Racism row over hiring
Mario Xureb
The Age
October 26, 2007
VICTORIAN soccer bosses have come under fire from anti-racism groups after neo-Nazis hired grounds used by the Melbourne Knights Soccer Club to hold a racist rock concert.
Members of the white supremacist Hammerskins and Blood and Honour groups held a concert at Knights Stadium in Sunshine on October 13.
The ground is home to the soccer club and the Melbourne Croatia Social Club, which owns the site and hired out the venue.
Anti-racism campaigners yesterday criticised the Melbourne Knights and Football Federation Victoria for allowing the staging of the concert, which commemorated a dead white supremacist.
Anti-racism campaigner Anthony Main said the concert included overseas white power and local [bonehead] music groups.
“It’s racist music to the extreme, but it’s also a way for those guys to network and to meet,” Mr Main said.
He called on Football Federation Victoria to ensure the venues used by its clubs were hired out diligently.
Football Federation Victoria and the Melbourne Knights distanced themselves from the concert, saying they did not book events for the venue.
Melbourne Knights chairman Matt Tomas said the social club operated separately from the soccer club. He apologised for the incident, saying it was regrettable.
Note that there were apparently four bands performing on the night of the gig, three Australian, and one from the United States. The three Australian bands performing were Bail Up!, Fortress and Quick and the Dead. The band from the US (Orange County, California) was Final War. Here’s a sample of their lyrics:
- Final War – ‘Defenders Of The Reich’:
Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows
Everything that’s wonderful is what I feel when we’re together
Brighter than a lucky penny
When you’re near the rain cloud disappears, dear
And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine
My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows
That’s how this refrain goes, so come on, join in everybody!
Whoops. Sorry. I meant:
- Walking down the street with your head held high
People know you’re full of pride as you pass by
Boots and braces, short cropped hair
Fuck with us if you dare
Skinhead’s not a fashion, it’s a way of life
A way of life, living on the edge of a knife
Our flags fly high and our banners are unfurled
White power skinheads take the world
Skinheads – Defenders of the reich
Skinheads – We wage this nation’s fight
Skinheads – Standing proud and true
Skinheads – We fight the Jew
When the reds see us comin’, they cower in fear
‘Cause they know their end is near
Won’t be long until they fall
Fighting for our race and nation, fighting for our land
And we fight with the winning hand
A glorious battle it will be
A shining bright, white victory
Taken from the album Glory Unending (2002). That same year, Final War contributed a song to a compilation CD designed to raise money for Ken Mieske, a Portland bonehead imprisoned since 1988 for the brutal murder of an Ethiopian immigrant. Note that Portland was the location for the recent Hammerfest music festival organised by Hammerkins in the US, and which local Australian band Blood Red Eagle (Newcastle, NSW) traveled to in order to perform for their Yanqui brothers. Upon discovering that a neo-Nazi gig was taking place at their facilities, the Elks Lodge pulled the plug on the gig. The MCSC, on the other hand, not only refused to investigate the gig on the night of its occurrence, but has since lyingly claimed it never took place!
