The day started outside the Central Library in Manchester whilst we were waiting for our coaches. John someone (SWP militant activist) turned up with four sackloads of chairlegs. He handed these out and then got us to go to the Grand Hotel where the NF were meeting their coaches. We smashed them to smithereens and ruined their day.

 

When we got to Lewisham the SWP were incredibly well organised. The London comrades had selected a bombsite full of half bricks as the place to attack the Nazis. 

 

The march came, the flag bearers passed by, the honour guard passed by, Tyndall and Webster passed by and then the rest of the scum came. The SWP had organised a group of big lads into a wedge formation, copying the police's own tactic. The wedge split the march apart and then we rained the rest of them with the half bricks.

 

The police attacked us all the day and I remember in particular sheltering with an old lady in a shop doorway. A copper took one look at us and then smashed the glass above our heads. 

 

I think we all thought that we had scored an important victory that day. 

  

How did RAR affect the ANL?

 

Well, the ANL was a group of boring Broad-Left do-gooders who couldn't ignite any interest from anyone at all. All the movement had when it started was a few adverts in the Guardian sponsored by Ernie Roberts et al.

 

The ANL had a benefit concert in the Lesser Free Trade Hall (actually the same venue as the first punk gig in Manchester featuring the Pistols / Buzzcocks) and the line-up was all very folky. Ewan McColl was there bringing his young kids (incl Kirsty) to sing "We shall overcome" etc. Hardly going to ignite the loins of the youth of the day.

 

The first carnival in London brought together the ANL with RAR and gave the ANL instant credibility.

 

The credit for this has to go to the SWP, who were the organisational force behind both organisations (even though we all denied it at the time) and the carnivals would just not have happened without the resources and organisational skills of the SWP.

 

Post-carnival the ANL were the coolest thing in school and I think we saw a massive sea change in the thinking of the general public. My 10 year-old boy is fervently anti-racist without any influence from me at all - it's just the way it is now - and I think that the ANL/RAR had a massive influence on that going back to the late 70's.

 

What about the bands?

 

If you read Billy Bragg's autobiography, it is shocking to discover how politically naive Billy actually is. Well, if that's Billy Bragg, what could we have hoped for from the likes of Mark Smith, Mick Hucknall, Tony James and Joe Strummer?

 

The bands, whilst not racist, didn't give too much of a monkey's about anti-racism. Most of them were just glad to get a gig. In Manchester, the most politically aware bloke that I knew was Mick Hucknall who is now a Blair crony, but even he was someone who voted Labour because his dad always did.

 

Hope this helps your future discussions.'