Punk legend Tom Robinson to open White Riot film in Canterbury
Tom will follow the film with his acoustic guitar in hand for an intimate gig at the Gulbenkian
Celebrate Rock Against Racism with Tom Robinson: White Riot, at Gulbenkian Arts Centre Sat 19 Feb.
At this very special event at Gulbenkian Arts Centre, legendary musician Tom Robinson, a key voice in the Rock Against racism movement of the 1970’s, will introduce a screening of Rubika Shah's acclaimed 2019 documentary White Riot which charts the era.
Tom will follow the film with his acoustic guitar in hand for an intimate gig of songs and stories from the time including “Up Against The Wall”, “Glad To Be Gay” and of course “2-4-6-8 Motorway” which became one of the landmark singles of the punk era.
Rubika Shah’s acclaimed documentary White Riot charts the Rock Against Racism movement of the 1970’s culminating in 1978’s huge antifascist carnival in Victoria Park, London. Closing the show that day was the Tom Robinson Band who were longstanding supporters of RAR and had just had two Top 20 singles.
White Riot charts a vital London protest movement. Rock Against Racism (RAR) was formed in 1976, prompted by 'music's biggest colonialist' Eric Clapton and his support of racist MP Enoch Powell.
The film blends fresh interviews with queasy archive footage to recreate a hostile environment of anti-immigrant hysteria and National Front marches. As neo-Nazis recruited the nation's youth, RAR's multicultural punk and reggae gigs provided rallying points for resistance. As founder Red Saunders explains: 'We peeled away the Union Jack to reveal the swastika'. The campaign grew from Hoxton fanzine roots to 1978's huge antifascist carnival in Victoria Park, featuring X-Ray Spex, Steel Pulse and of course The Clash, whose rock star charisma and gale-force conviction took RAR's message to the masses.
Tom Robinson: White Riot is at Gulbenkian Arts Centre on Sat 19 Feb (7pm). Tickets for this one-off event are £18 and can be bought online from www.thegulbenkian.co.uk
