White Riot (2019)

Directed by: Rubika Shah | 80 minutes | music, documentary, history | Starring: Red Saunders, Dennis Bovell, Mykaell Riley, Pervez Bilgrami, Pauline Black, Ruth Gregory, Topper Headon, David Hinds, Roger Huddle, Mick Jones, Jimmy Pursey, Tom Robinson, Syd Shelton, Paul Simonon, Janet Street-Porter, Joe Strummer, Poly Styrene, Gulam Taslim, Kate Webb, Lucy Whitman

On August 5, 1976, Eric Clapton stood in a sold-out arena in Birmingham and made history. Not because of a legendary performance of I Shot the Sheriff of White Room, but because of an extremely racist diatribe in which he expressed support for far-right MP Enoch Powell, among other things. He also asked if there might be foreigners in the audience. If so? Then they had to leave. Not only from the hall, but also from the country. It should come as no surprise that the iconic guitarist regrets this hateful monologue years later (as can be seen in documentary ‘Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars’). Horrifying as they were, his words – fueled no doubt by his alcohol addiction and all the problems associated with it – helped shape RAR: Rock Against Racism. The horribly topical ‘White Riot’ is about this protest movement.

Great Britain, late 1970s. Unemployment was high, many believed that immigrants were to blame. Eerily, Clapton wasn’t the only famous rock star to make these kinds of hate speech publicly. David Bowie also indicated that England would benefit from a fascist leader. Rod Stewart thought his country was exclusively for white people. Shocking, isn’t it? But filmmaker Rubikah Shah shows in ‘White Riot’ with archive material that racism was everywhere in those days. In TV series, on the street, it was almost the norm. Racist attacks were so frequent that immigrants were no longer sure of their lives.

Following Clapton’s performance, music photographer Red Saunders wrote a letter to magazines such as NME and Melody Maker. In the letter he gave shape to the idea – which had been around for some time – to form a front as rock fans against fascism and racism. And so the RAR movement was born: local groups that released a fanzine (TempoRARy Hoarding). Slowly but surely, RAR gained a foothold among young people. When punk bands like The Clash and Steel Pulse cooperated, things went fast.

As you might expect, ‘White Riot’ features many interviews, of course with founders Red Saunders, Roger Huddle, Pete Bruno and Jo Wreford, as well as artists such as Topper Headon of The Clash and Dennis Bovell of Matumbi. The archival footage of the concert on April 30, 1978 in Victoria Park is the icing on the cake. In this event, more than a hundred thousand anti-racism protesters marched through London, from Trafalgar Square to Victoria Park, where they eventually attended a concert by the likes of The Clash, Steel Pulse and Tom Robinson Band.

Shah has an extra asset in her hands with the energetic visual style she uses. As an ode to the punk movement, with animated cut-out texts and slogans, she gives the message extra force. love music. Hate Racism. The battle continues. ‘White Riot’ is a must for anyone with an interest in history, politics and (punk) music.