Ian Stuart Donaldson | |
---|---|
Birth name | Ian Stuart Donaldson |
Also known as | Ian Stuart |
Born |
Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England |
11 August 1957
Origin | Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK |
Died | 24 September 1993 Derbyshire, England |
(aged 36)
Genres |
White power rock Rock Against Communism Rockabilly Folk |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
Instruments | Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano |
Years active | 1975–1993 |
Labels | Chiswick, Rock-O-Rama |
Associated acts | Skrewdriver, Stigger, Rough Justice, Tumbling Dice, The Klansmen, White Diamond |
Ian Stuart Donaldson (11 August 1957 – 24 September 1993), also known as Ian Stuart, was a white supremacist musician from Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire. He was best known as the frontman of Skrewdriver, a British punk rock band which he rebranded as a white power rock band. He raised money through white power concerts with his Blood and Honour network.
Ian Stuart Donaldson attended Baines School in Poulton, where he met Sean McKay, Phil Walmsley, and John Grinton. They formed the cover band Tumbling Dice, who played songs by The Rolling Stones and other bands. In 1975, they formed Skrewdriver, a band that gained a reputation for attracting violence at their concerts.
After the original Skrewdriver lineup parted ways in 1979, Donaldson formed a new lineup and began to write songs for a white power audience. The new version of Skrewdriver openly promoted far-right groups such as the National Front and raised funds for them (and affiliated organisations) through the White Noise Records label. Skrewdriver became known for its involvement in the white nationalist movement and its associated music genre, Rock Against Communism. In 1987, Donaldson founded Blood and Honour, a neo-Nazi network that distributes white power music and organises concerts.
Donaldson also became leader of two other bands, The Klansmen (a rockabilly band) and White Diamond (a hard rock/heavy metal band), and he released several solo albums. Along with Skrewdriver guitarist Stigger, he recorded the albums Patriotic Ballads volumes 1 and 2, which included covers of traditional folk songs such as "The Green Fields of France". Donaldson's voice also appeared in the song "The Invisible Empire" (whose title refers to the Ku Klux Klan) on the 1989 album See you in Valhalla by neo-Nazi rock band No Remorse.