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Tony Wakeford

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Tony Wakeford
Wakeford with Sol Invictus in 2005
Wakeford with Sol Invictus in 2005
Background information
Birth nameAnthony Charles Wakeford
Born (1959-05-02) 2 May 1959 (age 65)
Woking, Surrey, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Bass
  • guitar
  • vocals
  • keyboards
Years active1977–present
Member of
Formerly of

Anthony Charles Wakeford (born 2 May 1959) is a British neofolk musician, who primarily records under the name Sol Invictus. He is also a member of the punk rock band Crisis and a co-founder of Death in June.

Biography

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Early work

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Wakeford was the bassist for the English punk rock band Crisis. An openly left-wing and anti-fascist band,[1] Crisis performed at events organized by Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League.[1] Crisis disbanded in 1980, but Wakeford later began touring with a new line-up of the band in 2017.[1] Wakeford, Crisis guitarist Douglas Pearce and Patrick Leagas co-founded the band Death in June.[1] In early 1984, Wakeford was fired from Death in June for "bringing his 'right-wing leanings into the group'"; at the time he had been a member of the National Front (UK).[2] In 2007, Wakeford described his National Front membership as "probably the worst decision of my life".[3] Wakeford had also been a member of the Odinic Rite, a neopagan organization.[4] After being fired from Death in June, Wakeford formed the post-punk band Above the Ruins, and in October 1984, they released a nine song demo album on cassette, Songs of the Wolf, which was distributed through the London-based P.O. box BCM Grimnir, and from the National Front bookshop in Croydon.[2] The band's lyrics denounced communism, capitalism and liberalism.[2] The demo received a favorable review from Nationalism Today, the journal of the National Front.[2] The following year, Above the Ruins contributed the song "The Killing Zone" to No Surrender, a compilation of recordings by white nationalist bands,[5] and in late 1985, announced that their demo would be "soon to be available on record".[2]

Sol Invictus

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Main article: Sol Invictus (band)

In 1987, Wakeford distanced himself from right-wing views, and formed the neofolk band Sol Invictus,[6] adapting the band's name from a cult that predated Christianity.[7] The band's music combines acoustic guitar playing and "neo-classical instrumentation" with elements of industrial music.[6] Due to Wakeford's past political associations, Sol Invictus has been accused of neo-fascism.[8]

In 1990, Wakeford formed his own record label, Tursa. With distribution by World Serpent Distribution, Tursa released numerous albums by Sol Invictus, starting with Trees in Winter.[6] After World Serpent dissolved in the 2000s, Cold Spring began distributing the band's albums.[6]

Discography

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See also: Sol Invictus (band) § Discography
Year Title Format, special notes Artist
1984 Songs of the Wolf Cassette/CD Above the Ruins
1987 Imperium LP (reissued on CD, 2001) Current 93
1987 Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow 2xLP (reissued on CD, 1994) Current 93
1988 Earth Covers Earth LP (reissued on CD, 1992) (limited LP reissue, 2005) Current 93
1989 Music, Martinis and Misanthopy LP/CD Boyd Rice and Friends
1989 Cooloorta Moon 12" Nurse With Wound
1989 Crooked Crosses for the Nodding God CD Current 93
1990 Looney Runes LP, CD 1992 Current 93
1990 Horse LP (reissued on CD as Horsey with extra/reworked tracks, 1997) Current 93
1991 Creakiness 12" Nurse With Wound/Spasm
1992 Soresucker 12"/CD Nurse With Wound
1992 Revenge of the Selfish Shellfish CD Wakeford/Stapleton
1993 La Croix CD Tony Wakeford
1994 Above us the Sun CD Tony Wakeford
1994 Summer Ends 7" (live tracks later included on Paris CD) Tony Wakeford
1996 Cupid & Death CD Tony Wakeford
1996 Cantos CD L'Orchestre Noir
1998 Autumn Calls CD Wakeford/Tor Lundvall
1998 Eleven CD L'Orchestre Noir
1998 Believe Me CD Tony Wakeford
2000 Three Nine CD Howden/Wakeford
2002 Paris CD (live concert recording) Tony Wakeford
2003 Wormwood CD Howden/Wakeford
2004 The Murky Brine CD HaWthorn (Howden/Wakeford)
2005 Cups in Cupboard CD The Wardrobe (Andrew Liles & Tony Wakeford)
2005 Marseilles CD (live concert recording) Duo Noir (Matt Howden & Tony Wakeford)
2006 A Sandwich Short CD The Wardrobe (Andrew Liles & Tony Wakeford)
2007 Into The Woods CD Tony Wakeford
2008 Marble Heart CD Grey Force Wakeford (Nick Grey, Kris Force & Tony Wakeford)
2008 Ghosts CD Triple Tree (Andrew King & Tony Wakeford)
2008 The Affordable Holmes EP CD Orchestra Noir
2008 Lucifer Before Sunrise 7" The Wardrobe
2009 Not All of Me Will Die CD released by The Eastern Front label, Israel Tony Wakeford
2011 Oddities CD Tony Wakeford

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "CRISIS Interviewed 2017 -new line-up of legendary punk band back in action". Louder Than War. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Robert, Forbes; Stampton, Eddie (9 November 2015). "1985". The White Nationalist Skinhead Movement, UK & USA, 1979-1993. Feral House. pp. 161–164. ISBN 9781627310253.
  3. ^ Barry, Robert (3 October 2012). "FACT meets Boyd Rice: noise pioneer, film buff, leader of the Church of Satan". Fact magazine. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  4. ^ Backes, Uwe; Moreau, Patrick (2012). Die völkisch-religiöse Bewegung im Nationalsozialismus: Eine Beziehungs- und Konfliktgeschichte. ISBN 9783525369227.
  5. ^ Robert, Forbes; Stampton, Eddie (9 November 2015). "1985". The White Nationalist Skinhead Movement, UK & USA, 1979-1993. Feral House. pp. 159–160. ISBN 9781627310253.
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, Paul. "Sol Invictus Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  7. ^ Webb, Peter (10 June 2010). "Neofolk or Post-Industrial Music". Exploring the Networked Worlds of Popular Music. Taylor & Francis. p. 68. ISBN 9781135910792.
  8. ^ Livingstone, David (2015). "Occulture". Transhumanism: The History of a Dangerous Idea. Sabilillah Publications. p. 307. ISBN 9781515232575.
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