Detroit Hardcore: A revolution in politics from the underground

Detroit Hardcore:

A revolution in politics from the underground

If music is created with a lack of integrity and heart it is often challenged for its relevance and importance to the outside listener.  Detroit music has an added dimension of grit that has not occurred in other major cities around America.  With this in mind, bands began by being as raw and emotionally harsh as possible.  Detroit Hardcore stands as the harshest, purest form of emotional outlay in contemporary times.  Beginning in the 1980s with the band called Negative Approach and carrying through to bands such as Cold as Life and the Bill Bondsmen, Detroit Hardcore has continued its influence throughout the musical landscape.  Cold as Life and Negative Approach represent the two major stems of Detroit Hardcore both in time period and thought.  The way Hardcore began was with a desire to remove the pretentious and wasted effort of many of the surrounding musicians.  This occurred in many cities but Detroit is often considered a starting point with Negative Approach as one of the main founders and leaders of the movement.  The pure Nihilism of the group and its consistent effort to offend led to one of the greatest developments in American youth culture.  Although this movement was centered away from politics at first, it began to attract listeners who were less than wanted.  The continuation of the scene was threatened by the racist right wing but the initial feelings of pride in self, outrage with society and hatred for the upper class has never changed.  Detroit Hardcore based itself around these constructs and relied on a harsh sound and lyrical content that has propelled it into every generation since its inception.

Bands that were classified as Hardcore from the beginning of the scene often formed in reaction to their surroundings.  A certain level of disgust for people that were handed everything and for those who did not have to struggle was often a reason for forming a band.  In Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life, Minor Threat’s lead singer Ian MacKaye recalls working the door at a Georgetown bar, “‘Every Friday night,’ says MacKaye, ‘ I just sat there and I just watched a parade of fucking idiots going by.  It was party night, it was Georgetown, and it just turned my stomach.’” (130). This feeling of disgust created a scene that was unlike any other and one that continues throughout the world.   

            Detroit Hardcore can be a difficult thing to explain to someone outside of the movement.  The sound relies heavily on aggressive guitars, bass and drums that propel the music with a thud that is felt and not just heard.  Often people hearing it for the first time construct it as a wave of noise that is almost offensive to the ears.  This is often the point.  As Theodor Adorno suggests in Philosophy on Modern Music, “The dissonances which horrify them testify to their own conditions; for that reason alone do they find them unbearable” (9). Many bands at the start of this genre were tired of the consistent “garbage” that was being fed to them on the radio.  They were determined to assert their own brand of rebellion and disgust for anything simple and contrived.  The main output had to be emotion and harshness, nothing else.  Detroit Hardcore differs in this manner from the groups that would follow it in other areas. 

            The main difference in groups like Negative Approach (NA) from Minor Threat lies in its intent.  The bands may sound similar and hold similar sonic values but the message is completely different.  According to Otto Buj, editor of Sold Out in American Hardcore, “Negative Approach was the definitive Hardcore band – them and S.O.A. made the best Hardcore singles.  John Brannon’s presence was so intense.  He started the whole hardass stance.  There’s no precedent for what they did” (214). A punk band named All summed Detroit Hardcore up in one simple statement, “Keep your politics out of my music!”  In doing so, many of these original bands were often misconstrued as neo-Nazi Skinhead groups and forced to play shows at venues of their own construction.  NA was among this false construction but never claimed allegiance or perpetuated any racist ideals.  The main focus of NA was the rejection of everything. 

            To anyone that is even somewhat familiar with this type of music, Negative Approach furthered the assault and made it even more aggressive.  Their drive and determined stance to destroy everything in their path led to many people being offended.  Dave Laing, in Listening to Punk, also suggests that “…the identity of punk as something different depends in part on its achieving a disquieting impact on listeners whose expectations are framed by mainstream popular music and its values” (459).  This was the point for John Brannon and the founding members; to piss off the established norm.  Brannon states, “People were thoroughly upset by those early sets we did.  All our songs were averagely 30 seconds long and the set would only last about 10 minutes.  The dudes from the older, more established “rock” bands in the area were offended we had the nerve to go on a stage and do that.  But the kids dug it and that’s all we really cared about. We knew it had to be done” (Rettman 1).  The music that came out of this was harsh, aggressive, not very well performed and there was the point.

            The other group that gave Detroit Hardcore its start was Cold as Life.  The band began with Jeff Gunnells and Roy Bates as the aptly titled Apathetic Degenerates which led to the Mattress Rats and then Cold as Life in 1988.  The most controversial figure of the group was their singer Ron “Rawn” Beauty, who was murdered by his roommate, Richard Werstine.  The murder and the stories surrounding Beauty’s life are legendary in Hardcore circles and form the basis for many fans entrance into the politics and violence of the underground.  “‘He was so angry, dude; just burning inside, just so full of hate,’ Gunnells said.  ‘ There were many, many people on the receiving end from his dysfunctional upbringing’” (Moossavi).  Dougie Toms, “Sir Thomas,” states in an interview for Hardcore Times, “‘When Cold as Life played, it wasn’t just a hardcore scene back then.  You had the hardcore kids, the punk rockers, the skinheads; even the straight edge kids came out a lot back then,’ he said. ‘Ron had politicked it that way, where anyone could come to a Cold as Life show and there wouldn’t be no fights.  That was really cool because nobody wanted to fuck with Ron, so it was like Ron’s band, Ron’s show, Ron’s night to shine basically,’ Toms added” (October 2006).  That was the intent of the scene at the beginning, to create a family, but through violence and a hatred of life. 

            The city of Detroit is known as a working class town and a “hard” town.  To be brought up in, or in the surroundings of, one of America’s toughest cities leads to a feeling of disgust for those that have not had to struggle or work hard for what they have gained.  Members of the scene often cling to this feeling and are drawn into it.  Larry Kole, currently of the band Ten Second March, previously of the Jobbers, suggests, “Bands like the Bumpin Uglies, Multi Grain, and Malpractice… played a show like it was the last time they were ever going to be on stage again.” This feeling of hatred and disgust appears throughout the hardcore scene.  The importance here is that the members of this scene treat each other as family and a support network consistently develops because of this.  To the sociologist or others looking at this scene, it is almost gang-like in appearance, which has also led to many people viewing the movement in negative ways.  This perpetuates the ideals of Detroit Hardcore and the people that follow the music cling to this concept of family away from the established norms of family.  Even today, the gang concept exists; to be a part of it lends to certain connotations. 

            The members of C.T.Y.C. or Colder Than You Crew, were the harshest people at the beginning scene of Detroit Hardcore.  It was these people that ruled the scene through violence and intimidation, but also took care of those that were weaker and needed help.  Today, C.T.Y.C. exists but only in fan-based membership.  The original intent has passed, and most of the members have grown up and have moved on to other things but remain as a part of the scene.  In a recent interview with the newest formation of Cold as Life lead singer Vinnie “Enzo” Dufour, suggested, “For me it was a rite of passage.” Roy Bates added, “It’s about fucking frustration you know, people joining together to get through their own anger and frustration of life.”  The foundations of the scene stem from a concept of unity through violence. 

            The phrase, “unity through violence,” receives many interesting responses and suggests that the current, older members of the scene remember the beginnings with nostalgia and longing.  Unity is a concept that is consistently thrown around within underground music circles, but the Hardcore scene is one that truly represents this across the nation. Any challenge to this unity leads members to become violent and the main difference between the two stems of Detroit Hardcore is this unity verses apathy approach of NA.  Other scenes around the country have similar feelings, but the harshest continue to remain in Detroit and New York City.  Bands that play within these scenes rely on the feeling of unity through violence and harshness. 

            The politics involved with the Detroit Hardcore scene are consistently debated over and argued about.  Which bands represented what political view is a difficult thing simply because different members held different political leanings.  Cold as Life often drew a neo-Nazi skinhead element, but were also extremely anti-political from stage, whereas NA and bands like the Skraps and others often drew an extremely left wing audience that did not tolerate anyone unlike them.  This separation led to many members clashing at shows and fighting in order to prove who had the right to be there.  In Detroit, this led to the formation of many groups in support of the bands.  The Skraps had the Apple S.I.D.S, which was a group mainly within the northern suburbs of Troy, and Pontiac, and Cold as Life had C.T.Y.C.   To many people that followed this music the politics did not matter but there were those that clung fiercely to these “gangs.” 

            These politics caused the dissolution of the scene and to many bands being banned from venues.  As the members got older, the violence dissipated and now the clubs are booking newer bands that hold the same ideals as Cold as Life and other original bands.  The newer groups are also following the many stems of Detroit Hardcore, with bands like the Bill Bondsmen carrying the NA thread and bands like H8 Inc. following the Cold as Life thread.   There is an obvious reason for the growing popularity of this music in Michigan.  Most of it stems from the current economic struggles and working class ideals taking hold of the majority again.  When people are upset, or emotional in any way, they turn towards music.  This is common within other cities, but that Detroit grit comes through.  The fashion and brand of Detroit Hardcore has again been shaped to reflect the unity through violence approach.

            Other areas of the country also saw Hardcore develop in this way, but the Detroit scene was much more powerful.  The scene resonated with bands from around the world, most importantly with the leading force in hardcore Agnostic Front.  This group from New York City defined the image, strength and force of Hardcore and for many defined the movement.  When Cold as Life opened for them in Flint, Michigan at the Capitol Theater on December 21, 1991 and then played again with them at CBGBs later that month, the connection was made and Detroit Hardcore was changed forever. 

            The connection between these groups led to a huge following and solidified Cold as Life as the most important group in Detroit Hardcore.  The rest is a sordid history of band breakups, member changes and the like.  The only original member of Cold as Life that is still playing is Roy Bates and the conflict between him and Jeff Gunnels has become legendary within the scene.  Without Cold as Life performing and continuing to perpetuate the unity through violence approach, the Detroit Hardcore scene would have diminished.

 At a recent show, which saw the newest members performing after the death of their guitarist, the crowd was worked up into such frenzy that two women began to fight which led to others joining in the fray.  Bates commented on the night, “We should change our name to Cursed for Life.”  This is not an uncommon thought within the scene and one that characterizes the passion and drive for the music that the band has.  Without this passion, the group would have broken up long ago and the music would have been lost. Yet, due to the constant desire of Roy Bates to spread the word, the band continues. 

Cold as Life and Negative Approach are the foundations of Detroit Hardcore around the world and characterize desires that are found with a great many bands that followed them.  H8 Inc., the Bill Bondsmen and many others play a style of music that conforms to ideals laid by these groups.  The newer generations are finding this raw, emotionally driven music and clinging to it.  The mentality of unity through violence may be a past thought for the original members, but the newest fans are again displaying this family feel.  The scene would have been drastically different if NA and Cold as Life had not been founded on such strong and emotional desires. Hardcore would not have had the same effect on the minds of the young.

           

           

Works Cited

Adorno, Theodor W. Philosophy of Modern Music. New York/London: Continuum, 2004. Print.

Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2001. Print.

Blush, Steven. American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Los Angeles: Feral House, 2001. Print.

"CTYC- Roy Bates." Personal interview. 20 Aug. 2009.

"CTYC- Vinnie "Enzo" Dufour." Personal interview. 20 Aug. 2009.

Laing, Dave. "Listening to Punk." 1985. The Subcultures Reader. 2nd ed. London/New York: Routledge, 2005. 448-59. Print.

"Larry Cole." E-mail interview. 5 Aug. 2009.

Moossavi, Ali. "Cold as Life." Hardcore Times. 8 Oct. 2006. Web. 31 July 2009. <http://hardcoretimes.net/content/view/54/63/>.

Rettman, Tony. “The Detroit Hardcore Scene.”  Swindle.  12. 2006

Avoiding the Political Ramifications of Oi!

Avoiding the Political Ramifications of Oi!

How the Business Championed the Underground.

The Business began their assault into the South London underground with the album Suburban Rebels in 1981.  This album introduced British youth to a sound that attempted to bring punk back to its street roots.  The Business were pivotal to putting a new, harsher approach to music, into the murky streets of London.  The continuance of the group has often been strained and their relationship with politics has linked them to various developments in the British youth movement known as Oi!.  The Business have remained outside of the political ramifications of Oi! and other Skinhead music for the majority of their career.  The continuous references to English football and West Ham United situate the Business in the hooligan culture and remove them from many politically charged discussions.  Through this outside stance and non wavering support of all things Lewisham, the Business gained an extreme amount of popularity for such a harsh underground musical group.  Political associations led to the downfall and corruption of the Oi! scene and the movement that the Business help found.  The Business have found a way to remain alongside these associations and have continued through the many cycles of the punk movement to become one of the most revered bands of the underground. 

            The importance of this group has often been overlooked because of their insistence to remain loyal to the scene that gave them their beginning.  The Business were following other groups that had brought a new sound into the underground.  Bands such as Sham 69, the U.K. Subs and the Angelic Upstarts all gave birth to the sound that would later be known as Oi! and The Business were simply asserting their trademark onto this music and scene.  The sound of the Business is based completely in anthemic song writing and sing along choruses are the key. The beginning bands, Sham 69 and others played an extremely harsh sounding music but left off most of the anthem feeling that the Business were known for. 

            The appeal of the Business also stems from their strong tie to football (soccer) and the hooligan subculture surrounding matches.  This link serves the band in many different ways, most importantly in their development outside of political leanings.  In England, the link between fans and the football teams is extremely passionate and the Business have developed a style of music that is completely supportive of this undercurrent.  The team that the Business support is generally West Ham United but they also, like almost every English man and woman support England.  For a thorough collection of songs based on this connection Hardcore Hooligans (2003) can not be bettered by any punk, Oi! or other type of band around.  It was this connection to football that led the Business to their greatest chart success and continues their popularity.

            On this album, although a collection or mostly previously released tracks, the Business assert their relationship to all things football.  From the opening track “Hardcore Hooligan” to the closing “No One Likes Us,” the band draws the listener into the world of the hooligan and challenges anyone to stand in their way.  The most popular track on the album has become a battle cry for English football supporters throughout the team’s games in Europe.  “England 5,  Germany 1” sings the praises of the 2001 victory over Germany in Munich in a World Cup Qualifying match that was the largest trouncing in the history of the two clubs.  While the chorus may sound juvenile, the anthem is there and almost forces the listener to sing along.  “England 5, Germany 1. Michael Owen is number 1, England 5, Germany 1, Michael Owen is number 1.”  The other tracks on the album are significant as well but do not share the same resonance as this one.

            Hardcore Hooligans contains songs that describe the many facets of football and fully place the Business in the forefront of music to listen to while creating havoc.  From the cover art through the track listing, the attitude of the hooligan is expressed and furthered.  The track listing is as follows:

1. Hardcore Hooligan

2. Southgate (Euro 96)

3. Terrace Lost Its Soul

4. Saturday’s Heroes

5. Viva Bobby Moore

6. Maradonna

7. England 5, Germany 1

8. Guinness Boys

9. Handball

10. 3 Lions

11. Boys Are Out

12. No One Likes Us

The songs, “Maradonna” and “Handball” are direct insults to the “Hand of God” incident that happened in the 1986 World Cup match between England and Argentina where Maradonna  scored the opening goal by using his hand.  The other songs are equally impassioned and show the dedication of the band to football and its supporters. 

            The beginnings of football in England demonstrate the impact of the working class on the game and the way it was played.  As the traditionally upper class players in Victorian England relinquished their dominance of the game in 1883 with a loss in the Cup Final to the Blackburn Olympics the game changed. “They (Blackburn) beat the Old Etonians in overtime, and returned home by train to the adulation of a huge crowd led by what the Old Etonians no doubt viewed as the epitome of that northern, Nonconformist, low-cultured working class life: a brass band” (Baker, 243-244).  The working class relationship with the sport increased exponentially from that point on with teams coming from religious institutions (Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Everton, Burnley, Wolverhampton), schools (Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City, Sunderland), and finally trade unions ( Stoke City, Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham United). (Baker, 243)  These teams related to all of the people and had no limitations on attendance which led to a deep seated pride in the home side and resentment towards other teams. 

            While this culture began in response to Victorian oppression and as an escape from the ordinary day of work, it also became a way to gather and support one another outside of political affiliations.  This growing societal structure became one of the most significant developments that still continue through contemporary times.  The culture of football continues from these very beginnings.  “Along with the pubs and music halls, Saturday afternoon football games made possible a new sense of belonging, a ritualistic involvement in a larger group symbolized by colorful scarves, team songs, and folk heroes” (Baker, 248). It is this sense of ritual belonging that continues to drive the hooligan faction today and allows for the game of football to remain with these elements intact.

            The club that members of the Business support is West Ham United and their hooligan establishment known as the Inter City Firm.  West Ham formed in 1900 out of the Thames Ironworks company and continues today to play top level football fluctuating between the Premier League and the First Division.   The team was started, as most teams were, with the Victorian principle of camaraderie in the workplace and shifted to be driven by a board of directors.  The importance of the team, for this discussion, lies in their supporters and the hooligan faction.  The Inter City Firm (I.C.F.), alongside the Chelsea Headhunters, is one of the most notorious hooligan establishments in football history.  

            The concept of hooliganism is often discussed through a negative film and oftentimes should be.  However, it is a fact of football and one that developed early and has lasted until today.  As the playwright Arthur Hopcraft states, “What happens on the football field matters, not in the way food matters, but as poetry does to some people and alcohol does to others: it engages the personality” (212).  This engagement is often filled with a passion that translates to violence.  It is this violence that has created an image of hooliganism and perpetuated the headlines of attacks between rival firms.

            The stories of one “End” attacking another are prevalent throughout the society of football and especially in the press.  It becomes a badge of honor to have been through these attacks and/or fought off one.  The importance of clarification between fans being rowdy and unapologetic in their comments and stance and hooligan violence is extremely important.  For many football fans the chants and shouts at opposing fans is an every Saturday occurrence and does not equate to hooliganism, but as John Williams states in Football Hooliganism: Offenses, Arrests and Violence: A Critical Note, “The football hooligan phenomenon embraces both ritual and violent forms.  The latter is as integral an element of the phenomenon as the former” (111, emphasis his).  Because of these elements the hooligan faction takes on an almost mythic quality.

            The amount of violence that is attributed to the hooligan faction at matches increased with the media’s involvement.  By reporting on such violence during the 1966 World Cup, held in England, the press allowed for the myth of the hooligan was spread.  Clashes between firms grew and “taking an end” became something that was much more respected if the media reported on it.  For the outsider, the issue was one that could only be solved through police control and community support.  The fans and people supporting the game knew better and associated the rise with the media focus on England and the surrounding conditions of the working class.  In an attempt to define the reasons behind the existence of hooligans, Eric Dunning, Patrick Murphy and John Williams suggest that, “…the values which underlie hooligan behaviour at football matches and in match-related contexts are relatively persistent, deeply rooted and long standing features of communities of specific sections of the working class” (241).  These values contain elements of the definition of masculinity and aggression as well as cultural upbringing. 

            The working class ideals that underlie football hooliganism take shape in the outlets that are used to express them.  Through music, songs and chants, and clothing these ideals are espoused continuously at each game and throughout the society of football.  Firms have songs that revolve around events that have occurred in the past or as taunts to opposing clubs.  The songs drive the camaraderie and inhabit most of the firm’s beliefs.  Again, the statement on working class ideals is upheld in the camaraderie of the song and the multiple voices that are used in the chant. 

The Business play into these ideals and create songs that are based around events particular to England’s national team.  As mentioned in the songs about Maradonna and more specifically track number 2 on Hardcore Hooligans “Southgate (Euro 96).”  This song takes the debacle of Gareth Southgate’s, now the manager of Middlesbrough, missed penalty shot in the 1996 European Cup semi final against Germany and discusses the anger and frustration that was shared between all English football fans.  The following lyrics are easily held up with any terrace chant.

“Gareth Southgate stood on the spot
Couldn't believe the chance he got
He'd be a hero with one toe punt
But sent it at the keeper oh what a cunt

Chorus:

Southgate’s Going Home, he’s Going
Southgate’s Going Home, he’s Going
Southgate’s Going Home – Oh No He’s Missed the Bus

Should he hit to the left
Should he hit to the right
Don't really matter coz he was shite
That's the way our luck goes
Couldn't see the ball coz of the size of his nose

Chorus

If I score this it'll be a killer
Coz they won't let me at Aston Villa
Didn't take a run up for the kick
Even me mum thinks I'm a prick

Chorus

Dance now wherever you may be                                                                                                                                                                                           But he missed that fuckin penalty                                                                                                                                                                            So we smashed up the town wherever we may be                                                                                                     Cause he missed that fuckin penalty”

-The Business (Hardcore Hooligan, 2003)

The way that Southgate is treated in the song continues the link between the Business and their football supporters and “A central practice in the re-constitution of manhood in football is the communal chanting in which fans participate.  Through these songs, male fans re-affirm and re-negotiate the partitally sub-concious idea of their masculinity” (King, 585).

The connection to working class ideals, most thoroughly with football, situates the band within the second assertion of the Skinhead movement.  This development, before its infiltration by the British Movement, functioned as a call out to the youth of the day.  The Business were influential in reflecting this back to the Skins through their music and non-political lyrics.  John Clarke discusses the way the first assertion of this movement represented the working class in The Skinheads & the Magical Recovery of Community in Hall and Jefferson’s Resistance through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain, “…the Skinhead style represents an attempt to re-create through the ‘mob’ the traditional working class community, as a substitution for the real decline of the latter” (99, emphasis his). The music surrounding this original movement was drastically different but the feeling of camaraderie and association continued into the early 1980s scene.

During the early 80s in England and elsewhere, political affiliations within the punk and hardcore underground were extremely prevalent.  The Business avoided these classifications through playing shows with every group and not espousing any overtly political stance, aside from the us verse them mentality of class positioning.  This became the significant difference in the way that the community viewed the Business.  The other groups that were playing a similar style, Sham 69, Angelic Upstarts, Skrewdriver, the Oppressed, often used the left or the right to further their popularity.  This use of political affiliations led fans to draw up sides and the bands were pushed into the representations of these politics.  The Business, however, stuck with the themes of the working class and football. 

The theme of football was also shared with other groups of the beginning scene, most notably the Cockney Rejects who also strongly supported West Ham and the ICF.   They even recorded a version of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles in tribute to the team.  Because of these links violence was extremely common at Rejects’ and the Business gigs.  “A month after the release of Bubbles, a Reject’s gig at Birmingham’s Cedar Club ended in a riot that nearly finished the band.  200 plus skinheads showed up to settle a score from an incident at a previous Rejects’ gig and because of the West Ham links” (Marshall, 83).  This incident led to a good deal of bands within the scene attempting to stop the violence at gigs but it still occurred along political lines.  “Now and then Oi! gigs did go off along football lines (The Business and The Oppressed gig in Bridgend springs instantly to mind), but most of the time the trouble was averted by calling a truce for the night or by using security drawn from opposing hooligan factions” (Marshall, 113).  This violence would come to a head for the Business and the entire Oi! community in the summer of 1981.

The early 80s saw the largest success for the Oi! movement and this was led by the Business and other groups performing frequently regardless of who was in attendance.  Because of the links to the National Front and the British Movement that many followers shared, the bands associated with Oi! quickly began to be linked as well and this led to a shaved head meaning racist and Nazi.  A show at the Hambrough Tavern that had the Business, the Last Resort, and the 4-Skins playing was surrounded by a large group of local Asians and during the 4-Skins set the Southhall riot erupted in full.  By the next week the entire Oi! community was labeled as fascist and the media backlash has continued from there associating anything with a shaved head and boots to the militant right wing.  

By playing music with a hard street edge and only writing songs based on working class ideals and football the Business appealed to all sides of the political spectrum.  This allowed them to play at any show and the only risk was the clash within the crowd between politics and firms.  “At the Hambrough, they went down as well as they ever had, belting out soon to be Oi! standards like Harry May and Suburban Rebels, the latter a song that saw Oi! poet Gary Johnson’s words set to music.  The Business’ brand of drunk rock should have been on tap at every pub in the country” (Marshall, 119).  With their debut album Suburban Rebels, they kicked their way into the underground and took the lead away from the Upstarts and Sham.  This album contains many songs that stand as Oi! classics and they reflect the band’s first stance within the underground.  The title track is an affront to the middle and upper class students who are rebelling and thinking they stand for working class ideals.  The LP consistently references the importance of remaining true to yourself and supporting your own family and community.

As the group continued to dominate the underground and the “second wave” of punk the association with the new Skinhead movement followed.  The original Skinhead movement of 1969 was a completely different assertion than the late 70s and 80s version.  This difference was based around the British Movement and the National Front influencing many people, not just Skinheads, into following their fascist philosophy.  Along with this the press loved to induce confrontation by including Skinheads in every story about football.  The similarities within the movement stem around working class ideals and football.  As Dougie Brimson, one of the most recognized writers on hooliganism states, “The skinhead’s involvement in, and influence on, soccer was major.  The unique style of dress captured the imagination of the tabloid newspapers which loved the idea of something different” (82). This led to a good deal of negative press but also developed the underground scene.

            The link with football hooligans and Skinheads played a role in aligning the Business with the right at times but that was quickly put down as the press’ lack of understanding and anyone, hooligan, skinhead or other realized the claim was false.  This came from the band’s support of West Ham and the ICF (Inter City Firm) which had links within the National Front and British Movement.  The issue here is that every firm had links to the right wing at this time and still more than likely do.  Bill Gardner, one of the leaders of the ICF was adamant that the politics were separate from the football.  Just because you support the ICF, the Headhunters, Doc’s Red Army or Blades does not make you a racist and “…Skinheads challenged British society to guarantee what was promised and expected as a minimum of social stability and recognition by, among other things, fighting racism” ( Malott, Carroll-Miranda, 4).  In fact, many supporters of the ICF fought for the left and attended Rock Against Racism concerts regularly. 

            The importance of supporting class based issues instead of politically motivated ones was and continues to play the most important role in the Business’ success.  They are significantly more commercialized because of it but the underground still supports them.  They even have songs in commercials for Guinness and the movie “Eurotrip” contains a song of theirs on the soundtrack.  It seems that the aspect of commercialism is irrelevant as long as the message remains the same.  The message of the band remains within the working class and with it, football. 

            The band was even broken up for a good length of time and reformed in an effort to support a football player on his death.  This led to the newer albums and a slightly different sound but the band held the same concept and force within the underground.  In an interview with Steve Whale, the guitarist for the Business, this history is briefly recounted. “The band split for several years, but then reformed in 1995 when they did a tribute to the football player ‘Bobby Moore’ who had died of cancer” (Punk & OI in the UK).  The importance of football to the band is easily seen throughout their existence and reformation.

            The issues surrounding football hooliganism and the violence associated with it are ongoing and need to be focused on further.  There are a myriad of sociological studies focused on this “issue” and they multiply as more and more stories appear in the press about the firms and the violence associated with them.  The constant assertion that it is a purely working class phenomenon is limited but continues and according to Gary Armstrong in his study of Sheffield United and the Blades entitled Football Hooligans: Knowing the Score, “…in their behaviour, dismissed as irrational and pathological, the football hooligan, an icon of working-class masculine mores, has become the contemporary enemy of rational recreation” (84).  However, the Business use their support for football, West Ham and working class ideals to make a loud proclamation within music and the underground world.  

            As the Business continue to proclaim underground ideals and support of English football they propel the music of Oi! into society without associations with the right wing and neo-Nazi movement.  Bands that have consistently punk based followings, especially Skinhead followings, are generally linked with the right but the Business avoid these political ramifications by playing music that shifts the focus away from overtly political statements.  They also stand away from the left by playing different shows with many different bands and having supporting acts from all political stances.  While bands like the Oppressed, championing the left, and Skrewdriver the right, force fans to support politics, the Business have not modified their stance and remain as one of the most popular Oi! bands in the world. 

Discography

LPs/EPs/CDs

Hardcore Hooligan (2003)

Harry May (2002)

No Mercy For You (2001)

The Complete Singles Collection (2001)

Oi, It's Our Business: The Best Of The Business (2001)

Mob Mentality (2000)

Live (1999)

The Best Of The Business: 28 Classic Oi Anthems... (1998)

The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But... (1997)

Loud, Proud And Oi! (1996)

Keep The Faith(1994)

1979-89

Welcome To The Real World (1988)

Singalong A Business

Blue Stereo Music

Death II Dance

Harry May: The Singles Collection

Saturday's Heroes (1985)

Suburban Rebels (1981)

Under the influence ([2003])

Compilations

Punch Drunk 4

UK/DK: The Soundtrack To The Film (Soundtrack) (Score)

Oi! The Resurrection

World Still Won't Listen: Tribute To The Smiths

100% British Punk (Box Set)

United Kingdom Of Punk 3: The Hardcore Years

Oi! This Is England (Box Set)

Burning Ambitions: A History Of Punk (Box Set)

Punk, Proud & Nasty

Lords Of Oi! (Box Set)

100% British Oi! Oi!

Give 'Em The Boot

Burning Ambition: History Of Punk Vol. 2

Anarchy From The UK, Volume One

Oi! Greatest Hits Vol. 1

Punk City Rockers (Box Set)

Kill Your Radio

Voice Of The Streets

Eurotrip soundtrack

Trouble on the Terraces

Works Cited

Armstrong, Gary. Football Hooligans: Knowing the Score. Oxford: Berg, 1998.

Baker, William J. The Making of a Working-Class Football Culture in Victorian England.  Journal of Social History, Vol 13. No. 2 (Winter, 1979) pp. 241-251.

Brimson, Dougie.  March of the Hooligans: Soccer’s Bloody Fraternity. New York: Virgin Books, 2007.

Clarke, John. The Skinheads & the Magical Recovery of Community.  Resistance through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain . ed. Stuart Hall and Tony Jefferson. Routledge, 1993.

Dunning, Eric, Patrick Murphy, John Williams.  Spectator Violence at Football Matches: Towards a Sociological Explanation. The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Jun 1986) pp. 221-244.

King, Anthony.  The Postmodernity of Football Hooliganism.  The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 48. No. 4 (Dec, 1997) pp. 576-593.

Korr, Charles P. West Ham United Football Club and the Beginnings of Professional Football in East London, 1895-1914.  Journal of Contemporary History, Vol 13. No. 2 Special Issue: Workers’ Culture. (Apr. 1978). pp. 211-232.

Malott, Curry, Joseph Carroll-Miranda. Punkore Scenes as

Revolutionary Street

Pedagogy.  Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies. Vol. 1 No. 2 (October 2003).

Marshall, George. Spirit of ’69: A Skinhead Bible. Scotland: S.T. Publishing, 1991.

Pollard, Rebecca. Interview with Steve Whale, Punk & Oi in the UK 11/03/01.  Access date 12/06/2007 http://www.punkoiuk.com/interviews/businessint.htm

Williams, John.  Football Hooliganism: Offenses, Arrests and Violence: A Critical Note.  British Journal of Law and Society, Vol. 7. No. 1 ( Summer, 1980). pp. 104-111.