Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box. Between 1976 and 1982, RAR activists organised national carnivals and tours, as well as local gigs and clubs throughout the country. RAR brought together black and white fans in their common love of music, to discourage young people from embracing racism. The musicians came from all pop music genres, something reflected in one of RAR's slogans: "Reggae, soul, rock'n'roll, jazz, funk and punk". The movement was founded, in part, as a response to racist statements by rock musicians such as Eric Clapton and David Bowie.[1][2]
Carnivals Against Racism[edit]
With support for the movement growing, in 1978 RAR organised two national Carnivals in London in conjunction with the Anti-Nazi League (ANL) to counteract the rising number of racist attacks in the UK. These were held in poor but vibrant multi-racial areas. On 30 April 1978, 100,000 people marched six miles from Trafalgar Square to the East End of London (a National Front hotspot), via Cable Street for an open-air concert at Victoria Park in Hackney.[13][14][15][16] The concert featured The Clash,[15][17][18] Steel Pulse, Tom Robinson Band, X-Ray Spex, Jimmy Pursey (from Sham 69), and Patrik Fitzgerald.[19] The Southall-based reggae band Misty In Roots led the parade from the back of a lorry. For the second Carnival, on 24 September, a similar number of people marched from Hyde Park, crossing the Thames until they arrived at Brockwell Park in Brixton for a concert featuring Aswad, Elvis Costello and Stiff Little Fingers.[1]
Further Carnivals were organised by local RAR and ANL groups, often with the help of sympathetic councils and trade unions. The biggest of these, in August, attracted 40,000 to the Northern Carnival in Manchester. There, over a couple of days, Buzzcocks, Steel Pulse, The Fall, Graham Parker and the Rumour, Exodus, and China Street all performed; a week later at the Deeply Vale Festival, a Rock Against Racism day was held. There were also large Carnivals that year in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Brent.
In 1981, Leeds RAR organized the last RAR Carnival at Potternewton Park in Chapeltown. Bands who played included The Specials, Aswad, Au Pairs and Misty in Roots.
Legacy[edit]
Starting in 1979, German anti-fascists used the banner Rock gegen Rechts as the motto of concerts and festivals held irregularly against far-right politics as a form of political demonstration in Germany and Austria.
In 1988, the militant anti-fascist organisation Anti-Fascist Action formed a musical arm, Cable Street Beat (named after the Battle of Cable Street, a 1936 confrontation between fascists and anti-fascists), on similar principles to Rock Against Racism.[21] Cable Street Beat launched a magazine, Cable Street Beat Review, in early 1989.[22] Among the artists who performed for early Cable Street Beat events were Blaggers ITA, Angelic Upstarts, Attila the Stockbroker, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Forgotten Sons and Blyth Power.[23]
In 2002, some music fans, affiliated with Unite Against Fascism, concerned about a resurgence of nationalist and racist activity in the UK, organised a new group under the name of one of RAR's best-known slogans: "Love Music Hate Racism". They put on a concert at The Astoria in London featuring Mick Jones, Buzzcocks, and The Libertines.[24]
In 2019, White Riot, a documentary about the birth of Rock Against Racism featuring activists and performers from the time, premiered in competition at the BFI London Film Festival. Directed by Rubika Shah and co-written and produced by Ed Gibbs, it won the Best Documentary Prize (Grierson Award) at the festival's closing night awards. It went on to win additional prizes at the Berlin, Krakow and IndieLisboa international film festivals, prior to a general release.[25]