Letter To The U.K. Music Press Regarding Eric Clapton Lyrics

When I read about Eric Clapton's Birmingham concert when he urged support for Enoch Powell, I nearly puked. What’s going on, Eric? You’ve got a touch of brain damage. So you’re going to stand for MP and you think we’re being colonised by black people. Come on... you’ve been taking too much of that Daily Express stuff, you know you can’t handle it. Own up. Half your music is black. You're rock music's biggest colonist. You’re a good musician but where would you be without the blues and R&B? You’ve got to fight the racist poison, otherwise you degenerate into the sewer with the rats and all the money men who ripped off rock culture with their chequebooks and plastic crap. Rock was and still can be a real progressive culture, not a package mail-order stick-on nightmare of mediocre garbage. Keep the faith, black and white unite and fight. We want to organise a rank-and-file movement against the racist poison in rock music – we urge support – all those interested please write to:

ROCK AGAINST RACISM,
Box M, 8 Cotton Gardens, London E2 8DN


P. S. 'Who shot the Sheriff', Eric? It sure as hell wasn't you!

Signed: Peter Bruno, Angela Follett, Red Saunders, Jo Wreford, Dave Courts, Roger Huddle, Mike Stadler, et

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About

Genius Annotation

In August 1976 Clapton made an impromptu speech from stage, supporting racist UK politician Enoch Powell.

Saunders wrote this brief letter, from which Rock Against Racism was born.

Despite denying he meant what he said, going so far as to call it a joke, he has never extricated himself from the controversy. He is involved with the Countryside Alliance, a right wing organisation that lobbies to have the UK ban on Fox Hunting overturned.

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Release Date
August 1, 1976
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