Skrewdriver (original) (raw)

Skrewdriver were a punk rock band formed in Blackpool in 1977. Ian Stuart Donaldson, formerly of Rolling Stones cover band Tumbling Dice, got the band together after seeing the Sex Pistols in Manchester. Catering largely to a skinhead audience, they released a number of records on the Chiswick label including the singles "You're So Dumb" and "Antisocial" and the album All Skrewed Up. This incarnation of the band split up in 1979, however Donaldson, using new musicians, resurrected the name Skrewdriver in 1982.

Although the earlier band had a reputation for attracting violence at their gigs, they had an apolitical stance. The 'new' Skrewdriver however were openly sympathetic and supportive of extreme right wing political groups such as the National Front and Combat 18, and raised funds for these and other Neo-Nazi organizations through their White Noise record label. They also released records on Resistance records, a label that is known for its far right sympathies, and were instrumental in setting up a network for bands promoting fascist ideas called Blood & Honour.

Members of the original Skrewdriver were not impressed by the direction in which Donaldson took the band, as this interview with Roger Armstrong of Chiswick Records illustrates:

"It is a shame that the name was dragged through the gutter like that. The other three guys in the band were really pissed off too. Grinny the drummer came from solid Northern Socialist stock. When they made records for us Ian Stewart showed no signs of Fascism. The skinhead image was a - maybe in hindsight misconceived - fashion thing. It was cooked up by a bunch of us, including the band's then management and the Photographer Peter Kodik. The teeth on the back of the sleeve are Patti Paladin's of Snatch fame - NY art punk!" [1]

Donaldson died in a car accident in September 1993.

See also: Oi

Further Reading