Rock Against Communism

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Rock Against Communism
Stylistic origins:	Punk rock, Oi!, Streetpunk, Southern Rock, Heavy metal, Hardcore
Cultural origins:	Late 1970s United Kingdom
Typical instruments:	Guitar - Bass - Drums - Vocals
Mainstream popularity:	Largely underground
Fusion genres
Hatecore
Other topics
Blood and Honour - Nazi punk - Nazi skinhead - White power

RAC logo with a skull superimposed over a hammer and sickle.

Rock Against Communism (RAC) refers to a series of white power concerts in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, and by extension to the style of music they showcased.

In its more current usage, RAC refers to all white power music, typically with nationalistic, neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic themes. Despite its name, RAC music rarely focuses on communism. Musically, RAC is mostly comprised of Oi!, punk rock, heavy metal, southern rock and rock and roll.

1 History
2 Notable RAC bands
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

The Rock Against Communism (RAC) movement was started in the United Kingdom in late 1978 by far right activists associated with the National Front (NF). It was intended to counter the influence of — and was clearly named after — the successful Rock Against Racism organisation. The first RAC concert was in Leeds, England in 1978, featuring the Nazi punk bands The Dentists and The Ventz.[1] RAC held one concert in 1979 and another in spring 1983, which was headlined by racist skinhead band Skrewdriver. After that, RAC concerts were held more often.RAC concerts were usually held in secret, due to direct action 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 Brutal Attack, Skullhead, Squadron, Sudden Impact, Ovaltinees, Lionheart, No Remorse, Violent Storm and Battlezone.

In the mid-1980s, summer concerts were often held at the Suffolk home of Edgar Griffin, father of Nick Griffin, a National Front 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 Skrewdriver frontman Ian Stuart Donaldson and his friend Nicky Crane when they fell out with the NF leadershipt.

As hardcore punk music became more popular in the 1990s and 2000s, many white power bands took on a more hardcore-influenced sound. Bands leading this hate-core trend have included Angry Aryans, Blue Eyed Devils and H8Machine. Also popular among white racialists is national socialist black metal (NSBM) which is a racist form of black metal. The lyrics often focus on Norse mythology and a desire to return to a romanticized pre-Christian Europe. Bands in this genre include Graveland and Nokturnal Mortum. Also, white racist hip hop acts such as Aryan Duo are beginning to spring up in Europe.[2]

[edit] Notable RAC bands

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Punk rock
2 Tone - Anarcho-punk - Anti-folk - Art punk - Celtic punk - Christian punk - Cowpunk - Crust punk - Dance-punk - Deathcountry - Death pop - Deathrock - Electro rock - Emo - Folk punk - Gaelic punk - Garage punk - Glam punk - Gothabilly - Hardcore punk - Post-hardcore - Horror punk - Jazz punk - Mod revival - Nazi punk - New Wave - No Wave - Noise rock - Oi! - Pop punk - Post-punk - Psychobilly - Punk blues - Punk Pathetique - Queercore - Reggae rock - Riot Grrrl - Scum punk - Ska punk - Skate punk - Streetpunk - Synthpunk - Taqwacore
Other topics
Protopunk - DIY ethic - First wave punk musicians - Second wave punk musicians - Punk subculture - Punk movies - Punk fashion - Punk ideology - Punk visual art - Punk dance - Punk literature - Punk zine - Rock Against Communism - Straight edge