Tuesday 18 August 2009

English NS Slogans Are Legal, German Court Rules

Another article taken from German online issue of “Spiegel”, some people might be interested in.

Using Nazi symbols and slogans is a punishable crime in Germany. But now neo-Nazis may have more leeway after a federal German court ruled that slogans are not illegal if they are translated into another language.

Is a Nazi slogan still a Nazi slogan if it is uttered in English instead of German? Not necessarily -- at least according to Germany's Federal Court of Justice.
In a landmark decision Thursday, the Karlsruhe-based court ruled that using Nazi slogans translated into a language other than German would not, in general, be a punishable crime.
The ruling is linked to a case in which a neo-Nazi was prosecuted and fined €4,200 ($6,000) in 2005 for distributing clothing and merchandising bearing the slogan "Blood and Honour," written in English. With the ruling, the court overturned the verdict against the neo-Nazi, who was not named, but said it could still be possible to prosecute him under other laws relating to right-wing extremism.
Although "Blood and Honour," which is also the name of a banned far-right organization, alludes to the Hitler Youth motto "Blut und Ehre," the court ruled that translating the words represented a "fundamental change" in the slogan, meaning its use was no longer punishable under German law. The judges said that Nazi slogans were characterized not only by their actual meaning but also by the fact that they were in German.
Senior judge Jörg-Peter Becker said that the court "is aware that its decision gives neo-Nazis a degree of leeway to translate their chants and slogans." However, he added that legislation by itself is not enough to eliminate Nazi ideas from public discourse.

Friday 14 August 2009

Section 88 Interview

What is the band's line up?

The line up of the band is as follows; Vocals - Mick - Lead Guitar - Steve - Bass - JB & Drums - Matt.


When was the band formed?

The band originally formed way back in 94, with Steve being the only member of the current line up involved. The new and hopefully improved Section 88 formed back in June 2001.


Have you performed abroad since the formation of the band?

We have played one gig abroad and that was laid on by your good selves at Blood & Honour Vlaanderen. We were very impressed with the scene over there as well as the hospitality shown towards us .

What are your plans for the future?

Our plans for the future will be gigging as much as we can (If asked of course) as well as getting our songs down on CD. As long as we can get our message out through the good old sound of Oi, then we will be happy.

Where do you come from and how did you get to know eachother?

We all come from the South London/North Kent area of good old Albion. We basically met through the Blood & Honour and political scene, which highlights the way people can meet other racially aware comrades and make something positive out of it.

Why did you choose the name "Section 88"?
Section 88 was thought up by the Steve back in the early days, and the name signifies our strong National Socialist beliefs, and our utmost respect and admiration for Adolf Hitler. R.I.P…His memory will always remain in our hearts and minds!


Who has influenced your music and why?

Our music is influenced by the early eighties Oi scene, with its rawness and the way it gave the white working class a voice, to speak out against the never ending shit that we still face every fucking day. (And to all you Red Wankers out there, that includes the scourge of non white immigration) Bands such as the 4-Skins, Cock Sparrer,The Business and the Last Resort, are obvious favourites and of course the mighty Skrewdriver.

Are you planning to release a cd in the near future?


We have no Cd's out at present, but the lads at Panzerfaust have agreed to do an Album with us. We have also been asked to record two tracks for the Voice Of Britain 2 Compilation, and on top of that an English Rose/Section 88 Split CD.

What is your opinion about Blood & Honour?

We feel that Blood & Honour has gone from strength to strength and the organisation is second to none. The unity is there for all to see, and what I like is the fact that Skinheads, casuals and bikers can all get along really well. I also feel that the different types of music and actions on offer will appeal to everyone.

Can you give us a top five of your favourite songs?
As there are 4 of us, we'll give 4 different top fives

MATT) Man Enough - Another Mans Poison, Running Riot - Cock Sparrer, Red Flags - Skrewdriver, Reign I Forever - Eye Of Odin, Let The Battle Begin - Celtic Warrior

JB) White Power - Skrewdriver, So What - Anti -Nowhere League, Sweaty Betty - The Macc Lads, New Rose - The Damned, Sheena is a Punk Rocker - The Ramones

STEVE) One Law for Them - 4-Skins, Keep the Faith - Condemned 84, Poseur - Combat 84, Suburban Rebels - The Business, Danger UXB - Dead Mans Shadow.

MICK) White Power - Skrewdriver, King of the Jungle - Last Resort, House of Treason - Skrewdriver, White kids gonna fight - Bully Boys, Oceans of Warriors - Brutal Attack

Any last words?

On closing we would just like to thank all our comrades for the help and support they have gave, and if we can put something positive back towards our struggle then it will be worth it.

THE WHITE MAN WILL WIN BECAUSE HE WAS BORN TO DO SO!!!

thanks to Matt for thet interview
28 Riese

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Gig in Sweden - Vit Legion, Vinterdis, White Law

25.07.2009

The event took place on the countryside of Sweden, about 1-2 hours driving from Göteborg. Luckily we had a nice weather, no rain, no wind. So it was a perfect day for rocking! :)
As we arrived to the place with my hostess (Johanna of Vinterdis) there were already some guys, mostly from the crew who organized the gig.
Legion made a pretty good job: they found a place for the concert in a local sport club which was quite well-eqipped. One big hall for the gig, and one smaller for the merchandise. The price of the ticket also included some warm food which is quite impressing if I think of the fact that mostly everybody becomes hungry during a concert especially if the event is that long like that.
After a while people started to fill the whole place, mainly outside of the sport club as smoking was forbidden inside the building (good idea again...even if I’m a smoker I’m sick of inhale the smoke inside the building during a concert). As I remember there were quite many foreigners. Of course mostly from the surrounding countries like Norway, Germany, Denmark, England. So it was a real international NS concert :)



Vinterdis opened the night around 9pm and personally I was waiting for this band tonight. They’re playing a kind of melodic RAC music with female vocals! In some of their first songs I also found some little touches of viking metal. I’m not realy the biggest fan of this kind of music, but as I know Johanna and her talent I was realy curious to see a live performance of Vinterdis. You know it’s quite hard to reproduce the feeling of a CD on the stage, but I think Johanna and Vit Legion made a pretty good job. She handed back the same atmosphere of the CDs. It was also fun to hear some Skrewdriver songs with female vocals, and I think they made it better than Saga did.
The next band was Vit Legion. They’re standing behind Johanna, they’re responsible for the musical part of Vinterdis also.
These guys realy know how to rock: with all the catchy melodies, aggressive vocals and hard rhythms they grabbed the audiance’s attantion. It seemed to me they are quite popular in Sweden. Now I know why. I also had the chance to get to know them by the day before the gig during a house party in the forest. They are just what they seem to be, and that’s what I felt during their performance. I hope sooner or later I’ll have the opportunity to see them on stage or in a house with some bottles of pálinka :)


The main band of this night was White Law from England. I know these guys well, we played together two times previously with my band, so I got no surprise from them. And you should take this as positive comment. Their typical Oi music, their attitude gives you the feeling of ’80s (well if I would live in the ’80s I guess it would be like that). Of course the audience went crazy for the hits like Kick The Reds In, Take The Salute, Wellcome To Our World.


The well-known noose also showed up on the stage by Benny, and after the gig everybody wanted to take a photo with it and the band. During their performance they called Johanna on the stage to sing some Skrewdriver songs. They did a good job. This is unity! :)


After the concerts I think everybody left the building with the feeling of a good memory.
The organizer crew started to clean the building to leave it like they got it. It was quite impressing to see this well organized event where everything was fixed, everybody had fun and returned home with a nice memory of a concert. I’ve visited many concerts around Europe, smaller and bigger, and to tell the truth this Swedish party was one of the best organized one, where the whole crew knew their job, they did exactly what they planed, solved all the problems (if there were any) and felt responsible for the audience also. Everybody could learn from them how to make a gig like that. Thank you for this expreience!
Hail Legion! Hail Sweden!

Zozó

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Rudolf Hess Memorial march in Hungary

It seems to be that Hungary will be the the top destinantion for NS events in 2009. This time the capital Budapest will be a host of Rudolf Hess Memorial march. This event is banned in Germany for years, last allowed march was in 2004 in Wunsidel and I was proud to attend back then.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF NS-FRONT HUNGARYRUDOLF HESS – HIS MEMORY IS OVER THE LAWS!

This quote is from today's news:»The prime minister asked from all law enforcement agencies (police, prosecutor's department, court) to use the highest legal instruments to ban neonazis and neofascists »walking around« in Hungary.«

After the 10th rejected submission and 4th judgement, the organizers of the memorial could just smile to these words. Law enforcement agencies already did all this, without Prime minister having to ask for it, and they have the most unbelivabale and stupid reasons for not giving us the permission for memorial march and commemoration. Bullshit about the obstruction of traffic, about the square meters, obstruction of some building operations which are hundreds of meters away and so on, so obvious lies. These are all of the legal instruments so far, what police could show. And since we’re organizing our demonstrations on a lawfull way, following the strict instructions of the police and state years ago, what’s happening now is trampling our rights straight into the mud. We already didn’t want to use main squares or roads to have our march, but parks and pedestrian paths, to not disturb the traffic, but now we are even baned from the hills and forests!Our final submission is already on the court. This submisson is made on a maximum lawfull way again, so if they won’t care about the laws and we can’t get the permission again, it could be a message to all of the citizens of Hungary, that there is no legal security in Hungary today. But then we could tell it out for sure, with printed documents in our hands, that the political powers of Hungary don't care about the laws.It would be silly to think, that only a few hundreds national socialists got cheated now. No! THEY are making a joke from the Hungarian Constitution, from rights of gathering and from our right of justice.This demonstration is already more than a conmemoration about Spandau’s hero, it's the war of light against darkness in the labyrinth of law.The judgement of the court is coming on 13th of August 2009.

NS-FRONT Hungary – 10-08-2009.

Monday 10 August 2009

Skrewdriver members

I dig out from the dust for you this historical article about Skrewdriver members during the years. It was originally published in a “Skrewdriver tribute page” created by "Jasa Ainaskin" which sadly is down for ages. If Ian was alive he should be celebrating his 52 Birthday TODAY!!!

John 'Grinny' Grinton - Drummer 1977-1978



John 'Grinny' Grinton Worked in recent years as a Postman in the Poulton area. Sadly Grinny passed away on 29th June 2005. He had fought a short battle with cancer which had only been diagnosed 5 weeks before his death. He leaves two daughters and will be missed by friends and family alike.Eventually Grinny left Skrewdriver and joined The Nipple erectors, who became better known as The Nipps. They were signed to Soul Records, a label that had employed various ex-Chiswick staff.Fronted by Shane McGowan, (who later saw fame with The Pogues) The Nipps played some fairly big gigs supporting the likes of The Jam and went on to release a couple of singles.Grinny later stated, in an interview, that he had no problem with the new Skrewdriver, and he was a member of the far-right National Front together with Ian Stuart.


Phil Welsmley Guitar 1977-1978




Phil Welsmley about Ian : “Our music did not have any serious political content, I don’t recall Don (Ian's nickanme) being politically active at the time, other than the normal sexual/racist prejudices that prevailed. There was however, always an aggressive undercurrent with Don, ever since school. He was a volatile character, always prone to explosions of violence at the least provocation, especially after a drink.
He was great fun to be with most of the time, very generous, he would always buy you a pint if you were skint, always back you up if you got in a sticky corner. A great pal when your face fitted. Above all, he sought notoriety and attention, which he finally achieved.”By day Phil runs his own engineering consultancy business in the north of England. By night he plays R'n'B.



Kev Mckay Bass 1977-1980



After Skrewdriver disintegrated Kev ran a glass blowing business in Blackpool making souvenirs for the tourist trade. Followed brother Sean to Canada in 1999.








Ron Hartley Guitar 1977


Ater Phil left the band Ian swiftly recruited Poulton Skinhead by the name of Ron Hartley. Ron was a good guitarist and Ian even more pleased that he looked the part.
With an unhealthy appetite for alcohol and a lack of personal hygiene that had earned him the unwelcome nickname of 'Dirty Doug'. Ronnie was beginning to show his true colours. There was no doubting his ability as a guitarist. Under the influence of booze he had become a liability, making a hash of it on his debut with the band while headling at the Roxy.
Violence at this concert was fierce, chairs and tables were broken up and used as weapons and the fighting spilled out into the streets of Central London. The lads knew that it could only spell a doom for them.
With the storm of the Vortex still hovering over them, Ted Carroll (Chiswhick Record Company Boss) suggested that they "roll on back to Blackpool to let it all blow oever". It's exactly what the lads did and Ian seized the opportunity to ditch Ronnie. He told Ronnie that the band would split up and in the meantime started to search for a new guitarist.



Mark Radcliffe Drums 1978-1979

Skrewdrivers' line-up was going through regualr changes. Ian pulled in Bolton drummer Mark Radcliffe who joined phil on Bass, and Ronnie back in on guitar. Mark had known Phil from College and was keen to get into the music scene having had little success with his ormer band 'Ridiculous and Jones' that also featured Phil on guitar.Mark Radcliffe later on surfaced in the Shirehorses and then on to broadcasting fame with his own show on BBC Radio One. Recalling his with Skrewdriver in his book 'Showbusiness' he remembers Ian as 'charm personified' before dissassociating himself with the band's future political leanings.The sun newspaper (in 1997) ran a small article with the same headline as above and it read..."Radio One Breakfast DJ Mark Radcliffe reveals he once drummed for Neo Nazi Rockers Skrewdriver - before they became fascists.He says "I hope this wouldn't resurface because there will be people who won't believe the explanation. We were just schoolboys and we got a few gigs in the Punk era and a record deal".Mark adds "There was no fascist or National Front element. It all broke up and I went back to college. Then the guy, singer, got more into the fascist thing and recrutied a whole new line up - but kept the name which is unfrotunate".


Adam Doulgas - Guitar 1984-1985

Sunday June tenth Ningeteen eighty-four was a day that would forever be remembered in the halls of Skinhead legend. The rivalry between Skrewdriver and self proclaimed "kings of the left" the Redskins had been boiling over for some time. Previously known as No Swastikas, the Redskins had now taken to dressing up as Skinheads and making all kinds of provocative remarks in the music press.Talk of trashing a Redskins gig had been going around the various Skinhead hang-outs for a while, but when it was announced that the British Movement were going to attack an open air festival where the Redskins were playing, many stood up and took note.On the day the BM Skins ked by 'Mick Mac' Mc Andrews, a Movement activist and Skinhead DJ, met up with the Combat 84 crew and wreaked havoc upon the Redskins stage, and all who dared to challenge them.With 4000 watching, approximately 75 Skinheads attacked the band with bottles, boots and fists, putting two in hospital. The skinhead battle cry of Sieg Heil rang out around Jubilee Gardens. They then turned on the crowd, who panicked and ran trampling over each other to get away from the fracas.
One London paper ran the story of the smashing of the Redskins and featured a picture of Skrewdriver guitarist Adam Douglas wrecking the stage props.After leaving Skrewdriver Adam joined in the French Foreign Legion, where he stayed for many years, acquiring the position of a top-ranking Officer.




Paul Swain -Guitar 1984-1987



After Adam Douglas and Murray Holmes leaving the band, a former Four Skins guitarist Paul Swain was drafted in to help boost the live sound (he played guitars on the last 4 Skins studio album "A fistful of 4 Skins").On Skrewdriver he played the guitars on Blood & Honour album. In recent years there was a rumour that he had died in Football related riots...but as we know pretty well how much rumours tend to carry more weight than facts...Nowadays he has been active for a number of years in the biker world in UK. I recently approached his friend to ask for a little interview from Paul about his times in the 4 Skins and Skrewdriver, reply was:"I'm afraid Paul isn't interested in doing anything. Hewrote a bit for someone else and they changed what hesaid and caused a fair bit of trouble. Like myself, hehas suffered alot of backstabbing by so-called fellowright wingers, and has no interest in being apart oftodays scene. he still remembers fondly the days ofthe 4-skins and skrewdriver, but has no wish to beinvolved in any projects. Sorry and he wishes you wellin your project."

Steve Roda Bass 1985-1986



By March, 1985, when Skrewdriver entered the studio to record their two tracks for the No Surrender l.p., Steve Roda, an Italian from Bologna, had joined the group as a second guitarist. Besides giving the group more scope musically, the addition of Steve made the band more international in composition than ever before. Skrewdriver now comprised two Australians, two Englishmen and an Italian!The new five-piece Skrewdriver recorded Tearing Down The Wall and Don't Let Them Pull You Down.





Scotty - Drums 1984-1987



Running the rehearsal studio in East London for Skrewdriver in 1982 was Scotty. Scotty had been involved in the music scene for some time and had played for various bands in London. When he first took the booking for Skrewdriver he was a little apprehensive. Scotty and his partner has put some money together and bought some gear, it was generally inferior quality, but then when they got the booking from Skrewdriver at fifteen pounds a go, it helped them get off the ground.It was the first session they had booked.His involvement began as a purely financial venture, but as time went on he grew a liking for Ian Stuart, drawn in by what he saw as a charismatic and a very happening kind of person.In 1984 band went through a line-up change and Ian filled the last vacancy to Scotty to pick up the sticks. Scotty probably knew that if he didn't help out with the drumming, then they probably wouldn't use his studio.After playing with Sudden Impact in Carshalton, Surrey, Scotty decided to pack it all in. He'd been thinking about it for a while and after the gig he finally told Ian his decision. He was particulary unhappy at the way people were all too often taking advantage of Ian.At the end of the gig Scotty became involved in a row with the organiser. She was saying 'here's thirty quid each' at which Scotty's response was 'you've got to be joking.' She really took offense to it. No-one else was saying anything to her.Again Ian saw the money as secondary, many others could see that he was rich pickings for a nice few quids.



John Burnley Drums 1987-1991

Brother of Paul Burnley, John joined the band in 1987. And played drums on several recordings, like the Klansmen albums, After the fire, Warlord, Strong Survive & Freedom what freedom.After the 'Cottbus six' incident Ian managed to persuade Smiley John and Stigger to remain in the group, but for Drummer John it was too much and he quit. He had been with the band over four years and decided enough was enough.John was also a leading figure in a London based Racist scooter club titled 'Gods Of War'.Ian would have to find someone else to back him on his trips to The Fatherland. For the short term Störkraft and Noie Werte were happy to help out.




Martin Cross -Guitar 1987-1988



Martin Cross joined Skrewdriver in early 1987 (he also played in Brutal Attack for number of years as well as on Razors Edge and on various other projects). Played guitars on After The Fire album. Cross was sentenced to two years imprisonment in 1992 after hitting his neighbour with an axe. After Ian's death Sargent brothers were running B&H magazine and Martin Cross was named as editor (which he wasn't though).I met with Cross various times in UK when I was filming concerts there, got him also to do introudction speech to Kriegsberichter vol.2 . Last time I saw him was 4 months before he commit the murder.After some internal feuds Martin Cross together with his close friend CharLIE Sargent had lured Christopher ‘Catford Chris’ Castle, aged 28, to a mobile home in Harlow, Essex, on 10 February 1997. There, Castle was ambushed and stabbed in the back by Martin Cross.The knife went in nine inches with such force that the wound was deeper than the blade's length with the hilt of the knife being buried inside Chris's back.Cross and Sargent were sentenced for life.


Jon "Smiley / Icky" Hickson -Bass 1990-1993




With Ross gone, Ian would have to reorganize the group. The new opening were filled by Lionheart bassist "Smiley Jon".





"Mushy" - Drums-1991 - 1993


The last Skrewdriver drummer, nicknamed "Mushy" used to play drums for a punk band Resistance 77 before joining Skrewdriver. After Skrewdriver he teamed up with Stigger and drummed for Warlord.


Steve "Stigger" Calladine -Guitar 1990 - 1993


Stigger was introduced to Ian Stuart by Stiggers sister Diane to whom Ian was engaged to. After Skrewdriver Stigger formed his own group titled Warlord and has been playing activly ever since, and was also involved in tons of projects.

Wednesday 5 August 2009

Chilean scene report

The Chilean skinhead scene, begin on the early 90s,in the capital city Santiago de Chile and the city of Valparaiso, where the band “Rockandoi” played and give to us the first step of a serious movement. The scene was strong in the district of Maipu (a working class neighbourhood) which was a birthplace of two new bands - Paliza 88 and Legion Thor - one of the most radical South American bands in the skinhead movement.



Chilean skinheads are divided in two big sections: nationalist with NS tendencies and the most hardcore - the group of white racialist skinheads. This division give to the nationalist parties an oportunity to make his sections bigger. Parties like “National Order Front” and “National Socialist Action”.



In the beginning of 2006, came the end of the inner fights in the movement and the beginning of the real union between Chilean skinheads. New breeds of people join us and soon after a new band called Marcha Violenta appeared. The band belongs to Blood and Honour Chile. Thanks to all the efforts of people with a lot to loose and not too much to win and that makes the Chilean scene bigger than ever.
With the bands and the new organization the scene takes a new face, more strong and more powerfull with gigs every 3 months. In the future our idea is to invite more bands from abroad.


Thanks for the reading, and thanks for support

88!!!

Scene news

KILL BABY KILL are working on 5 tracks for a split with The Gits from Poland, 2 for a 7" on Nadsat Records, 1 track for a 7" to be released by the Bewärungshelfer fanzine and also on 11 tracks for a new album due out later this year. The band also new shirts and hooded sweaters available from skinheadrockband@hotmail.com.

Volksfront official support chapter Croatia in cooperation with local B&H division are organizing summer gathering on 22 August. Ballad singers from Austria and Spain will perform as well as political speakers from VF Spain and representatives of local organizations. Contact at: croatia_28@yahoo.com and volksfront_osc_croatia@yahoo.com

French (Brittany) band BRETONISCHE WAFFENVERBAND were formed in October 2008, originally only covering songs of the old French band Totenkopf. But they soon started working on originals, with lyrics about Europe, Brittany and the problems in today's society. So far they only played 1 show, near Limoges with Cellule 23 and Haïs & Fier. The band hasn't played live since as they wanted to concentrate on improving their sound. They soon will record some songs for a tribute compilation and a split with the Bordel Boys.

Our Magyar comrades from FEHER TORVENY are in studio recording their new cd which will be entitled “Szemben a világgal” – “Against the World” is the English translation. The album will contain 13 songs in extreme hate core style. The band will do their very best to finish the cd right on time for “Sons of Europe” Fest on 29th August. The cd will be produced by BHS Service label.

Saturday 1 August 2009

Skinhead magazine (in English) # 4


The 4th issue of this great “old school” magazine. It’s originally a Spanish zine, but since 2009 the editor started an English version. You can expect a review as far as I get a copy of it in my hands!!! For anyone interested in subscription write to: ritmo_rapado@hotmail.com or Pure Impact crew.