White Boss

White Boss were a particularly nasty overtly right-wing band from Coventry. Singer Rob Morton was a builder’s apprentice, which was how the name came about as in the sealant Boss White, but White Boss was obviously more fitting to their agenda with songs like White Wog, Robin Relf Is Innocent, Kevin Gateley and White Britain.

To give you an indication Robin Relf was a right wing publicity seeker who had been involved in the British Movement, tried to set up a British version of those sheets over the head crew the Ku Klux Klan and hit the headlines when he put his house up for sale with the following “Viewing. To avoid animosity all round positively no coloureds.”

Kevin Gately, a twenty-year-old University student, was killed during a demonstration against the National Front five years earlier. Anti fascists blocked the hall and were attacked by the police. Kevin died from a blunt blow to the head which was most likely from a police baton. An official inquiry exonerated the police and blamed the protestors. His death caused militant anti fascism to grow.

The band rehearsed in Caludan School but found gigs hard to come by. They sometimes borrowed bassist Fred Waite from fellow Coventry punk band Criminal Class. Other Coventry bands gave them a wide berth, knowing their political leanings like Riot Act and others Like The Squad didn’t even mention them at all and they really had no support.

It was the nature and content of their songs, that made Joe Pearce, Youth Organiser of The National Front, travel to see them in Coventry and book them for the first Rock Against Communism gig in, and this can’t be a coincidence surely, Conway Hall London with The Dentists supplied by Leeds Punk Front.

It was to be their biggest gig and last playing to some 150 people. The drummer left straight after the gig and the guitarist not long after that.



TalkPunk

Post comments, images & videos - Posts are checked and offensive or irrelevant ones will be removed

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *