Were Combat 84 a WP Band?

[marveloushagler]

Sep 1, 2005

We get asked a lot about whether or not Combat 84 were a white-power band or not. Below sums up the info we have. Does anyone else out there in Internet-land know anything more about Combat 84's connection to the fash? If so, please post it to the boards!

-----------------------------------------------------
Info on Chubby Chris from Combat 84:

According to the book "Spirit of '69" Chubby Chris from Combat 84 was a
one-time organizer for the British Movement. The British Movement was a
racist organization that wanted to expel all Asians and Blacks from Britain.
That makes him a racist (though it is true he later moved to Thailand and
probably renounced his ways). Saying he was never racist is like saying an
organizer for White Aryan Resistance was not a racist. It ain't possible.

Also, in the half-hour documentary on Combat 84 filmed by the BBC a big
brawl breaks out between skinheads from London and a mob from Harlow. A
member of Combat 84 (probably Chubby Chris) is heard to say "Why are you
fighting? We're all white!". That statement is pretty self-explanatory. We
doubt you would have seen many non-white skinheads at a Combat 84 show in
the early 80's, no matter what some people like to believe.

Fuck fascism and white-power music (er, "RAC")

-RASH Northeast

[chipheadwound]

I can't really add anything that isn't public knowledge already, but didn't George Marshall mention that the only reason they didn't get their first record released on White Noise is because they had that song that goes on about "we want cruise' [ie missiles] which the fash were at the time opposed to?

Personally I've always avoided them like the plague... the odd good tune can't mask the stench of the right.

[chipheadwound]

Ah! Just remembered some Combat 84 trivia. I seem to remember that Chris Henderson was chucked out of Japan in the world cup, or refused entry or something, although I don't recall what for...

Also, he published a ghost-written hooligan memoir a few years back, which I can't remember the of...something like 'Lets Have It' or 'Come On Then'. Anyway, I worked in a bookshop warehouse at the time and it was released about November-ish, obviously timed to coincide with the lucrative christmas market... Turns out the print-run was fucked up so loads of them had the pages in the wrong order and had to be returned to the publishers, so it missed the sales peak and doubtless caused a big hole in his potential royalties. Antifascist printworker sabotage perhaps?

[Bazza]

I was looking on google as I remember hearing a story about them playing at some festival but then refusing to go on stage as one of the other bands had black members.
Anyway, I found this posted on a nazi site listing white power bands (check out the second post - just shows you how intelligent boneheads really are) www.stormfront.org/archive/t-6127.html

[marveloushagler]

Okay, more on Combat 84:

Check out this interview from 1999/ 2000:

www.punkoiuk.co.uk/interviews/combat84.htm

Straight from the horse's ass...er, we mean mouth.

More facts:
-Apparently the guitar player for Combat 84 also played in the UK Subs

-In the interview he says what we've always heard: that Combat 84 were basically a wind-up with over-the-top lyrics. They were meant to offend. Little did he know so many skinheads in the US would take everything so literally. But then again these same people didn't get it that STARS & STRIPES (Choke from SLAPSHOT's skinhead band) were also suppose to be a joke.

-Later in the interview said guitar player admits the bands views were basically right-of-center (though not racist)

-Apparently, Combat 84's first EP was to be released on Secret Records but this deal was killed by Garry Bushell himself because of problems between he and Chubby Chris (most likely due to Chris' involvement with the British Movement). It would be interesting to hear what Bushell thinks of Combat 84.

-Combat 84's LP "Send In The Marines" came out on the German white-power label Rock-A-Rama after being passed along by Victory Records (UK). We knew this earlier but forgot to mention it.

-Combat 84 played only 16 gigs, and toured the north of England as the support-act for the 4 Skins.

-One reason the band broke up was that so many people were threatening to kneecup vocalist Chubby Chris Henderson! Up the fuckin' 'RA!

-Chubby Chris Henderson now lives in Thailand, is married to a Thai woman and has 1/2 Thai kids so it's a good bet he's not a racist anymore.

More info as we get it...

-RASH-Northeast

[marveloushagler]

And btw Bazza, you're thinking of CONDEMNED 84, not COMBAT 84. CONDEMNED 84 refused to play in Atlanta with the TEMPLARS because they had Black members. We'll be handling them next round as there's a lot more clear info (and photos) as to where they stand.

-RASH-Northeast

[Bazza]

I did think that I might of been getting the bands mixed up. Still, it's nowhere near as big of a mistake as the bonehead on stromfront thinking that The Oppressed are a white power band.

[RedskinUK]

Chubby Chris was also filmed on a certain British undercover reporter program for the BBC reporting on hooligans, namely the Chealsea Headhunters (who are very well known for their connections to Combat 18 etc) making racist remarks. Haven't got a online source for it unfortunatly...but dodgy to say the least innit.

Deptford John was said to hold the complete opposite political standpoint of Chubby Chris. So while the band were obviously a piss take the individual members had their own views.

Up the fuckin 'RA my arse, bleedin' plastic paddies