| Rock Against Communism | |
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| Cultural origins | Late 1970s, United Kingdom |
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Rock Against Communism (RAC) was the name ofwhite power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s;[1] it has since become the catch-all term for music with racist lyrics as well as a specific genre of rock music derived fromOi! The lyrics can focus on racism andantisemitism; however, this depends on the band.[2]
The Rock Against Communism movement originated in the United Kingdom in late 1978 withfar right activists associated with theNational Front (NF).[3] It was intended to counter theRock Against Racism organisation.[3] The first RAC concert was inLeeds, England, in 1978, featuring theNazi punk bands the Dentists and the Ventz.[citation needed] RAC held one concert in 1979 and another in spring 1983, which was headlined bySkrewdriver, awhite power rock band led byIan Stuart Donaldson. After that, RAC concerts were held more often. They were often headlined by Skrewdriver and featured other white power bands, such asSkullhead andNo Remorse. In the mid-1980s, summer concerts were often held at theSuffolk home of Edgar Griffin, aConservative Party activist[4] and father ofNick Griffin, an NF organiser who later became the national chair of theBritish National Party. By the late 1980s, the RAC name had given way to the White Noise Club (another NF-based group), and laterBlood and Honour, which was set up by Donaldson when they fell out with the NF leadership.[3] Ashardcore punk music became more popular in the 1990s and 2000s, many white power bands took on a more hardcore-influenced sound and effectively spawned its own offshoot known as "skinhead hardcore". Many fans/performers of this music are known ashardcore skinheads.[5]
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