Skrewdriver was a British punk rock " then later white power skinhead " band formed in Poulton-le-Fylde, England in 1976 by Ian Stuart Donaldson. They became one of the first neo-nazi rock bands, playing a leading role in the far right rock against communism movement.
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 a skinhead look in 1977. They also temporarily had a rocker/biker look, around the time they released the EP Built Up Knocked Down .
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In 1978, Donaldson moved to Salford, where he recruited guitarist Glenn Jones and drummer Martin Smith. This lineup toured extensively, but certain venues were reluctant to book the band because of their reputation as a violent skinhead band. Performing largely for a skinhead audience, the first versions of the band released one album and two singles on the Chiswick label. This version of the band split up in January 1979 after a concert in Warrington, but Donaldson resurrected the name Skrewdriver in 1982 using new musicians.
Band Musicians
Skrewdriver inherited its first line-up from it's predecessor, the band Tumbling Dice , which Donaldson had formed in 1975. They were Ian Stuart Donaldson , Kev McKay, John Grinton and Phil Walmsley. When the band changed from punk to skinhead, Walmsley bowed out and was substituted with skinhead Ron Hartley . By 1978 the band disbanded. Both moving to Salford's Cheetham Hill, McKay and Donaldson reformed the band in 1979 with local Manchester talents Glenn Jones and Martin Smith .
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