Rock Against Communism - History

History

The Rock Against Communism movement originated in the United Kingdom in late 1978 with far right activists associated with the National Front (NF). It was intended to counter the Rock Against Racism organisation. The first RAC concert was in Leeds, England in 1978, featuring the Nazi punk bands The Dentists and the Ventz. RAC held one concert in 1979 and another in spring 1983, which was headlined by Skrewdriver, a white power skinhead band led by Ian Stuart Donaldson. After that, RAC concerts were held more often. The concerts were usually held in secret, due to opposition by groups such as Anti-Fascist Action and the Anti-Nazi League. They were often headlined by Skrewdriver and featured other white power bands, such as Skullhead and No Remorse. In the mid-1980s, summer concerts were often held at the Suffolk home of Edgar Griffin, a Conservative Party activist and father of Nick Griffin, an NF organiser who later became the national chair of the British National Party. By the late 1980s, the RAC name had given way to the White Noise Club (another NF-based group), and later Blood and Honour, which was set up by Donaldson and his friend Nicky Crane when they fell out with the NF leadership. As hardcore punk music became more popular in the 1990s and 2000s, many white power bands took on a more hardcore-influenced sound.