Rock Against Communism in France (1984-2024)
Rock Against Communism (RAC) emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s, combining a punk music sound, skinhead subculture, and neo-Nazi lyrics. RAC subsequently spread across Europe and later to the United States. This article examines the French RAC scene from 1984 to the present day. Based o...
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| الحاوية / القاعدة: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/transposition, |
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| المؤلف الرئيسي: | |
| التنسيق: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| اللغة: | Anglais |
| منشور في: |
Transposition
2025
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| الموضوعات: | |
| الوصول للمادة أونلاين: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| الملخص: | Rock Against Communism (RAC) emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s, combining a punk music sound, skinhead subculture, and neo-Nazi lyrics. RAC subsequently spread across Europe and later to the United States. This article examines the French RAC scene from 1984 to the present day. Based on a corpus of records, interviews, and fanzines, and using prosopography and content analysis (lyrics and iconography), it shows how, within just a few years, the French RAC scene became one of the most radical and respected in Europe, notably thanks to the Brest-based label Rebelles européens (1987-1994). The digitization of music has had mixed effects, making these productions more accessible while weakening the record labels. Since the late 2000s, RAC’s gradual marginalization – linked to the emergence of even more radical music scenes and the aging of both artists and audiences – has gone hand in hand with a movement to preserve and promote RAC groups. Despite its extreme nature, this music scene functions in much the same way as any underground scene, characterized by multiskilled key players, short-lived music careers due to the absence of commercial prospects, a niche audience, and a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) ethos adopted for lack of any alternatives. Closely monitored by both anti-fascists and the authorities, RAC’s political radicalism precludes any entry into parties participating in the electoral process. |
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