“Working class punk” : Strike a pose / There’s nothing to it

‘Victim of white supremacist abuse returns to join protest chorus’
Marika Dobbin
Melbourne Times
October 18, 2006

A LOCAL woman who was intimidated and racially abused by a group of men last month will attend a protest against neo-Nazism outside a Fitzroy pub

Blondien (not her real name) says she was walking alone to her car on Johnston Street the same night [as the Blood & Honour ISD Memorial Gig, September 23, 2006] when she was surrounded by about seven men. She says the men screamed abuse at her, calling her a black c..t and forcing her to repeat the insults.

“It’s disgusting that people would single out one person and you have to say stuff about your race to get out of it,” Blondien said…

Hotel co-owner Gary (who wouldn’t give his surname) said: “I’m not getting involved in someone else’s bullshit.”

Speaking of bullshit, on Friday March 2nd, The Blurters, Charter 77, PBG and Slick 46 are having a gig at The Birmingham; effectively scabbing on a boycott of the pub that was called for following its hosting of a neo-Nazi gig last year, and which resulted in the abuse outlined above. In doing so, the bands are joining the likes of The Assailants, Bulldog Spirit, Distorted Truth, Marching Orders (see below), Standard Union (Adelaide) and The Worst, all of whom have played gigs at The Birmy in the intervening period.

In practice then, and all posing aside, for some, being a ‘working class punk’ means acting like a racist Tory, and joining others — in this case boneheads — in shitting on other workers. In comparison to the violent antics of B&H in other countries, however, ‘Blondien’ may be considered somewhat fortunate. In Belgium last May, for example, a member of the Belgian branch of B&H shot two people to death in cold blood: a white baby and her black nanny. Members of his organisation were also busted by Belgian police ‘…in a Belgian neo-Nazi terror plot’ (AFP/Reuters, International Herald Tribune, September 8, 2006).

The continued support for The Birmy by some local punks is warmly received by local boneheads:

    “Must be really pissing you off knowing what ever you do & say, you can’t harm The Birmy.” — Matt (The Anonymous Twat), November 13, 2006

    “It’s amazing how these cowardly dirtbags can even stand up without a spine. Gutless fags. The gig was brilliant: great bands, great people and a good time was had by all. UP YOURS FAG ANTI-RACIST VERMIN! GOD FORGIVES, HAMMERS DON’T!” — Hammerskin38 (Southern Cross Hammerskins)

But on the other hand, most are both a little more intelligent — and a little more respectful — of their roots and traditions:

    “To be a Skinhead, you must love your Doc Martens. You must love ska music. You must have the right attitude, the right attitude from the heart and the brain. You must like football. You must like to dance harder than anybody else, of any subculture. And most of all, you need to be anti-racist.” — Buster Bloodvessel
    Above : Blood & Honour gets the thumbs-up from David Innes

Introducing The Chunder From Downunder

    http://loudcity . com/station/697/listen.aspx

Rock Against Communism (RAC) is another term for White Power muzak. It derived its name from the English organisation — a/k/a the White Noise Club — which preceeded the establishment in 1987 of Blood & Honour by Ian Stuart Donaldson (1957–1993). On Stormfront Radio Down Under — proudly hosted by LoudCity — RAC is a segment with David Innes (‘Baron Von Hund’), ‘Aussie Knight’, Innes’ partner — and SFDU moderator — Lilith Peterson, and Paul Innes (David’s brother, a/k/a ‘Steelcap Boot’) .

    NB. The Chunder from Down Under explicitly violates LoudCity’s TOS:

    5. Content Guideline: User agrees not to post, upload or transmit to the servers of LoudCity or to any third party server used for User’s webcasting any sound recordings, communications, text, graphics or other information (collectively, “Material”) that:

    * is fraudulent, relates to hate-groups or other racist activities…

    But, as is not unusual with TOS (see DreamHost and Redwatch), ISP’s tend to ignore them unless subject to popular pressure, and by gaining an awareness of the business (and legal) implications of providing a platform for racists and fascists to promulgate their filth.

    LoudCity may be contacted here and via their email: sales[at]loudcity[dot]net.

The Chunder from Down Under not only features music from Battlecry, Blood Red Eagle, Bound for Glory, Fortress, Max Resist, No Remorse, Saga, Skrewdriver “and many more!”, it also features the musings of a bonehead from Blood & Honour Australia called Aussie Knight, who helps explain attempts by he and other neo-Nazis to destroy skinhead culture. The soundtrack to such attempts to drag the name of Skinhead through the mud is provided by bands such as (the English neo-Nazi band) No Remorse, which has songs with titles such as ‘Zigger! Zigger! Shoot those Fucking Niggers’, ‘Belsen was a Gas, Exterminate Ya!’ and ‘Zyklon B’ (from the album Barbecue in Rostock). Australian bands follow the trend. For example:

    Reject an alien government, don’t recognise their laws
    It’s time to close the floodgates, it’s time to shut the door
    Repatriate, ship ’em out, send the bastards back
    If they don’t fucking like it, it’ll be in body bags

    Get out!

    — Fortress, ‘Parasites’

Doug Smith (above right), vocalist with Bulldog Spirit, also now plays guitar in Marching Orders. Bulldog Spirit’s drummer, Joel, is a well-known local Melbourne ‘skinhead’ (who also allegedly moonlights as the drummer for Bail Up! — one of the bands that played last year’s ISD Memorial at The Birmy).

The last word goes to Roddy:

SHARP [Skin Heads Against Racial Prejudice], and more importantly the SHARP attitude, has had a massive influence on Skinhead culture. Remember how it used to be back in the eighties when the Boneheads nearly strangled the cult. Remember how kids thought to be a Skinhead you had to be a Nazi. If it wasn’t for SHARP and other groups like AFA, ARA, RASH and all the rest we would be swimming in a sea of swastikas by now. Don’t listen to all the shit about splits and politics, the Boneheads go on about it because they know how we drove them underground and reclaimed Skinhead culture for true Skinheads. The non-politicals go on about it because it’s easier than taking on the scum. I’ve been a Skinhead since 1969 and I know what it’s meant since day one.” — Roddy Moreno, The Oppressed

Real SkinheadStage Bottles

Oi! You stupid bastards just wake up
And think about
Where your culture comes from
Oi! It’s not just having fights
Dancing and drinking
Dressing up and owning many records

Oi! It’s fighting back
So you should feel
Like a suburban rebel
Oi! Social difference is the reason
Employees are still exploited

Real Skinhead

Oi! Fred Perry was a Jew and Levi, too
Black music
The movement source
Oi! Is kicking out the stupid racists
So let the kids be united
Oi! Don’t influence the younger ones
By telling much
Without saying anything
Oi! Skinhead’s not a stupid culture
Your’re not allowed
To switch your brain off

Real Skinhead

Oi! You’re singing songs about a teenage warning
About not showing the white flag
Oi! Don’t talk about a way of life
Though for you
There’s no deeper meaning
Oi! Is feeling pride
But just posing
Is no reason to be proud
Oi! So skinhead is a different thing
Your infiltration will be stopped

Real Skinhead
Oi!

OR:

VogueMadonna

Strike a pose
Strike a pose
Pose, pose, pose
Pose, pose, pose…

About @ndy

I live in Melbourne, Australia. I like anarchy. I don't like nazis. I enjoy eating pizza and drinking beer. I barrack for the greatest football team on Earth: Collingwood Magpies. The 2024 premiership's a cakewalk for the good old Collingwood.
This entry was posted in Anti-fascism, Collingwood, Music. Bookmark the permalink.

15 Responses to “Working class punk” : Strike a pose / There’s nothing to it

  1. Doug says:

    Hi @ndy,

    Someone told me that you were talking about me on your blog again.

    I would just like to make some corrections in case people get led astray by your disinformation.

    I don’t ‘manage’ Marching Orders, I just play guitar.

    Joel doesn’t drum in Marching Orders, he drums in Bulldog Spirit.

    Joel does not “moonlight” in Bail Up.

    I think by continually mentioning me in the context of Blood and Honour and Hammerskin activity in your blogs that you are trying to infer to your readers that I am affiliated with these movements. I am not.

    As previously stated on your blog, I am not a part of any movement and I don’t subscribe to any political theory be it left or right.

    It appears that you have chosen that photo of me to put up in your blog because I am with a friend who is wearing a t-shirt depicting the Skrewdriver Boots and Braces album cover in an attempt to catch me out in some kind of secret racist activity.

    I’m sure you are well aware of the differences between the original non political line up of Skrewdriver which released the first two albums and 7″es, including Boots and Braces and the later incarnation of Skrewdriver. If you or your readers aren’t familiar with that history, then here is a cut and paste from Wikipedia for you. I’m sure there is much more out there on the information superhighway.

    Ian Stuart Donaldson, formerly of the Rolling Stones cover band Tumbling Dice, formed Skrewdriver after seeing the Sex Pistols in Manchester. Skrewdriver at first had a punk appearance, but they changed their image into to a skinhead look. They also temporarily had a rocker/biker look, around time they released the E.P. Built Up Knocked Down. Donaldson had moved to Manchester in 1978, where he recruited guitarist Glenn Jones and drummer Martin Smith. (…) This version of the band split up in January 1979 after a gig in Warrington, but Donaldson resurrected the name Skrewdriver in 1982 using new musicians (…)

    Although the original band had a reputation for attracting violence at their gigs (…), they did not openly support any political party. The reformed Skrewdriver eventually became openly supportive of extreme right wing groups (…)

    Seeing as you like to use bands lyrics to paraphrase your opinion, please let me finish my [comment] with lyrics from one of my favourite bands Cocksparrer:

    “Everybody’s talking about revolution
    Everybody’s talking about smash the state
    Sounds to me like the final solution
    Right wing, left wing, full of hate

    We don’t wanna fight
    Because you tell us to
    So watch your back when you attack us
    ‘Coz we might just turn on you

    Things get worse with every hour
    The future fades into the past
    All they want is total power
    Climbing on the backs of the working class

    We don’t wanna be part of no new religion
    We don’t need a boot and a switchblade knife
    We don’t wanna be part of a political dream
    We just wanna get on living our lives”

    Or even better, Bulldog Spirit lyrics:

    “You try to silence others with your gossip, slander and lies
    Enforcing your oppression on other peoples minds
    Say you’re anti censorship, but you crush freedom of speech
    And when you point the finger, it’s bullshit that you preach

    Left wing, right wing, I aint no angel
    I’m just an ordinary man
    I’m not the best, but I’m not the worst
    I’m just doing the best that I can

    Enforcing condemnation based on rumour and half truth
    Create a climate of fear people too scared to express views
    McCarthyistic witchhunts, you’re guilty by suspicion
    Trial by accusation, 21st century inquisition

    Left wing, right wing, I aint no angel
    I’m just an ordinary man
    I’m not the best, but I’m not the worst
    I’m just doing the best that I can

    Every day I try and make my way
    Through the highlights and pitfalls of life
    Getting judged and damned, built up and slammed
    Living on the edge of a knife

    Before you try and slander me or one of my bands in a public forum next time, or if you have some kind of an issue with me as a person which is resulting in this behaviour, please contact me at [email protected] so we can sort things out in advance so these mistakes don’t happen again.

    I mean I’m all for freedom of speech, but this kind of defamation is out of hand.

  2. @ndy says:

    Hi Doug,

    OK — you play guitar in, not manage, Marching Orders; Joel plays drums in Bulldog Spirit, not Marching Orders: my mistake, and I’ll correct the post. With regards Joel (once) playing drums in Bail Up!: that’s what I was told. Then again, maybe it was Blood Red Eagle? I’ll speak to those responsible, and see what they have to say.

    Why that photo? Well, obviously there’s a parallel b/w Innes giving B&H the thumbs-up and you doing the same with a bloke in a Skrewdriver tee. (And yeah, I’m aware of the band’s history and eventual degeneration into boneheadedness.) Further, the context — which you pointedly ignore, as you do the whole thrust of my post — concerns The Birmy, its hosting an Ian Stuart Donaldson memorial gig, and the fact that your band/s (Bulldog Spirit and Marching Orders) continue to support the venue by playing there. (Oh, and speaking of the ISD gig, next time you bump into Fiona Deadset, ask her what she thought.)

    So… I see no defamation, just an attempt to put some qs. to you and the other bands who have played / are playing / will play @ The Birmy.

    Example: do you agree with Gary that the assault upon a woman on the night of the gig is simply “someone’s else’s bullshit”? Why do you not want to boycott a pub that serves as a platform for neo-Nazism? Again: the point is not you, but The Birmy; you’re one of a number of locals who’ve chosen to support it, and not the boycott.

    (More later.)

  3. @ndy says:

    Shit.

    More and later. 2 1/2 months later.

    Doug,

    All your ducking and weaving just makes you sound like a politician. You’re obviously unable and/or unwilling to answer some fairly straightforward questions (but your in/actions speak much louder than your words in any case).

    Nevertheless, on Joel:

    “Joel does not ”moonlight” in Bail Up!.”

    That’s odd. I guess that Damien Ovchynik must be a liar:

    “Bail Up! formed in 2000, I think it was, out of a small scene in Canberra. Sid from Fortress was living up there with us for a bit and was a big part in getting the ball rolling. Myself and Rodney were [basically] the band for a long time, writing all the material and using lads here and there for recordings and gigs. A big cheers to Shannon and Joel from Ravenous!”

    I take it that you also deny that Joel, the drummer in your band (Bulldog Spirit), played drums for the other neo-Nazi bands Death’s Head and Ravenous? And that in its original line-up Marching Orders included Mick on guitar, who also played in Bail Up!?

    “You were my sun
    You were my earth
    But you didn’t know all the ways I loved you, no
    So you took a chance
    And made other plans
    But I bet you didn’t think that they would come crashing down, no

    You don’t have to say, what you did
    I already know, I found out from him
    Now there’s just no chance, for you and me, there’ll never be
    And don’t it make you sad about it

    You told me you loved me
    Why did you leave me, all alone
    Now you tell me you need me
    When you call me, on the phone
    Doug I refuse, you must have me confused
    With some other guy
    Your bridges were burned, and now it’s your turn
    To cry, cry me a river
    Cry me a river-er
    Cry me a river
    Cry me a river-er, yeah yeah…”

  4. @ndy says:

    PS.

    Full Control – THE CLASS ASSASSINS

    “What’s that sound in the underground
    I think someone’s tempting fate
    We gotta go show that years ago
    What we said is still relevant to this day
    Well in the past they said it wouldn’t last
    And somehow we still don’t belong
    Look at the state of this fucking place
    Can you tell me that we were wrong

    We’re coming back and we’re on full attack
    And we’re in full control
    Winner takes all

    The punks were right, they shed the light
    How the government would screw us all
    And the skinheads that bled on police lines
    When the unions began to fall
    Well a simple twist of fate, hate came into play
    And they ripped it all apart
    There comes a time when everything
    Comes around again to the start”

  5. Doug says:

    Oh @ndy you re still going. This is getting tedious. No Joel does not “moonlight” in any other bands. He has previously played in other bands but does no longer.

    I can t really speak too much about the Marching Orders stuff because it was before my time, but my understanding is that a former member went on to become political or something.

    And no, I will not be joining your self proclaimed boycott of the Birmingham Hotel.

    I ve already wasted too much time pandering to accusations on your blog. I am a real life person @ndy, and we live in the same town. I ve given you my contact details and am happy to talk to you about your concerns, yet you continue to snipe and quote lyrics at me from behind a computer on your blog. Because of this I can t see the point in entering into any further discussion. I m sure you ll have more to say, but I m afraid this is where it ends for me.

  6. @ndy says:

    G’day Doug,

    Gee whiz.

    That’s what I call a long time between drinks: your last comment was made almost five months ago. As for my still going… um, yeah; tho’ it’s been about two-and-a-half months since I had anything to add to this particular thread.

    Q. Are you sure your Internet connection is working properly?

    As for tedium, yeah, I agree; wading through other people’s lies and half-truths is indeed tedious, especially when it’s accompanied by lashings of stoopid. For example:

    ===

    “No Joel does not “moonlight” in any other bands. He has previously played in other bands but does no longer.”

    ===

    Um… for the life of me, I’ve no idea what prompted you to break your silence, only to inform the few hundred people who read this thing every week of the fact that Joel “previously played in other bands but does no longer”.

    Or to put it another way:

    “Oh my god! I soooo can’t believe you just said that!”
    “Shut up! I ain’t even dun nuffin’ or nuffin’!”
    “Don’t go giving me evils!”
    “Yeah but no but yeah but no but…”

    Whether nicking stuff from the supermarket or swapping his dog for an Agnostic Front CD, Doug reacts to any accusation with indignant outrage, while filling you in on ‘this fing wot you know nuffin about’.

    To translate this passage into English:

    Joel, the current drummer for Bulldog Spirit, is a neo-Nazi skinhead, who’s played drums in and for a number of neo-Nazi bands, including Bail Up!, Death’s Head and Ravenous.

    ===

    “I can’t really speak too much about the Marching Orders stuff because it was before my time, but my understanding is that a former member went on to become political or something.”

    ===

    Or in other words:

    Faux naivete jostles with Fred Perry and Ben Sherman for space in your wardrobe.

    To translate this passage into Australian:

    Don’t come the raw prawn with me Doug.

    ===

    “And no, I will not be joining your self proclaimed boycott of the Birmingham Hotel.”

    ===

    Really?

    ===

    “I’ve already wasted too much time pandering to accusations on your blog. I am a real life person @ndy, and we live in the same town. I’ve given you my contact details and am happy to talk to you about your concerns, yet you continue to snipe and quote lyrics at me from behind a computer on your blog. Because of this I can’t see the point in entering into any further discussion. I’m sure you’ll have more to say, but I’m afraid this is where it ends for me.”

    ===

    Yes, we’re both ‘real life people’, and we live in the same town, but we may as well be on different planets. I’ve lived here all my life — you’re from Canberra, and moved here a couple of years ago. You play in a band with a neo-Nazi — I’m an anarchist. I hate hypocrisy — you practice it. You’ve previously made references to defamation, and yet you’re incapable of either demonstrating bad faith or the deliberate propagation of falsehoods on my part. On the contrary, when I point out that your drummer is a neo-Nazi, you respond by saying that he’s ‘played in other bands’. For that reason, as well as others, it’s obvious to me that you’re not serious, and continue to regard not only myself but anyone who happens to read your scribblings as a genuinely “clueless cunt”.

    Finally, here’s to bad 70s anarchist rock!

    Well I’m back in the land of cheap incense
    Where the favourite sport is sittin’ on the fence
    Back in the land of pie and sauce
    Drinkin’ flat beer with no third course

    And if you don’t like it
    Then you gotta fight it
    And you gotta fight it now
    Ain’t no time
    For walkin’ the line
    Somehow the cream’s gone sour…

    http://olyblog.net/bad-70s-anarchist-rock

  7. Lease says:

    I had a party at the British Crown recently and all the Marching Orders boys and Bulldog Spirit boys were there.

    Patrick O’Sullivan turned up by himself, expecting people to talk to him, and he was preaching onto everyone.

    I was pretty angry that he decided to just walk in and join the party.

    It was your so called ‘nazi’ band boys (in particular, Joel), that made him leave saying he wasn’t welcome at the pub and they don’t agree with what he has to say.

    I am interested to know, what you get out of writing all this, about people you don’t know.

  8. @ndy says:

    Lease,

    The Very Reverend Patrick O’Sullivan is a well-known figure, has been for years, and seldom fails to take an opportunity to preach his bizarro Gospel. Further, outside of a handful of local teenage boys who don’t know any better, he’s very widely despised, including by other neo-Nazis. The reasons for this are complex, but basically amount to his having a truly awful personality: this is partly why he was ejected from National Action.

    He later joined the World Church of the Creator, and when that collapsed, established another mob — consisting of himself and his imaginary fascist legions — in its stead. This is the basis of the madcap doctrine he preaches.

    O’Sullivan has a record of violence, and is otherwise quite mad. He went to jail in 2002 for stabbing a former mate, at a party, in 1999. One of his few ‘mates’ is Dane Sweetman, a murderer and rapist. In essence, Patrick is ‘bad news’.

    For these reasons, I’m not surprised that he was asked to leave your party, and it’s almost certainly a good thing that he did.

    Joel is a ‘nazi’ boy because Joel has played, recorded and toured with ‘nazi’ bands: Deaths Head, Fortress and Ravenous.

    Deaths Head in Europe

  9. ric says:

    do you need to be a skinhead to listen oi!?

    do you need to be a skinhead to believe in working class?

  10. @ndy says:

    No and no.

    I mean: yes and yes.

    For all the shit
    For all the dinner parties
    For all the wars
    We’ve still got beer

    Amen.

  11. Bobthebuilder says:

    Ahhhhhhh…
    dont you mean, for all the shit, for all the DEAR DEPARTED?
    When you quote hardskin, get it right. Tool.
    And since when is a subculture forced on someone because they listen to its music? I like thrash, but im no thrashard. I like country and blues, but im no redneck. I also like oi n the like, but that dont mean i have a job.
    The melbourne punk and skin community continues with the birmy, and without you, because most punks dont have a computer or net, or just cant be fucked with self righteouss turds like yourself.
    And yes i am aware the my spelling is atrocious. Thats where u get with a year 10 education.

  12. @ndy says:

    No, that’s definitely “dinner parties”, I’m sure of it. I mean, it makes better sense yeah?

    As for the rest, I don’t mind your spelling so much as your lack of sense. Can you fix it? I have my doubtss.

  13. Joey Titus says:

    FROM POOL-OUTCAST TO BONEHEAD-ACTIVIST

    Joey Titus

    Boneheads are involved in a lot of exciting stuff, and not all of it based on violent racial antagonism. Plus, apropos of nothing, I am glad to see so many new faces, although I must admit that the voices in my head can be distracting. Anyway, they’ve got me thinking and planning for what I am going to make happen with my magic wand. For example, as well as building a rocket ship, I am looking up how much a plane or bus ticket to Mississippi costs, because I want to go there. Money can be tight, but my father has volunteered to assist me on my journey and wants me to go as soon as possible. Neither he nor I has ever been to Mississippi, but working together on this project has given me and my father a chance to bond, in a way we had been missing out on.

    I am young and still have a lot to learn, but I have a feeling of coming home whenever I land in the gutter. I know that I will be learning a lot, especially about politics and everything else that goes with it, like corruption and exploitation. I know how Boneheads are smart, in that area. Heaps smart. I hope, if possible, to be able to write and publish, more. Heaps more. I will do whatever needs to be done, because Boneheads have been a positive role-model for me, as well as a demanding taskmaster. I have, already, become clean-shaved and am proud of my new, clean-cut look. I’ve taken off all my hair, down to a complete zero, including my pubes. It feels good and looks 100% all-American.

    When I had long-hair, I used to brag that I looked like a “heavy-metalist.” But, now, with a shaved-head, I feel free. I am really the person that I am and should have been, a long time ago. I, also, will be dressing appropriately, staying clean and fit and exercising daily. I wish to present myself as healthy, common, friendly, sociable and not at all psychotic. I want people to look at me and say, “Now, there is a clean, smart, responsible-looking young man.” I want to change the future, so that Boneheads will not be “outcasts,” but well-regarded social-reformers.

    I became interested in becoming a Bonehead, after I was kicked out of my town’s public swimming-pool. I had stated to a Negress there that I felt that Negroes and Americans should not swim together or attend school together, and that the Moon was made of cheese. I calmly said that I was for segregation, and enjoyed all forms of dairy product. She reported me and the staff banned me, for an entire year, for speaking my mind and exercising my right to free-speech and cheese appreciation. So, the Negroes got the upper-hand, that day, but I left, not wishing to cause undue trouble, yet gained a new kind of resolve to protect myself, from then on, and to learn much more about milk fermentation.

    So, what I would do now, as a Bonehead, would be to get our legal-team to swing into action, to politely remind the officials of my rights and back me up, if need be, in the courts and in the streets, and maybe paint a swastika on a wall or something. Boneheads have a great track-record and are on the road to not only getting our rights back, but, also, our pools, schools and the entire US dairy industry. So, now, instead of being resentful, I am high-spirited, with the attitude I learned from inspirational Boneheads. Boneheads have provided me with a golden shower of opportunity and I am going to live up to their expectations.

    http://www . skinheadz.com/docs/instruct/2008/080201.html
    Copyright 2008 Skinheadz

  14. voymickmick says:

    Didn’t have computers to bitch when I was a skin, get over it!

  15. Greeny says:

    Pride / Strength & Humour !!!!

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