song titled ‘No Freedom’ was also recorded, but never appeared due to a mixup with the recording reels. It was eventually re-recorded for a future Gods of War album.

Brutal Attack contribute three tracks, which have a demo feel about them. They start with a cover version of Free’s ‘All Right Now’ and again the less said about it the better. The other two songs, both sung with passion, are ‘Think Again (White Man)’ and the gloom-laden ‘End of My Race’:

                  Looks like tomorrow will end up like yesterday

                  As I realise my dream is far away

                  A once great country thrown to the lions

                  Defenders of the nation clapped in irons

The lyrics then attack the corrupt judges who, predictably, imprison the patriots sat in the dock whose only crime ‘was fighting for their freedom.’ The lyrics end:

                  Look out there on those city streets

                  Changed so much I don’t recognise the place

                  Look at the white man dying on his feet

                  Looks to me like the end of my race

Moving on to side two and Sudden Impact, who now had something to shout about: finally, they had something on vinyl, even if the record company did not get the song details correct, which should have read ‘Ready and Waiting,’ ‘British Revolution’ and the pounding anthem ‘All for England.’3636 The three songs of uncompromising singalong Oi are well-produced, although the guitar could be higher in the mix. The bass player, Darren McEvilly a.k.a. Flubs, gave the following explanation for their contributions:3737 ‘“Ready and Waiting” is a statement to say that we are ready to be used in the struggle of the White Race. “British Revolution” is about a mixture of things; Reds, Capitalism, Immigrants, American troops… “All for England” is about the way we are put down for our views, but still believe in our country.’ The last of the three, ‘All for England,’ is actually so much more whose lyrics are as follows:

                  When you see us marching down the street

                  People try to put us down and force us to retreat

                  The police say we’re trouble and the media brand us as thugs

                  But we’re fighting back for Britain now and we’re going to put Britain first

                  All for England, just for England we will fight

                  All for England, just for England we can survive

                  My England

                  The communists aren’t coming they have already come

                  Now it’s down to a few of us to get them on the run

                  They have got strength in numbers but we’ve got British pride

                  And will they stand and fight when we’re prepared to die

                  From the ashes of the riots the phoenix will raise its head

                  When the fire bird of Britain is back you’ll remember what we said

Skrewdriver present three new tracks, which, like the Brutal Attack tracks, have a rough demo quality to them. The first is ‘Land on Fire’ about ‘the riots and, hopefully, the backlash.’3838 The riots in question are, presumably, the 1985 race riots in Brixton, Handsworth, Birmingham, and Broadwater Farm, North London, which led to the murder of PC Keith Blakelock. The anticipated backlash, presumably the end to the dream of a multi-racial society, failed to materialise.

‘The New Boss’ is another thinly veiled scathing attack on Patrick Harrington, who used White Noise, the bands and fans for his own ends, with such lyrics:

                  We thought we had a new direction

                  But it’s looking just the same to me

                  Playing musical leaders, but none of them heed us

                  It’s beginning to get to me

                  Don’t do that, don’t do this

                  It’s just like being back at school

                  We took it all in, we helped them to win

                  But know we know that we’ve been fools

                  We’ve been used again, it never really ends

                  Who can you trust? But carry on we must

The last of the three, ‘I’m a Free Man,’ is the weakest, both musically and lyrically, and adds nothing to the story of Skrewdriver and RAC.

By the time ‘Gods of War’ was released, Sudden Impact had again suffered another untimely and damaging change of line-up:3939 ‘Well, it ain’t the fact that the people don’t like the band, it’s just that two of our members have left to join Brutal Attack, one of them got it, but the other one never, so now the one that never “made it” is forming his own band called Backlash, he’s gonna be the singer and now he’s nicked our guitarist and drummer, but we’ve got a full line-up ourselves now.’

In this way, the new line-up of Sudden Impact became Paul Dunbar on vocals, Flubs on bass, Mark on lead guitar and Joey from Mitcham on drums. [This line-up may have recorded ‘Rock & Roll Rebels.’] Clarkey, ex-Violent Storm, joined Backlash on bass.

Lionheart

National Socialist skinhead band Lionheart also aligned itself to Blood and Honour. They released on their own Lionheart Tapes sometime in 1988 a practice demo tape of seven songs: ‘Better Dead Than Red,’ ‘Boot Boys,’ ‘Bring Back the Rope,’ ‘Asian Invasion,’ ‘The Fire Still Burns,’ ‘A New Beginning’ and ‘Clockwork Vengeance.’ The practice tape was recorded live at Icky’s house. Jaki simply explained: ‘We didn’t have the money to go into a proper studio.’ Curiously, ‘Hail Hess,’ which the band regarded as one of their most poular numbers, was not documented in this way and remains undocumented.

On 19 August 1988, Lionheart recorded a seven-track demo called ‘Storm Troopers’ in a studio in Whitworth, just outside Rochdale. Released on their own Lionheart Tapes, the studio demo featured songs: ‘Better Dead Than Red,’ ‘Boot Boys,’ ‘Bring Back the Rope,’ ‘Asian Invasion,’ ‘The Fire Still Burns,’ ‘A New Beginning’ and ‘AIDS Victim.’ The demo was dedicated to ‘the spirit of St. George and the B.U.F.’ [British Union of Fascists]. Like the practice demo tape, Jaki did the artwork and the photocopying for this cassette release.

After receiving a copy of the demo from the band, Rebelles Européens signed up Lionheart and decided to release ‘Better Dead Than Red’ and ‘Boot Boys’ from the studio demo as a single.4040 The band fully expected the single to be out in December 1988, but had to wait for months before it finally became available.

Lionheart also printed a T-shirt with the motto ‘Better Dead Than Red,’ which also carried the divisional insignia of the 12. SS-Panzer-Division ‘Hitlerjugend’: a skeleton key running diagonally through the centre of a single runic ‘S’, though minus the crossed oak leaves.

On Friday, 28 October, Lionheart were due to play Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire with Section 5 and the Business. The author does not know if this concert went ahead. They were also due to play Hanley in Staffs on Monday, 7 November, but again the author does not know if this concert went ahead.

On Saturday, 26 November, Brutal Attack, No Remorse and Lionheart played South Clapham, London. Pictures of the concert appeared in the pages of Blood and Honour.4141 Nana and Jaki both sang for Lionheart that night. In the audience was Moonie from Tewkesbury who had started to correspond with Jon Hickson of Lionheart months before. This is his story:

             I was born in 1970 and lived in Hartlepool until the age of 12, then moved to Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. When I was young, I liked glam, Slade in particular, and then I got into 2 Tone around ’79–80. I just liked everything about it, from the music to the way the bands dressed. It seemed at the time everyone dressed like that and it was the first time I got to have a choice with what I wore, typically sta-press, Fred Perrys, Harringtons, brogues, loafers and band T-shirts. So it will come as no surprise that my first concert was when I went to see Madness at Gloucester on the 1985 ‘Mad Not Mad’ tour. They were supported by the Friday Club, another 2 Tone band. That same year I attended my first scooter rally, which was at Exmouth, and I got my first scooter the following year at the age of 16.

                  Besides 2 Tone, I also liked some punk, the Clash and Stiff Little Fingers mainly. I can remember watching Rude Boy on video and really liking ‘I Fought the Law.’ I then got more into older bands like the 4-Skins and Combat 84, but that scene was pretty much dead already. Living in a little town, I knew nothing of the newer Oi and skinhead bands or the RAC side of things as most of my mates were listening to original skinhead music. However, a friend from the scooter scene sent me a tape of Hail the New Dawn by Skrewdriver and that was it. My life would never be the same. I then managed to get Blood and Honour and Hail the New Dawn on vinyl from Elista Records, a mail order specialist in old (and some new) punk. In this way, most of my friends ended up with a copy of Hail the New Dawn and Blood and Honour on tape. Most liked it. Some remained apolitical and others embraced nationalism, like me.

                  I’d always had an interest in politics, though. I remember the Falklands War in 1982, desperately wanting the army to win, also the miners’ strike in 1984 and wanting the miners to beat Thatcher. When I first heard the RAC bands it was like everything made sense. Hardly any non-whites lived in Tewkesbury so it wasn’t about hate. Looking back it was about a sense of being hard done by for being white. Also I already knew people on the RAC scene through scootering, Richard Badger springs to mind, and I liked the sense of camaraderie of kindred spirits, as by now the skinhead scene wasn’t as big as it had once been.

                  I joined the Flag Group of the National Front, after bumping into some members of the Walsall branch in a Tewkesbury pub. Even though I lived some 40 miles away and only had a scooter for transport, I still went to meetings, but that was the extent of my political activity. My parents didn’t seem to mind my politics, as I openly had swastika flags on my bedroom wall and I never had the police round the house.

                  A large group of us then started going to London for boots, T-shirts, records etc., etc… Three or four would go to gigs. The first couple of RAC gigs we attended were cancelled, so the first time we actually got to see a band was at Clapham with Brutal Attack, No Remorse and Lionheart. I think we must have been told about it on a visit to Carnaby Street or picked up a flyer there.

No Remorse Christmas card signed...

No Remorse Christmas card signed by Paul Burnley, Rob, Mark and Gary Smith

Ken of Brutal Attack stealing the

Ken of Brutal Attack stealing the concert again with his antics, 26 November 1988 (picture taken by Moonie)

Also in the audience was Jason, who had travelled down from Rochdale with Lionheart in their minibus. Jason had only just returned from Australia to his birthplace of Rochdale that same month. Like so many others, his story starts as a teenager listening to punk and Oi. He first heard Skrewdriver on the United Skins album in 1982. 1983 was a defining year. He attended his first gig to see notorious Perth skinhead band Quick and the Dead, learnt of RAC from copies of Bulldog sent to him by this skingirl he knew from Burgess Hill and a friend brought back from England the ‘White Power’ single. The sense of white pride and National Socialism appealed to him. He responded by joining the nationalist party National Action, which was bitterly opposed to the ‘Asianization’ of Australia. His dad hated his skinhead look and his politics. And it was his choice of music and politics which eventually contributed to his decision to return to England. When he came to England in late 1988 the first people he met were Jaki and Jon Hickson of Lionheart who invited him along to the gig in London where he had a great time. He met people from all over England, Sweden and New Zealand, and came home with a No Remorse ‘Viking Youth’ T-Shirt. Yes, it was good to be back. Still politically active, he joined the British Movement and started to take his politics to the street.

1. Interview, Australian fanzine The Storm Troop, 1988.

2. Interview with Paul Burnley, fanzine Hammer of Thor no. 4.

3. Ibid.

4. Interview with Gael Bodilis, fanzine Last Chance no. 8. Bodilis was also the manager of French skinhead band Brutal Combat, who released one LP, entitled Charles Martel, on Rock-O-Rama Records.

5. Ibid.

6. A picture of Robert Mathews accompanies the lyrics to ‘Hail the Order!’ in the No Remorse songbook.

7. Review in magazine Blood and Honour no. 4.

8. Paul Burnley interview, fanzine Last Chance no. 9.

9. Interview with Paul Burnley, fanzine Last Chance no. 7.

10. DG, an acquaintance of Gary Smith, remembers that Gary Smith was excited at the prospect of seeing Above the Ruins live, presumably at the New Dawn /YNF advertised concert.

11. Review on White Noise flyer.

12. Interview with Kev Turner, fanzine Look Ahead no. 1.

13. Interview with Palazard, fanzine White Noise no. 4.

14. Advertisement, American fanzine On the Frontline no. 3.

15. Cutdown newsletter, 1989.

16. Ibid.

17. Interestingly, ‘as part of the Easter weekend alternative musical festival,’ Cutdown Promotions placed an advert in Scootering magazine for the Main Event, which also made mention of a Blood and Honour concert on Sunday, April 3.

18. Interview with Ian Stuart, fanzine Last Chance.

19. According to a review of the concert in Offensive Weapon no. 3, members of the UDA present in the audience got upset at the Upstarts’ blatant support of the IRA and started heckling the band. Eventually, this proved too much for the band who shouted abuse back. Tempers flared. Trouble started when members of the audience tried to invade the stage and were forcibly stopped by bouncers. Mensi got hit by a microphone stand and then all hell broke loose. Curiously, the concert review in Look Ahead makes no mention of trouble.

20. The Official Newsletter of No Remorse, The Winning Hand, Spring 1996.

21. Blood and Honour no. 5, 1988.

22. Fanzine Pure Impact Skins no. 7, 1988.

23. This gig is also reviewed in fanzine White Noise no. 8, February 1989.

24. The Official Newsletter of No Remorse, The Winning Hand, Spring 1996.

25. Editorial, Blood and Honour no. 6, 1988.

26. Interview with Jim of Squadron, fanzine Last Chance #1.

27. Fanzine Look Ahead no. 1, 1988.

28. Letter from Tom Tyler to Moonie, 1989.

29. The editorial, Blood and Honour no. 7.

30. The venue may have been the Square Club on Westgate Street in the city centre.

31. Interview with Ken McLellan, Blood and Honour no. 2.

32. Ibid.

33. The author wonder if this amended chorus went unnoticed by Rock-O-Rama Records, which seemed quick to ban or ask for changes to overt National Socialist/nazi lyrics and imagery.

34. Interview with Ken McLellan, fanzine The Storm Troop no. 1, 1988.

35. Ibid.

36. In an interview with White Revolution, Flubs stated that Sudden Impact were due to record ‘All for England,’ ‘Strength of a Nation’ and ‘Ready and Waiting’ for a forthcoming compilation LP (White Revolution no. 2, 1988). Obviously, ‘Strength of a Nation’ was dropped in favour of ‘British Revolution.’ ‘Strength of a Nation’ appears on their debut album.

37. Interview, magazine Blood and Honour.

38. Review of Gods of War, magazine Blood and Honour no. 7, 1988.

39. Interview with Sudden Impact, fanzine Offensive Weapon no. 1. The date of this line-up change is unclear.

40. Curiously, Jaki remembers receiving money from Rebelles Européens to pay for studio costs for the single. The author wonders if Rebelles Européens paid for Lionheart to go into a proper recording studio after receiving a copy of the practice demo tape rather the studio demo tape.

41. Blood and Honour no. 8, 1989.