Just in the Nick of Time: A Closer Look at the Immigration Bill 

Credit: The Independent (AFP)

So here we find ourselves again amongst the chaos, with even more lunacy and ill thought out policy being brought into the stream of public consciousness by this hap-hazard government. I’ve tried to hold back my extremity of language on the reservation that I don’t want to come across as undermining. I believe in times of deep public crisis, the best approach is to helpfully point out errors or areas for improvement without being the brandishing hand that slaps those in control with such brazen ideological firmness. However, the sheer half-baked perception of public opinion via the pushing through of the dreaded Immigration Bill has got me thinking if Boris and the gang have really thought about if they want to keep any sort of majority in four years’ time.

Priti Patel sure is tough isn’t she? Or at least she’d have us believe that her toughness will extend to the tightening up of border controls on either side of The Channel to avoid migrants entering the UK illegally during the period of lockdown. Whatever your views may be on illegal immigration (which I’m sure will vary among my extremely limited readership), I can assure you that 550 migrants turning up on a dinghy at the White Cliffs of Dover is most certainly not the primary focus of this Immigration Bill despite a certain division of the public wanting it to be (I assure you I only link The Sun to demonstrate who will connect this bill to asylum law as the most central issue). Whilst this type of illegal immigration is an issue that warrants attention in its own right, I will not be dealing with it in relation to the Immigration Bill as legislation on how the asylum process will be reformed is extremely far down the pipeline (on Patel’s own admission) and is not at all pressing in comparison to the central implications of the bill at this precise moment.

Priti Patel could have been pressured
just that bit more by Nick Ferrari on LBC (video still)

Whilst there is not presently much information on bill specifics, what we do know is that we’ll be embracing the oxymoron that by closing up the free movement of EEA citizens, we will be opening up our borders to the world. This means the current EEA regulations dictating free movement of migrants around the EEA area will end and all those who now wish to enter the UK will have to do it either on the Points-based system or on a settlement route. Of course, if you are unable to find a British spouse to get your feet on English soil then it’ll have to be the PBS-system which is the prime reason for confusion and uproar in light of the new bill.

Let’s be clear, the PBS system is nothing new as many gun toting Australiaphiles have harped on about during the Brexit referendum. Being in force for non-EEA migrants since 2010, the system has several routes, sectioned into Tiers. Now most people won’t be coming in as minted investors or exceptional talents under Tier 1, and Tier 3 has been suspended since its implementation due to the fact it was drafted to account for mass low-skilled labour shortages if an abundance of workers were ever required (funny that). So, that leaves us with the most frequently used visa tiers: Tier 2 for overseas migrant workers, Tier 4 for students and Tier 5 for anyone else (Tier 5 is a reasonably niche category and will be mentioned in more detail at the foot of this article with regards to touring musicians). 

The so far silently operating Tier 2 (General) route has now finally taken centre stage and has revealed itself in all of its civil service jargon that has not only shown how the government determines who is able to come and work in the UK from overseas but perhaps how the everyday jobs we carry out are perceived by the powers that be. To be as brief as possible without getting lumped down in technicalities of the Immigration Rules, to be hired under the Tier 2 (General) category is no easy feat. One must have the relevant skills required for the high-skilled role as set out in the list of jobs eligible for this route and meet the specified salary shown on the same list as well as lots of other bureaucratic processes, fees and documents. In accordance with the policy statement, the bill will likely relax this “high-skilled” list to include a whole load more roles that currently do not quality under the Tier 2 route, resulting in perhaps more non-EEA immigration. However, the government have been a clear as day on their approach to low-skilled workers where there will be no exceptions. Click here and select the “Table 5” drop-down option for the list of all roles deemed as low-skilled to see for yourself how these terms are defined and exampled in the Immigration Rules (I would strongly encourage you to view this section of the Immigration Rules and spend some time trawling though just how many jobs are understood as low-skilled).

Matt Vickers in the Commons giving
a no nonsense speech on ending free-movement

So far, so good? The borders are being loosened as oppose to restricted and the government is still able to follow through with getting Brexit done on perhaps the single most crucial motivator in the Leave camp, immigration. A “firmer, fairer and simpler system.” However, In the words of Nick Ferrari, the world has changed (see the previously linked YouTube video). Migration from EEA countries has steadily increased since 2004 with over a million EEA migrants (Table 3, ‘Largest Occupations by Skill Group and Place of Birth’) taking up “low-skilled” roles currently. Since the impact of Covid-19, the British public have endured a reassessment of values of which skills have been the most dependable in keeping our lives moving day in day out. Unlike the pre-corona consensus, the corona enduring world has seen before their very eyes which sectors have been neglected (most notably care workers, who you will find on the low-skilled list) and the risks people are willing to put themselves through when carrying out their employment duties. In other words, by the choice of the British people, we have recognised the low-skilled as being essentially vital to our economy in current circumstances. Conservative MP for Stockton South, Matt Vickers asserted in the Commons that this new system will allow us to effectively select who is most useful to our economy by ending free movement but the situation indicates that a great deal of the most useful have been entering on none other than free movement regulations.

The silver bullet in the pushing forth of the Immigration Bill is not what it contains but is found purely its timing at a more delicate time than ever. A debate about British workers filling low-skilled roles through a phasing in scheme to adequately make up the EEA deficit can and should be had but not right now. It would seem Priti Patel is still on a full throttle beaming of Brexit floodlights which has only exposed her detachment from contemporary public opinion by still believing the public is driven by a “tightening up” of infinite inbound European migration. I can imagine her logic goes something like this: “If I push this through now, I will show the public how tough I am on the issue; how committed the Conservative party are to their election promises and will appeal to the “get-on-with-it” attitude harboured by much of the Conservative electorate with regards to the Coronavirus.” What bringing this bill to the forefront of debate has in fact done is open many people’s eyes to the how a PBS immigration system really functions. Low-skilled in terms of the Immigration Rules does not only include a lot of jobs but now British citizens themselves will think twice about how their government views British jobs resulting in a redefining of the terms “high-skilled” and “low-skilled” and how they now apply to a society under siege of infection.

Fruit pickers in Hereford
Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

The government have been relaxed in allowing EEA migrants to fill the low-skilled labour market for years, just look at the fruit picking story to see the EU migrant support network that we often fall back onto in clinch moments. Even the Tier 3 visa category was suspended upon implementation on the basis that mainly freely moving EEA migrants will always be able to cover a deficit of low-skilled workers. It would seem the low-skilled are now those who are most valuable in our predicament with the Immigration Bill only making us aware of the spite directed at this labour group by our government. Coronavirus has indeed become the elixir enabling us to view our comrades in a different light on all sorts of issues. That light has now been steered toward fellow European citizens and the contributions they have made since their arrival in our land. What the Conservative party don’t realise, is that by firing on all pistons to keep a promise to the public, they are preaching to the converted, except this mob of converts are those of a new faith entirely.

On a slightly related note

There has been some talk in the DIY music community about changes to concert performances and tours in that of non-UK artists touring or performing in the UK. In an NME article it was suggested that the policy will require Tier 5 performance visas to be made to play in the UK. The implications to our community are not too drastic in scenario where a band comes into the UK on a visit visa and plays maybe one or two shows with borrowed equipment. Even larger US bands who may be on booking agencies are still required to apply for similar visa types when undergoing a more high budget tour but this is usually sorted out by the booking agent and won’t be too different to how things currently stand for groups being big enough to have to make these types of applications.

My main concerns are twofold:

• EU bands will now be faced with the Tier 5 route which will provide solid barriers to a fluidity of movement enjoyed by a whole European hardcore scene (including the UK) for many years. It is pretty common practice these days for European bands to drive freely around their continent annually/biannually with no limits on logistical arrangements. In short, you can mostly definitely expect European bands to be touring with UK bands less and hitting the UK as a location on their route even less often.

• There still isn’t at all much clarity on how the EU will take to UK bands touring the mainland. If they choose to implement a similar system to what we are imposing on them then every single logistical nightmare of booking a tour will become ten times worse. Bands will scrabble around to gather funds for visa fees, documentary evidence and whatever else comes with the tediousness of visa applications. Those who wish to take the change can still always fly into Europe with NOTHING and borrow all their stuff as many have done so when touring the US but believe me, this requires an infinitely more careful touring plan on where merch is printed and where vans/gear is collected from etc. This creates a direct dependence for UK bands to tour alongside a European act as British bands will require the unlucky European sods who opt to tour with them as those responsible for arranging all the aforementioned logistics when meeting the British band at the airport. This directly contravenes the current trend which is for two UK bands to team up in a van and hit the EU coast line with a shared boot of equipment.

Ultimately, none of this will stop people from either following the rules or finding ways around them but you can bet your bottom dollar that frequency will decline and less international acts will head to British shores. A good time to become nationalistic champions of our own acts for sure but I really do accept this begrudgingly as at the end of the day, hardcore and punk are international phenomena that prosper most when exposed to audiences across borders. 

Two bands in one photo (Blind Authority and Frame of Mind).
As just mentioned, doing a two timing tour with a UK sibling
band will be a trend that is less frequent due to the bill's implications

Brown Inbound Interview #3: Benny Farrar [CROWN COURT]

There are very few people in the world who upon meeting them for the first time, you simply cannot forget. If someone were to ask me a High Fidelity-style top 5 larger than life characters question, I wouldn't have to go any further than Benny Farrar to claim an instant spot on my list. Benny quite literally is larger than life and I seem to forget just how big the guy actually is, which I'm reminded by every time our paths do cross. The first time I met him, we were going home from some gig and were the only two pundits making the journey South of the river. Benny lights up a fag on the tube platform, as calm as you like, stamps it out once the train arrives and disappears into the Southside vortex. Crown Court were an important band, no question. They single-handedly brought Oi music out of the clutches of the old and deranged, plummeting back into a contemporary setting that the genre had long since been a stranger to. Benny was the final ingredient in bringing phenomenal lead guitar playing to the group and I've been looking forward to doing this interview ever since I started the series...

Hi Benny, thanks for agreeing to do this interview with me. I'm going to start with some quick questions about yourself starting with your family background, could you give us a quick history? 

Yes brav. Honour and a priv. My family background is rather standard issue for SE London. Caribbean father, Celtic mother. My parents met in N.I, both were in the army. My mother was stationed there and my father was boxing in the army. My mum comes from a family of police and coal miners and grew up in deep Yorkshire with Scottish parents. My father was a jack of many. Body builder/hired muscle/reggae musician. I have some(?) siblings and was raised entirely by women. 

Did your parents listen to a lot of music growing up at home? What kind? 

I was raised on my mum’s music. My mum has the worst taste in music but I have a soft spot for it all. We are talking Simply Red greatest hits on repeat for most of the early 90s spliced with the Beautiful South and KD Lang. My Father's musical influence was never far away growing up, at home I was pretty typically displaying weird only child behaviours from the get go and had taken to knocking about in the loft on me own from like the age of 6, 7 and 8. Early doors either way. Up there was a few suitcases and a couple of bass guitars. In the suitcases were many, many dubs. 7s. Many, many of which he’d laid down the wobble lines on. That's where it begins. That and The Strokes.  

Were they into alternative or punk music at all? 

Not at all. What so ever. Both equally as disapproving. My aunty, Carolyn is the punk of the family. She also served in the army with my mum but left early, moved down to London and dived straight into the squatting scene in Brixton and Camberwell. She was the one who used to come and collect me from the nick when I was unfit to interview, getting pinched out of my tree on trips at 14 and that. Silly bollocks. She had time for silly bollocks ha.

What was your perception of punk/oi if you had any as a child or adolescent before you fell into the subculture? Did you see it a certain way that clashed with your identity or place in your community before you came to know more about it?

 

Simply Red letting us know that the 'Greatest Hits' is
always the best album. The ginger star, loved nationally by mums,
has been spending his lockdown ranking the top "coolest cultures"

I used to bunk off school and mime playing these guitars to the music video channels. Only child init. This is like early days yeah, last year of primary school and going into secondary school so like 11/12? I liked the punk stuff more. Big up the P-Rock gang. I always saw the music as Either very British or Very American. I had and still do have a very binary outlook on life. Two simple choices. I liked guitar music so it was; Punk or Metal? Easy! UK or US? I know which I’ll be thanking you very much. 

You're a great guitar player what got you learning to play and were there any guitarists that influenced you? What were the musical, aesthetic and cultural influences that you have taken from most when presenting your art?

 Aw thank you mate I've just gone all hot on me ears and cold in me fingers at the praise. Playing instruments has always just come very easily to me without ever trying very hard or wanting it very much and I think it has showed! Played with some bad boy/gal musicians in my time and they all made me better. Some Greek fella after a show in Brighton one time said I played not with my head or my heart but with my balls. He came a long way with a friend just to see us. The accent lent a great deal of gravity to the statement but till this day that's still the case. Aesthetically have had fun with and been exposed to so many cultures, subcultures and revivalism too. Always had my own very black British, very South London take on things though. Steadfast and stout.  

What was your first and/or most memorable experience of racism?

Gonna have to cop out. But I will say this. I've been going up to Yorkshire and Glasgow with just my mum since birth. I know the difference between evil and ignorance. I wouldn't recall 80-year-old women at a bus stop in early 90s Barnsley as evil for cooing over and tussling my curly hair. Ignorant. But not evil. 

Being a lump has made me quite attuned to reading the unsaid and spotting people swallowing it for a quiet life. because I’ve never really been the one. By virtue of this I have to add, I would never baulk at another POCs experiences of racism and just accept that because of my gender and physicality I haven't had the rawest deal. Saying that something that's been fairly unique to my upbringing has always been equally accepted in black and white households of friends as family. I've heard what's said behind both doors. 

How did you eventually find out about punk and oi and what was the process that eventually got you going to shows and playing in bands?

South London. You know how it is man. 

What people did you gravitate towards when you began going to shows? Did the social aspect of it affect how you experienced the scene? The people you were surrounded by? 

It was more of a thing that all me pals just happened to get into music at the same time I guess nights out were going to watch awful local nu-metal bands at a couple of pubs in Bromley. Full of kids. It was mental they never got shut down. It was as organic as could be I suppose. Since those days it seems most friends I have been introduced to through playing music. Wild init. Ain't had to learn much new socially that I didn't already know. 

When you first started going to shows were there any bands with ethnic minority members or other people at shows that made you feel more comfortable in their presence or did you not really think about it?

Flirta D was a member of NW ogs, SLK.
The Hype! Hype! video is a pure Channel U classic.
Check out 'Warp Speed' for Flirta D's best solo song.

Just me though I didn't really think much about it to be honest. I knew where the black kids were. And I’d chosen not to be there. I used to go about with a grime crew in like 2005/6. I had bars ha. We used to do Cold.Fm up North and Ontop.FM in South the energy was wild. Went to a young man standing at Stratford Rex and I found out how much one of the top bikers on the event was getting paid and thought fuck this, am gonna do music that pays (LOOOOOOL).

But this was a time when the police were just locking off all the events so there really didn't feel like there was any future in that kind of music. It took another 10 years for people to learn how to squeeze a quid out of the British urban music scene. 

The top biller was Flirta D. Few of those boys used to cut about with are still doing variants of that music and doing really well, am proud. 

I'm not very well versed in all the non-musical elements of the oi scene but it goes without saying, it’s had its fair share of racial controversy over the years. I’ve heard several Crown Court stories regarding trouble at gigs to do with Nazis. Should we still be worried about the whole racist skinhead/Blood and Honour movement or does racism manifest itself in more dangerous ways at present? Did it ever affect your involvement in going to gigs or do people outside of the scene make a much bigger deal than need be? 

Oi music I thought was the buzz that I was missing from doing guitar music in safer spaces and the only time I’d felt anything near the edginess of early days grime. Grime was more punk than punk. As in it was a room full of angry young men in a smelly dingy room where you could very quickly get fucked up badly and all there because of the music. After that everything else felt a bit tame but the skinhead thing was a good time and has always spoken to my very working class values. Real life nazis are a myth. Haven’t seen one brave enough to ever pipe up to me but that being said I was told I have my own thread on that white power website/forum where Brian Bird and the other old duffers congregate. There’s been some scuffs but nothing to shout about. The Cavendish gig was fun. (white) Pride comes before a fall hahahha.

 (me kicking B-Squadron out of London)

 I would like to state very obviously that nothing about Crown Court was ever racial. I also want to recount the time I was being my usual loud self and regaled a story to one of me bestest boys up at New River In quite an excitable way because had just arrived and the timing and cadence of my voice made the word NIGGER carry really far and really wide and quicker than you could say Corbyn, there was like 50 bods spun round on the spot spoiling for some proper social justicing. The unspent energy and confusion was hilarious to me. 

There’s a lot of discussion among people about the separation of the art and the artist? Do you think it’s possible to consume and enjoy art made by people with political or social views that are ugly and in opposition to your own? Is it on a case by case basis?

Benny and Trev in Crown Court. I only ever saw CC
twice and both times it was nothing short of intimidating.

Tough one this. Truthfully, I’ll play Jackson songs until I die. And have never seen anything redeeming about Screwdriver. If its shit then its shit init. 

How have things changed for the ethnic minority involvement in punk and oi since you started going to gigs? Is there a noticeable difference, have things got better or worse? I know that you are a father yourself, would this scene be somewhere you would take your child? Could it be made safer? does it need to be?

It's safe as houses and probably something I'd encourage the boy to become interested in. A lot of people with open minds which is a long chalk better than the other sort. Alternative culture ain’t that alternative no more so it's not so much of a thing to nail your flag these days unless I'm wrong and I'm just that far indoctrinated. 

Tell me about the sketchiest/wildest gig you've been to that comes to mind.

Looooool we played some thingy bob in Bratislava. Mate. Hairy. I ended up drinking this evil syrup called borovica or something mental like that with this huge Polish bonehead covered in all the tatts. He didn't speak a word of English. But we couldn't stop cuddling each other. Homoerotic tae fuck. I had a good time. But don’t think I'd have been there as a punter. Me and Trevor ended up staying out out but I don't think the rest of the boys could have bounced any quicker, I don't blame em hahahah.

Lastly, do you have any new musical endeavours you will be undertaking in future? I know you have been focusing a lot more on your boxing career at present, will we see you pursuing this more full time and music taking a back seat?

I will one day sing. Like a fucking bird Ben. Like a bird. 

Any last words or anything you want to air, please do!

Stay strong cunts. They are trying to kill us. 

[GUEST POST] Consider Yourself a Rebel? Then Rebel Against China...

By Daniel Bulford 

"Our media is beholden to the PRC’s state censors. It must fall to counter-culture to protest its injustices."

Uighur protest taking place in Brussels.
Credit: Aris Oikonomou / AFP Via Getty Images

The vast Xinjiang territory is Western China’s frontier land, bordered by Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India. It covers an area more than twice the size of France. A land of rich heritage, where East and West have collided throughout history, it has always been a melting pot for Chinese, Tibetan and Turkic cultures. Two other pertinent facts have proven, in recent years, to be unfortunate for its Uighur inhabitants: it has historically been predominantly Muslim; and it’s key to Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Tension has existed within Xinjiang for decades. Between the 1950s and the 1970s, a combination of mass emigration to the Soviet Union, alongside mass migration of Han to the region, driven by state propaganda, changed the region’s ethnic makeup from only about 7% Han to about 40%. Among the Uighur, this has long been seen as part of an effort by the Communist Party to stamp out Islam and Uighur cultural identity. The result has been an increasing hostility between both parties that has frequently led to terrorist attacks and state crackdowns.

In 2014, President Xi announced the beginning of the ‘people’s war on terror’ in China, in response to several terrorist attacks, mostly within Xinjiang, that had taken place over the preceding years. In practice, this so-called war on terror has, in fact, proven to be nothing more than a process of horrifying mass persecution against the Uighurs and other Muslims of the region. It has been argued that these measures are designed to protect the huge rail and road infrastructure that will be passing through Xinjiang, connecting China to crucial economic interests abroad as part of the BRI.

What’s happening to the Uighurs of Xinjiang is absolutely appalling, and it’s both strange and sad that it’s hardly ever a topic of conversation in the West.

If any other country on Earth was currently detaining more than one million members of an ethnic minority in what can only fairly be described as concentration camps – where forced labour, sterilisation of women and even organ harvesting are known to take place – we would hear about it constantly. What about if, on top of this, the same minority was under constant surveillance, with facial recognition cameras covering all public space, and each family having an attached government official ready to drop in at any moment, or if every aspect of their culture was being routinely stamped out, with language and many religious customs banned outright?

Prison camp for Uighur inmates located in
Western Xinjiang. Credit: BBC

It’s not just about the Uighurs, of course. China has been enacting similar policies in Tibet, and against the Falun Gong religious minority, for decades now. Even in Hong Kong, where the Chinese government is not supposed to have true legal jurisdiction, it has engaged in the secretive kidnapping and torture of its critics.

Here’s the problem. China, home to more than 1.4 billion people, is the largest market for goods and services on Earth. Any large Western company that sells virtually anything will eventually want to sell it in China, and to do so effectively, it realistically has to appease its government.

This is especially true in media; the PRC’s state censors simply will not allow any Western film or other form of media to be shown in China if they do not thoroughly approve of its contents, and there’s little doubt that the same corporations will do whatever they can to please them through whatever other means they need to.

Huge conglomerates, with multiple interests, will have no problem toning down any potentially critical rhetoric about China in any possible facet, whether it be in films, TV, games or news reporting. Sure, we get the occasional token story about Xinjiang or Hong Kong, but it’s usually kept fairly quiet, with any critical tone muted, and for a reason.

We’ve seen examples of this phenomenon recently that almost defy belief. In late 2019, Daryl Morey, the General Manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted his support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, and almost instantly, NBA games were pulled from Chinese state television. Other figures in the NBA quickly distanced themselves; he issued an apology and retracted his comments shortly thereafter. At around the same time, an e-sports star known as Blitzchung won a match in a gaming competition, but during the course of the livestream, he also made the mistake of expressing his support for the Hong Kong protesters. He was banned from competing in similar contests and had his prize money revoked. Activision Blizzard, the company promoting the event, sees expanding into the Chinese market as one of its core business objectives.

Such examples are clear and obvious, but the effects behind the scenes could stretch much further than we can see. Without realising, we may have allowed most of our media to be censored by the Communist Party of China.

President Xi Jinping
Credit: Aris Messinis

Therefore we, as individuals living outside her grasp, must take up the cause of protesting China’s injustices. Our media won’t, and China’s own people can’t. Most other governments, terrified of losing out on trade, will do virtually nothing. In particular, we must begin to use our long tradition of politically driven counter-culture in our arts to disseminate this message.

With China’s power and influence across our world increasing, a discussion needs to happen now, and it seems it can only truly happen at the most grassroots level. It’s time to delete our TikTok accounts, boycott manufacturers that utilise slave labour in the Xinjiang camps, and protest our own leaders’ subservience to this menace.

I’m partly writing these words because I’m considering my audience. Punk and related artistic subcultures have had a long-standing relationship with the anti-fascist movement. While mainstream voices call for ‘reasoning’ with fascists, this movement has provided the opposition that is truly required in many cases. Of course, it’s great that we’re stamping out overt nationalism in the West, but this has nothing to do with the true threat of fascism in our time. It’s time to realign our gaze.

First of all, the comparison between the Xinjiang camps and Nazi concentration camps is one that may seem natural to make here. I’ll leave up to you whether you think it’s appropriate to do so – it’s enough of an elephant in the room in this discussion to be worth addressing, but I don’t believe the horrors of the Holocaust should ever be invoked lightly.

Instead, consider such hyper-nationalist measures within the context of China’s overall strategy. A recent opinion piece by LBC presenter Maajid Nawaz made the bold claim that China’s economic strategy is driven primarily by preparation for total war. I’m not sure I’m fully convinced by this idea just yet, not least because the Thucydides’ Trap argument is flawed in the nuclear era (as the Cold War showed us) but there’s no doubt in my mind that China’s state capitalism is by far the closest modern comparison to the fascist economies of Hitler and Mussolini in the 1930s.

The objective is simple. By consorting with big business, and shaping it to fit its own agenda, the PRC can expand its dominance over global markets and maintain self-sufficiency, all while maintaining an iron grip over the whole process – as well as its people. Combined with the state’s other nationalistic measures, including occupation of foreign land and brutal ethnic cleansing of minorities, it’s hard to call it anything other than a modern fascist superpower.

Protesters in Hong Kong take to the streets in resistance
to the overstepping of the Chinese government.
Credit: Lam Yik Fei, NY Times.

This is more relevant now than ever before. We’re starting to really see just how much of a role the CPC has been playing behind the scenes in the current coronavirus pandemic. Early on, it silenced doctors trying to warn us about what was happening in Wuhan. A US intelligence report recently claimed that the Chinese government deliberately withheld the dangers of the disease from the world while it hoarded medical supplies. This backed up earlier reports that China waited a crucial six days to inform the world of the outbreak. And estimates made by Wuhan residents on social media in late March put the city’s death toll at over 42,000, a far cry from the approximately 3,200 that the state was reporting at the same time. Testing kits and other key supplies sent from China to the rest of the world proved to be faulty or below standards.

Who knows how many lives would have been saved by now had the Chinese government been honest from the start? Plenty of criticism is due elsewhere, of course, but properly informed, there’s no way governments across the rest of the world would have shown such a limp response.

I’m not going to entertain wild speculation or conspiracy theories here. Science shows us that the coronavirus probably wasn’t created in a lab. But the facts alone are damning enough. China’s response has left the rest of the world woefully unprepared, to the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives (at least) and huge economic damage. At best, this shows an incredibly selfish, chauvinistic attitude, in which the interests of the nation-state supersede both the need for international cooperation and even basic humanitarianism. At worst, it is a hostile, warlike act, weaponising a crisis towards the goal of weakening the country’s rivals and extending its influence even further.

It seems that the first step, right now, is getting the message across as to what the People’s Republic of China truly is, boldly and unafraid: it is a powerful, threatening, genocidal, fascist state. And one we should all be paying far more attention to than we are. Make no mistake: there’s only one reason we don’t hear it called what it is, in plain terms, and that’s that those with a platform are afraid of the consequences. Only those with no vested interest or fear of repercussions can speak up here, and it’s our duty to do so.

Suicideo, The Influence of Suicidal Tendencies' Video Catalogue

The realm of elite sonic craftsmanship versus the not so hot dud acts lulling in the sea of obscurity is not the only criteria for assessing musical success. There is a circle of factors that can pump triumph into a band for all reasons other than their musical quality. Live performances, aesthetic, gimmicks, disses, costumes, mythical lore and whatever else you can run off your fingers are all contributing factors (however much the gatekeepers of all that is musically holy might not want to admit). One attribute that I feel still hasn’t been exercised to its full potential by a majority of bands over the years is the use of visual media in that of the music video. Of course, within the underground ranks there is the double-edged sword of not having enough money to warrant the production of such an intimidating endeavour along with running the risk of becoming the village idiot, drowning helplessly in in the jeers of the herd. However, when practised correctly I think it could be strongly argued that a consistent and clear aesthetic running throughout a band’s career can be accentuated to the max by how they formulate themselves in the video medium. To illustrate the wider point to the best of my ability and also just so I find and excuse to write about one of my GOATs, this article will start and end with Suicidal Tendencies. So many things about this group played their own respective parts in luring me into the world of Cyco Miko and co. More importantly, it is the careful layering of an uncompromising aesthetic, intelligent lyrical themes and down-right laughable high jinks, all captured in one effortless breath that keeps me revisiting this band. What I will try to unravel in the body of this work is what made Suicidal Tendencies’ music videos so great compared to their contemporaries; how they influenced many other hardcore and metal acts to come and assess which ingredients can be used for one’s own success in the art of cooking up spicy video masalas.

Hard to believe the guy in this video is a very
young Mike Muir (also displayed top left)

No one has ever gone wrong from starting at the beginning so that’s where I’ll place my starting line for this piece (Gaspar Noé would probably disagree). What was so groundbreaking about your favourite crossover cholos from Venice Beach? Well, its the transformation undergone once Glen E. Friedman got his claws into them that contravenes any assumption Suicidal were always the outfit presented in their debut single. Here’s an early inception of ST playing in 1981 and with cutting them as much slack as possible for obviously being insanely young, the display on show could be summed up as everything that is “typical” about a no thrills Southern California hardcore band. At this point there is absolutely nothing setting apart this gang of Suicidal babies from the more established acts of the time. The quartet come off largely as a product of their circumstances, looking up to their gang banging and grave robbing forefathers in that of TSOL, Circle Jerks, FEAR etc and umpteen other younger outfits riddled with dysfunctional personalities (China White, DI, Battalion of Saints and Circle One to name a few).

Fast forward to 1984 and BAM, ‘Institutionalized’ is absolutely flooring audiences left right and centre due to Bill Fishman’s stellar work. The carefully crafted video for the single and new found headdresses are offending the conservative mainstream, confirming what they already suspected about the so called “violent and nihilistic” subculture of punk; violently abhorring punk purists with its slick production package; alerting the relevant authorities to all the gang affiliated references littered across each frame and is doing all of this while cultivating a whole nation of young Suicidal thrashers. I sort of imagine this same explosion of ST like the more recent phenomenon of multi-coloured braids and face tattooed hallmarks of the emo rap/trap scene from the likes of Lil Uzi or Lil Peep in the sense that it’s a bunch of kids just saying “Yeah, this is who we are and this what we like, fuck you if you don’t like it.” The emo rappers definitely wound up the old school hip-hop guardians and ignited a whole new generation of fans in their wake that no one ever even knew was there. Suicidal took elements of what seemed to be an unlikely match from the outside-world’s perspective of cholo culture along with surfing, slamming and skateboarding hardcore punk, fusing them in holy matrimony. Innovative? Yes. Something invented by the band? Perhaps not. The key ingredient to the Suicidal formula was taking two elements that were already harmonising together unbeknown to those outside the bubble of Venice Beach and becoming the flag bearers of a movement in infancy.

Headie and RV turned a loss into a win contrary to
public belief. This video changed the consensus on their sticky
situation overnight and became one of the most viewed
UK drill videos at the time.

Once one has created an army that is a force to be reckoned with, will this army simply carry on where its leader left off in keeping with the loyalty, discipline and dominance first instilled through said leader’s original charisma? History has shown us that this not always the case, and the departure of one single soul from a movement can be its ultimate downfall. ST recognised this and after all the bullet-holed carnage that would ensue after the release of the 1983 debut, the 1986 reformation of the group realised power would need to be consolidated…and fast! The ‘Possessed to Skate’ video is a textbook example of turning an L into a W (a skill when best practised can be thekey success in an artist’s career, see Headie One ‘Know Better’). Originally being a gracious offering for the band to be part of a feature film; the only emerging footage to see the light of day from the failed motion picture would be the Possessed to Skate video. This footage picks up exactly where Institutionalized left off, even down to the same actress (Mary Woronov) playing the all-American mom! The video not only drafted in the same comical narrative that made Institutionalized successful but helped solidify the band’s skater/graffiti credentials (Mike’s brother Jim being the link up) and tell audiences the previous video was definitely not a one-off TV special.

According to Mike Clarke, the shot of John Cusack was filmed
for a  video made for 'Join the Army' but shooting was ended
prematurely  when a huge gang fight broke out during filming.

Come 1988 and things get interesting. An Epic Records deal is signed off the back of the Possessed to Skate video which probably caught A and R reps’ attention after kids nationwide were draining back-garden swimming pools to skate in. Trip at the Brain is my personal favourite Suicidal Tendencies video and sums up all the best takeaways from the band that I feel go unnoticed by haters and lovers of the group. The video is draped in tongue-in-cheek humour but manages to balance that perfectly with metaphorical nods to more serious themes to do with mental health, introspection, lethargy and potential drug use. The spectacles in the video are standout, the climax being the band performing on top of a brain?! Mike manages to slip the marketing tool of wearing his own merch in videos in a way that actually makes the polo shirt look like the uniform of the 'inmate' in the video that he’s portraying. Seriously, hats off! And finally, there is still all the outlandishly brilliant fashion choices showing no signs of departure from the Suicidal gang aesthetic responsible for the original levels of infamy in 1983. This aesthetic arguably went on to influence a load of participants on the East Coast that would flourish in the next few years. Bands like Biohazard, All Out War and Earth Crisis would don bandannas while Danny Diablo, Stigma and a heap of others would be far more comfortable with the fedora, one of which Mike is wearing in this very video! Also, did anyone else notice John Cusack half way through this video calling us all maggots?

There's gotta be some kind of cash prize for
anyone who can name each NYHC character
in this classroom photo from the 'Punishment' video shoot.

You Can’t Bring Me Down is the final blow in Suicidal’s twelve-round success streak and sets a similar game changing influence via visuals that the original Institutionalized video did in 1984. There is a stark change in vibe to a much more serious tone in the music but this is hammered home completely by the use of monochrome visuals and the impending doom of the video narrative. Christ, this video is almost hip-hopesque in some parts, showing that ST were once again one step ahead of the curve. Mike had already been dipping his toe into hip-hop by breaking out into a full scale rap flow on Trip at the Brain and was ready to now turn up the heat on this video. This might be a reach but take a look at this Eric B. & Rakim video. Whilst the format isn’t by an means identical, the seriousness of the black and white tones working with the austerity of the duo rapping with their crew behind them or in a packed out party definitely served as a reference point for the aforementioned Suicidal video. I’d even go as far as to say You Can’t Bring Me Down set the template for the whole tough guy metal/hardcore video subgenre that was followed by so many bands after. Just take the iconic ‘Punishment’ video by Biohazard. Its not hard to see all the blatant similarities with Suicidal from the bandannas and washed out colours all the way to the entire ensemble of DMS cackling away in most of the shots as the Suicidal henchmen bash against the fence in YCBMD.

Sadly, Suicidal wouldn’t be able to visually top anything after this record and the decline ensued. However, the 10 years building up to this video in carving out a unique aesthetic, pushed via ingenious music videos had already done enough foundational work to cultivate a die-hard fan base and open the door to the art of the aggressive-music video which would take many forms throughout the 90s and beyond. I think this is where ST's legacy really shines in a way most other bands just couldn’t muster. It’s a harsh truth but many would absolutely swear by East Coast contemporaries, Cro Mags when it comes to pure musical output and would probably agree that their music far exceeds how well they are remembered by most. Perhaps if they’d had someone of similar visionary capability to Friedman then they could have pushed the boat out further. Alpha and Omega is an amazing album whichever way you square it but I would be hard pressed to agree that the video for ‘Path to Perfection’ matches the same grandeur and dare I say it…might even take away from how hard hitting that album is (honestly this video is a sore cheese fest of Faith No More style visuals dancing violently over shots of a band who really don’t look like they feel comfortable on camera).

Could we take a step back for a second and appreciate how similar the 

above FNM track sounds to Alpha and Omega 'Mags (Courtesy of Augie B)

I want to finish off by saying that this shouldn’t be taken as a shitfest on all the bands mentioned in this article that aren’t ST as all those bands are musically and aesthetically pioneering in their own right and deserve the accolades they have collected. My main point is that if harnessed properly, there is no telling where that extra special synergy of cleverly crafted video visuals with a solidified aesthetic can take you and ST have been the originating force in taking this philosophy to its natural conclusion. Just take TRC for example, they would be nowhere near what they are without the videos! Ultimately, ST recognised that there was a gap in the market in terms which they could fill culturally, ethnically and musically. They were sharp enough to realise there was a whole disjointed network of kids from similar backgrounds all discovering punk for the first time through all sorts of mediums. The videos were a tool used in the unification of this previously untapped section of society by reflecting back at the audience their own unadulterated diversity. For that, I have infinite respect going beyond what Suicidal Tendencies tracked to tape and it is for this reason I will always be a member of the SUICIDAL ARMY.  

My band, Lawful Killing playing a Halloween concert,
I took the liberty of dressing up as Mike.

Brown Inbound Interview #2: Azim Nobeebaccus [TRC, CRIPPLER LBU, FLAWLESS VICTORY]

In contrast to my previous interview, I've decided to undergo questioning of a member of the UK hardcore scene who I've had no previous contact with whatsoever. I can however say that the importance of his bands - most notably TRC - cannot go understated. I think I speak for everyone involved in UKHC when I say that one could not be involved in the genre without some exposure to TRC, either through their eclectic influence pool or just the beautifully hilarious nature of their music videos. I have to respect artists who are so uncompromising with their blend of styles and unwitting bravery to venture outside of the box. Love them or hate them, TRC epitomises this sentiment. I can't tell you the amount of times I've watched the 'Define Cocky' music video on a continuous loop and out of all the insane things going on in that video, the two things that really stuck with me were the fact the guitarist had a 'Boy Better Know' shirt on and one of the four (yes, you heard me, four) singers looked like he might be a member of the brown brigade. I was right, so enough of my waffle and let's get stuck in to Azim's interview...

Hi Azim, thanks for agreeing to do this interview with me. I'm going start with some quick questions about yourself starting with your family background, could you give me a quick history?

Well I was raised in a household with an older brother and both parents. Both my parents were immigrants, my father was Mauritian and my mother is from Pakistan. My father’s family were quite poor and my dad was doing manual labour from a young age. I would consider our household a liberal Muslim one. Pakistani & Mauritians are different in culture if you go by both sides of my family. The Pakistanis are more fiery whilst the Mauritians seem more laid back. Basically, my mum was the boss of the house and the dominant and driving force. Both my parents being nurses, they were hard workers, constantly juggling work and us. They came to this country and worked their socks off to provide for us so they’re was always a strong sense of work ethic. As we were immigrants, the belief was instilled that we had to work extra hard. Racism was and still is present in society, both directly and indirectly.

Did your parents listen to a lot of music growing up at home? What did they listen to and how much of an impact did this have on your development? Any particular records you still stick on from time to time?

Junaid Jamshed and the gang in Vital Signs
'Dil Dil Pakistan' is a CLASSIC.

It was straight up Bollywood most of the time. My mum always had a Bollywood movie on or some low budget Indian film with the bait fighting scenes. If you’ve ever watched a Bollywood movie, music plays a big part of this. Dil Dil Pakistan (listen HERE) by Junaid Jamshed (Vital Signs) was a classic also, I’ve just put it on now! Absolute banger. It’s almost like the Pakistani theme tune, I’m surprised it’s not their national anthem. Maybe it is? My mum also played Qawwali, which was very popular in Pakistan at the time. Qawwali is like an Islamic spiritual music and is very mesmerising. She also played her good share of Cliff Richard, ABBA and her personal favourite was Diana Ross! My dad’s influences were very different and was open to different tastes. Mauritius is an island and is incredibly diverse and is a place where the Indian, African & Chinese cultures meet. Sega is a type of music originating from Mauritius and is a dance as well as a type of music. This wasn’t played at home, but whenever we went to a Mauritian wedding, I’d remember hearing the Sega and seeing the dance, was magnificent. At home however, my dad always had the old school cassettes playing in his Mazda, my memory is hazy on this but I do remember him playing Daydream believer by Anne Murray quite a bit! He loved the old school classics and went out to concerts every now and again.

What was your perception of punk/hardcore if you had any as a child or adolescent before you fell into the subculture? Did you see it a certain way that clash with your identity/place in your community before you came to know more about it?

Well, it was different. I always knew the mainstream crap that was playing on the radio wasn’t for me. This was too ‘normal’. I was straight up against the grain for as long as I can remember. However, I knew I had to deal with the questions, talking behind my back about my alternative music tastes. Yes, it wasn’t culturally accepted, I knew this and that fuelled fire to explore it even more. Punk music, was grouped together with drink & drugs, anti-religion, anti-authority, tattoos and fucking shit up. Although the extended family probably had their reservations, even my parents probably had their own reservations, they backed me as best they could. You gotta think, some of these music genres we are exposed to in the Western world wasn’t exposed to my parents back at home.

What are your biggest musical, aesthetic and cultural influences in your approach to the art you have produced?

London as whole was my biggest influence. London is a harsh place, and as vocalist this was the best way to express this. We used to talk a lot about hate because that’s what we were seeing, that’s what we were experiencing. That all came through our music, and it was clear.

What was your first and/or most memorable experience of racism, if any?

I’ve known racism for as long as I can remember. I remember kids in primary school throwing about words like Nigga & Paki. I remember feeling threatened by these words because really, I was both. There were also a lot of Indians in my area, and they disliked Pakistanis due to the situation over there. All this shit is generational, it’s passed down through families for years and years. Saying that, this wasn’t one sided. The whole Israel Palestine situation and the dismantling of the Middle East has been happening for as long as I can remember. I’ve heard really bad racism coming from my community against Jewish & White people. The Whites had a derogatory term for us ‘Paki’ and we had a derogatory term for them ‘Gora’. It was real sad, straight up ignorant and pathetic and I’m glad I saw it for what it was. Growing up in London, a place which was a melting pot, every now and again it would bubble and spill. That’s when you really saw the racism within people come up. People that I would never have thought, ended up being racist because that is what they were conditioned to be and didn’t have the intelligence to know better.

How did you eventually find out about punk and hardcore and what was the process that eventually got you going to shows and playing in bands?

Certainly before my time but the Punk-O-Rama
comps were a massive gateway for many UK heads

It started with Metal and Punk in high school. I remember when one of the Punk-O-Rama’s came out, number 4 or 5. They had the tune by The Misfits - Dust to Dust & Pennywise - My Own Country. We had a little boombox, used to make a mixtape and take it down whilst we were skateboarding. Then I went to a Deconstruction tour in East London, I must have been like 16, well before they tightened restrictions on ID. Anyways after Pennywise played, I showed the lead singer my tattoo by the front barrier and he pulled me and 2 friends backstage. So, there we were, just like that hanging out with Pennywise. At the end of the show we stood in the massive empty arena, just us and them chatting away smoking a spliff. Then I remember seeing bands like Agnostic Front, Sick of it all and thought what is this?? One of the first hardcore shows I remember going to was when BDF played with CryforSilence at the Underworld, I already knew Cryforsilence through friends. This is when I first heard ‘beatdown’, not only beatdown, ‘London beatdown’. It’s a unique style and no other style worldwide compares. Knuckledust, Ninebar, 50 Caliber, straight up London sound and style.

Which types of people did you gravitate towards when you began going to shows? Did the social aspect of it affect how you experienced the scene?

To start with it was just me and my friend going to shows. I was there to listen to the music, that was always the foundation. The music bought people together, and still does. This is a common trend in any genre of music. Race, colour, religion, that shit didn’t seem to matter at all, especially at London shows. Unless, you were a Nazi, then you didn’t last long….

The first TRC record is entitled ‘North West Kings’ and from my experience, North West London is a multicultural hotbed harbouring primarily strong Caribbean, Arab and Irish communities. North and North West London also helped to shape early incarnations of grime through garage groups like Heartless Crew with the region still continuing to be a key player in UK hip hop with artists like Nines, Fredo etc. Would it be fair to say TRC was a product of everything going on in the early 00s in NW and how much did this influence the band’s approach?

TRC was a fusion of everything going on. Every member in TRC at the time had a different spin. As a group, the different cultures were blatantly noticeable in the music. It’s going back, but we just played what we wanted, no limits. Yes, we were hardcore, we played hardcore show but we also rapped. There was no pretending to be American like a lot of bands were doing and are still doing. That just never made any sense. We weren’t biting styles, we were creating our own. It was a new wave of music, it was new and fresh. That’s why they called us along with Prowler and other new bands at the time, New Blood. That’s why people loved it, it was ruthless, to the point and unfiltered.

‘Destroy and Rebuild’ also features a UK hip-hop track, ‘Dark Days’, how did this come happen and who features on this track? Does this song reflect the band’s wide-ranging links to non-hardcore genres that influenced you?

AC was on this track with one of his friends (can’t remember his name). But yes, as mentioned earlier just because bands are doing it a certain way, it didn’t mean we had to. If we were into rap or hip hop than why would that not come through in the music?

Crippler LBU has a strong graffiti aesthetic running throughout. Graffiti culture shares an inseparable link with hardcore music for decades and this was no exception for LBU. What elements of graffiti culture influenced you on your artistic journey?

LBU has had strong graff links since its inception
Ninebar being one of the key players

Graffiti is street expression, so is hardcore. This is why they gel together, like hip hop too. Any urban music coming out of the UK, be it Grime, Drum n Bass has an inseparable attachment to Graffiti. Street kids, like street vibes, simple as that. Graffiti was part of my life before hardcore so that defiantly had an influence. When I came across Ninebar with their tune Fuck BTP (listen HERE) I couldn’t believe it. So many prolific writers have been involved in hardcore.

Tell me about the sketchiest/wildest gig you've been to that comes to mind.

There’d be too many to talk about. Ieperfest about 8 years ago? or something was pretty mad, we came straight out a rave in Kings Cross the night before. A few hours later we were a ferry on the way to Belgium. It was proper messy, me and Flawless were on one and pulling up in this was in the summer so it was baking. Bun Dem Out were playing, outdoor stage type thing. Proper heavy.

Favourite bands with ethnic members and why are they important to you?

My favourite bands in hardcore with ethnic members have been and still are Madball, BDF Knuckledust and Prowler to name a few. I don't really consider bands by ethnic background but by the music they play. Hey, what even constitutes an ethnic anyway? Non-white? Hard question to answer actually, Oh and Ignite from California, always loved Ignite!

And lastly, how have things changed for the ethnic involvement in punk and hardcore since you started going to gigs? Is there a noticeable difference, have things got better or worse? This question is a little different to my last interview as I believe you have a few kids of your own! Once your kids reach their teens, would the scene as it is be a place you would want them to be? Could it be made safer? does it need to be?

I’m certainly not as active as I once was due to commitments. However, when it comes to ethnic involvement, not much has changed. Maybe at bigger shows this will be different, but at LBU shows, Rucktion shows, good people run this. I was welcomed into the scene as my kids will be too. It doesn’t need to be made safer in my opinion. The reality of the world is harsh, and that reflects in every scene. What I love about hardcore is that it is not polished, its gutter, its grimy. I’d take my kids to a hardcore show now if I could, the music is for everyone to enjoy.

 Can we look forward to Crippler playing some shows post-lockdown?

I certainly hope so! We haven’t done anything for years and we were supposed to play this April gone, but obviously that has been put on hold. We’ve all got busy lives but I’m keen to get something going for sure. I’d be keen to get Flawless Victory doing something but doubt that will happen. FV was just straight grimy [Listen HERE].

Any last words or anything you want to air, please do!

All the bands I been in come to think of it always had a diversity of culture. Why would it be any other way, it’s a representation of London, a mash up of different people. If people don’t like that well I don’t see why they’d even come to a HC show in the first place. Punk I guess will be different and racism will be more prevalent.