English neo-Nazi musician (1957–1993)
Musical artist
Ian Stuart Donaldson (11 August 1957 – 24 September 1993), also known as Ian Stuart, was an English neo-Nazi musician. He was best known as the front-man of Skrewdriver, a punk band which, from 1983 onwards, he rebranded as a White power and Rock Against Communism band. He raised money through white power concerts with his Blood & Honour network.
Biography
Born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, Donaldson attended Baines School in nearby Poulton, where he met Sean McKay, Phil Walmsley, and John Grinton. They formed the cover band Tumbling Dice, who played songs by the Rolling Stones and other bands. In 1975, they formed Skrewdriver, a band that gained a reputation for attracting violence at their concerts.[1]
After the original Skrewdriver lineup disbanded in 1979, Donaldson formed a new lineup and began to write songs for a white power audience.[2] The new version of Skrewdriver openly promoted far-right groups such as the National Front and raised funds for them (and affiliated organisations) through the National Front's music label, White Noise Records.[2] Skrewdriver became known for its involvement in the White Nationalist movement and its associated music genre, Rock Against Communism.[2] In 1987, Donaldson and Skrewdriver roadie and album-cover artist Nicky Crane founded Blood & Honour, a neo-Nazi network that distributes white power music and organises concerts.[2] Donaldson and Crane cited financial mismanagement by the National Front as reason for creating the network, in addition to claims the National Front had become insufficiently racist, since some National Front members had attempted to appeal to a more mainstream audience to improve declining membership rates.[3]
Donaldson also became leader of two other bands—The Klansmen (a rockabilly band) and White Diamond (a hard rock/heavy metal band)—and released several solo albums. Along with Skrewdriver guitarist Stigger (Stephen Calladine), he recorded the albums Patriotic Ballads volumes 1 and 2, which included covers of folk songs such as "The Green Fields of France". Donaldson's voice also appeared in the song "The Invisible Empire".
On the night of 23 September 1993, Donaldson was involved in a car crash in Derbyshire that resulted in his death the following day, at the age of 36. A friend of Donaldson, 23-year-old Stephen Lee Flint, was killed at the scene.[4]
