185. White Riot; movie review

WHITE RIOT
Cert TBA
80 mins
BBFC advice: TBA

We darted away from melee but my pal was not sprightly enough to avoid having blood sprayed over his smart light brown jacket.
There was no way of cleaning it before his dad picked us up after the gig and he refused to believe that we hadn't been directly involved in fighting.
He had clearly never been to see Madness. He would have known that the architects of the battle were the right-wing skinheads who followed them around.
My home town of Coventry was key in the battle against right-wing agitators because it was the home of 2-Tone records.
Madness were signed to the label which advocated race equality but they had the misfortune of inadvertently attracting the bullies who saw a gig as an opportunity for a punch-up or, as we had witnessed, a glassing.
The late 70s was a violent time and Two-Tone and the London-based Rock Against Racism had been a reaction to the prejudice whipped up by the likes of Enoch Powell and the National Front.
Rubika Shah’s White Riot charts the RAR protest movement which was formed in 1976, prompted by an outrageous rant by Eric Clapton in support of racist MP Powell.
It blends new interviews with archive footage in looking back on anti-immigrant hysteria and right-wing violence.
White Riot took me back to when there was a dangerous frisson which hung over Britain but also a time when positive action seemed more possible than today.
Indeed, rebellion among the young wasn't just expected, it was encouraged.
While watching White Riot, it also occurred to me that the printed word was so much more important and effective in galvanising the youth than social media today.
Rock Against Racism stirred consciences through its newspaper which was put together by dedicated volunteers.
Red Saunders, one of its leaders, makes the point that 80,000 people were attracted to a free gig in London's Victoria Park without even a mobile phone.
Those were the days when there was excitement over who would turn up because people genuinely didn't know whether they would.
The hastily slung-together concert featured X-Ray Spex, Steel Pulse, The Clash and the Tom Robinson Band.
And their message was heeded - The National Front, which had seemed so dangerous with talk of forced repatriation of non-whites were mauled at the General Election of 1979.
And yet what have we learned? Sadly, more than 40 years later racism is still blighting our lives and is the first resort of too many.


Reasons to watch: A moment when the people stirred
Reasons to avoid: A rare movie which was too short

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? The National Front still exists! It is a right-wing agitator and is led by Tony Martin. It is believed its membership is less than 200.

The final word. Rubikah Shah: "'There was a lot of positivity and people coming together; black, white, Asian, whatever. Solidarity. Which is good for us to remember, 40 years on." The List

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