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Ian Stuart Donaldson

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Ian Stuart Donaldson
Ian Stuart redirects here. For the Scottish author who uses the pseudonym Ian Stuart, see Alistair MacLean; see also Ian Stewart.

Ian Stuart Donaldson (11 August 1957 – 24 September 1993), commonly known as Ian Stuart, was the vocalist and frontman of Skrewdriver, a British punk rock and neo-Nazi skinhead band.

Career

Donaldson was born in Poulton-le-Fylde. It was in Poulton, where he founded the band Skrewdriver in 1976. Skrewdriver was formed from the ashes of Tumbling Dice (a cover band who played songs by The Rolling Stones, Free and The Who). At first, Skrewdriver had a punk image, and they experimented with their look before eventually adopting a skinhead image. The band had a reputation for attracting violence at their concerts (Bob Geldof was reportedly knocked unconscious at one Skrewdriver show), but they did not openly promote any political views.[1]

Although both Skrewdriver and the band Sham 69 had skinhead followings and racist fans early in their careers, Skrewdriver failed to get the same mainstream promotion that Sham 69 did. Unlike Skrewdriver, Sham 69 denounced their racist fans, and even performed at Rock Against Racism concerts.[2][3]

After the original Skrewdriver lineup parted ways in 1979, Stuart reformed the band and began to write songs for a white power skinhead audience. The new version of Skrewdriver openly promoted far right groups such as the National Front and Combat 18, raising funds for them (and affiliated organizations) through their White Noise Records label. As a result, Skrewdriver became known for its involvement in the white nationalist political movement and its associated music genre, Rock Against Communism.

Donaldson, along with Nicky Crane, founded Blood and Honour, a neo-Nazi network that distributes white power music and organizes concerts. Stuart became leader of two other bands, White Diamond and The Klansmen, and he released several solo albums. Along with Skrewdriver guitarist Stigger, he recorded the albums Patriotic Ballads volumes 1 and 2, which included covers of traditional folk songs such as The Green Fields of France. Donaldson's voice also appeared in the song The Invisible Empire (whose title refers to the Ku Klux Klan) on the 1989 album See you in Valhalla by neo-Nazi rock band No Remorse.

Donaldson was one of the principal organisers of a white power concert near Waterloo station in London in 1992. Anti-Fascist Action organized a protest, which resulted in physical confrontations. On 10 July 1993, Stuart and Skrewdriver played their final concert in Waiblingen, Germany. The programme, Second anniversary of the Kreuzritter für Deutschland, was organized by freelance writer and nationalist author Andreas J. Voigt.[4]

Donaldson died on 24 September 1993 of injuries resulting from a car crash the night before in Derbyshire.

Discography

Ian Stuart & Rough Justice

  • Justice For The Cottbus Six (1992) (Rock-O-Rama)

Ian Stuart & Stigger

  • Patriotic Ballads (1991) (Rock-O-Rama)
  • Patriotic Ballads II - Our Time Will Come (1992) (Rock-O-Rama)

Skrewdriver

Solo Albums

  • No Turning Back (1989) (Rock-O-Rama)
  • Slay The Beast (1990) (Rock-O-Rama)
  • Patriot (1991) (Rock-O-Rama)

The Klansmen

  • Rebel with a Cause (1989) (Klan Records)
  • Rock 'n' Roll Patriots (1989) (Rock-O-Rama)
  • Fetch the Rope (1991) (Klan Records)

White Diamond

  • The Reaper (1991) (Rock-O-Rama)
  • The Power & The Glory (1992) (Glory Discs)

Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/skrewdriverinterview.htm
  2. ^ http://www.ainaskin.com/interviews/
  3. ^ Punk and the swastika
  4. ^ "The Kreuzritter für Deutschland brought Ian Stuart and Skrewdriver to Germany in 1991 including founding Skrewdriver-Services and the music project German-British-Friendship (GBF)", Antifaschistisches Infoblatt Ausgabe Nr.49 (October-November, 1999).
  5. ^ BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - 19_10_1977 Skrewdriver

Bibliography

  • Ian Stuart - His message across to you. Everlasting songs. Excalibur Services, Antwerp 1995.
  • Diamond in the Dust - The Ian Stuart Biography. Blood and Honour England, London 2002.
  • Nazi Rock Star - Ian Stuart-Skrewdriver Biography by Paul London (a.k.a. Paul Burnley of No Remorse). Midgård, Gothenburg 2002.

See also

References


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