Nicky Crane | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nicola Vincenzo Crane (1958-05-21)21 May 1958 Bexley, Kent, England |
| Died | 7 December 1993(1993-12-07) (aged 35) Paddington, London, England |
| Known for | Member of British far-right movements |
Nicola Vincenzo "Nicky" Crane (21 May 1958 – 7 December 1993) was an Englishneo-Nazi activist. Hecame out asgay before dying from anAIDS-related illness in 1993.[1][2]
Nicky Crane joined theBritish Movement (BM) in the late 1970s. By 1980, he was the BM organiser for Kent. In 1978, he attacked ablack family at a bus stop nearLiverpool Street station. For this act, he was convicted of unlawfully fighting and making an affray, and given a suspended sentence. In the 1980s, Crane appeared on several T-shirts and calendars produced by theAldgate skinhead shop The Last Resort. In 1981, he appeared on the cover of theOi! compilation albumStrength Thru Oi!, due to hisskinhead appearance, not hisracist views, with hisNazi tattoos partially airbrushed out.[3]
Garry Bushell, who chose the image, later said: "I had a Christmas card on the wall, it had that image that was on the cover ofStrength Thru Oi!, but washed out. I honestly, hand on my heart, thought it was a still fromThe Wanderers. It was only when the album came through for me to approve the artwork that I saw his tattoos. Of course, if I hadn't been impatient, I would have said, right, fucking scrap this, let's shoot something else entirely. Instead, we airbrushed the tattoos out. There were two mistakes there, both mine. Hands up."[4] The album was "hastily withdrawn" byDecca Records when Crane's identity and previous convictions were made public, and has since become very collectable.[5]
Also in 1981, Crane was convicted and jailed for four years for his role in a BM-organised attack on a group of black youths arriving on a train atWoolwich Arsenal railway station in 1980. He once led an attack on ananti-racist concert being held in Jubilee Gardens inLondon. Pictures of him storming the stage where singerHank Wangford was performing appeared in national newspapers. Although Crane was clearly identifiable, no action was taken.[citation needed]
Released from jail in 1984, Crane soon began providing security for thewhite power skinhead bandSkrewdriver, and remained associated with the band and its leader,Ian Stuart Donaldson, for the rest of the 1980s, designing two of the band's album covers and writing the lyrics for the song "Justice" on the LPHail the New Dawn. In 1986, he was jailed again for six months following a fight on anUnderground train. In 1987, he was instrumental in setting up theneo-Nazi networkBlood and Honour with Donaldson.
Crane was leading a double life as agay man, even serving as a steward at the Londongay pride march in 1986. He was a regular at Londongay clubs such asHeaven, Bolts and the Bell pub.[6] At various times, Crane had worked as abin man,bicycle courier, and a doorman at anS&M club. He worked for the protection agency Gentle Touch, and was able to shrug off any connection with the London gay scene as just part of his security work.[7] He also appeared in thePsychic TV music video forUnclean, and in amateurgay porn films while still a neo-Nazi activist.[8]
In 1992, Crane came out as gay in a segment of theChannel 4 magazine showOut titled "Skin Complex". On the programme, broadcast on 29 July 1992, Crane and several other gay people explained why they were attracted to the skinhead scene.[9] He was immediately disowned by his Nazi associates, including Ian Stuart Donaldson, who said: "I feel more betrayed by him than anybody else. It just goes to show that nationalism and homosexuality do not fit together, because nationalism is a true cause and homosexuality is a perversion."[10]
The same month, the UK newspaperThe Sun ran an article on him entitled "Nazi Nick is a Panzi", and included a picture of Crane with his face snarling at camera, head shaved bald,braces worn over his bare torso, faded jeans, white-laced boots and brandishing an axe. Crane died from an AIDS-related illness 18 months later.[11]
Crane's homosexuality is a central theme of Max Schaefer's 2010 novel,Children of the Sun, which follows James, a budding screenwriter in 2003, who becomes obsessed with the now deceased Crane.[12]