The Redskins was a 1980s English band, notable for its

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in ...

, skinhead image and catchy, danceable songs. Their music combined influences from

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and punk rock.

History

The band formed in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England in 1982 (from the demise of punk band No Swastikas), with Chris Dean (vocals/guitar), Martin Hewes (bass/backing vocals) and Nick King (drums). Chris Dean wrote for '' NME'' magazine under the name ''X. Moore''. Dean and Hewes were members of the Socialist Workers Party. The band members wore

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

clothing styles and helped inspire the

redskin Redskin is a slang term for Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada. The term ''redskin'' underwent pejoration through the 19th to early 20th centuries and in contemporary dictionaries of American English it is lab ...

movement. The band released their first single, " Lev Bronstein", on the CNT

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

in 1982. They released one more single, "Lean on Me", on CNT before signing to

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. "Lean on Me" was ranked at number 6 among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1983 by '' NME''. On 10 June 1984, a group of

white power skinhead White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and ...

s attacked the band and their audience during a performance at the free GLC-sponsored ''Jobs for a Change'' festival at

Jubilee Gardens, South Bank Jubilee Gardens is a public park on the South Bank in the London Borough of Lambeth. Created in 1977 to mark the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the site was formerly used for the Dome of Discovery and the adjacent Skylon during the Festival ...

. In November 1984, an appearance on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

's '' The Tube'' saw accusations of censorship after the band invited a striking miner on stage to deliver a speech during their performance, and his microphone connection was allegedly cut. King was replaced in 1985 by Paul Hookham, although for the recording of the band's first EMI/Decca single "Bring it Down",

Style Council The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Run ...

drummer Steve White was brought in to perform. Shortly afterwards, Hookham took over full-time drum duties. Their next single, "Kick Over The Statues", was rush-released on an independent label with an uncredited sleeve after London/

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

rejected its release as a benefit for the

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...

. The band released one full album, ''Neither Washington Nor Moscow'', and two final singles before splitting at the end of 1986.

Members

* Chris Dean (vocals, guitar) * Martin Hewes (bass, vocals) * Nick King (drums, 1982–1985) * Paul Hookham (drums, 1985–1986) * Lloyd Dwyer (sax, 1982–1985) * Steve Nicol (trumpet, 1982–1985) * Kevin Robinson (trumpet, 1986) * Trevor Edwards (trombone, 1986) * Ray Carless (tenor sax, 1986)

Discography

Albums

* ''Neither Washington Nor Moscow'', 1986 (Decca FLP1) – Highest chart position: No.31 (

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

) *''Neither Washington Nor Moscow'' (CD), 1997, (London Records 828864) eissue with two bonus tracks* ''Live'', 1995 (Dojo) * ''Epilogue'', 2010 (Insurgence)

Singles and EPs

* "Lev Bronstein" / "Peasant Army", 1982 (7", CNT productions CNT007) * "Lean on Me" / "Unionize", 1983 (7", CNT productions CNT016) – Highest chart position: No.3 (

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the re ...

) * "Lean on Me" (Northern Mix) / Unionize (Break Mix), 1983 (12" CNTX16) * "Keep on Keepin' On!" / "Reds Strike The Blues", 1984 (7", Decca F1) – Highest chart position: No.43 (

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

) * "Keep on Keepin' On!" / "16 Tons" / "Red Strikes the Blues", 1984 (12" Decca FX1) * "Bring It Down (This Insane Thing)", 1985 (2x7", Decca FDP2) – Highest chart position: No.33 (UK Singles Chart) * "Bring It Down (This Insane Thing)" / "You Want It? They've Got It!", 1985 (12" Decca FX2) * "Kick Over The Statues" / "Young & Proud (Anthem of Mistake)", 1985 (7" Abstract AD6) * "The Power Is Yours" / "Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do)", 1986 (7" Decca F3) – Highest chart position: No.59 (UK Singles Chart) * "The Power Is Yours" / "Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do)" / "Take No Heroes!" aster than LP version 1986 (12" Decca FX3) * "It Can Be Done" / "K.O!K.O!", 1986 (7" Decca F4) – Highest chart position: No.76 * "It Can Be Done" / "Let's Make it Work" / "K.O!K.O!" / "A Plateful of Hateful", 1986 (12" Decca FX4) * "The Power Is Yours" (propaganda EP), 1986 (10", Decca FXT3) * "It Can Be Done" / "Let's Make It Work" / "K.O!K.O!" / "A Plateful of Hateful", 1986 (10" Decca FXT4, Russian Import) * "Peel sessions", 1987 (12", Strange Fruit SFPS 030) – Highest chart position: No.23 (UK Indie Chart)

References

External links

Unofficial band websiteBBC Peel Sessions – The Redskins
(1986) {{DEFAULTSORT:Redskins, The English punk rock groups Skinhead English socialists Street punk groups English anti-fascists Political music groups