| Ian Stuart Donaldson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ian Stuart Donaldson |
| Also known as | Ian Stuart |
| Born | 11 August 1957 Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire |
| Origin | Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 24 September 1993 (aged 36) |
| Genres | Punk rock Rock Against Communism Rockabilly Folk |
| Occupations | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1975–1993 |
| Labels | Chiswick, Rock-O-Rama |
| Associated acts | Skrewdriver, Stigger, Rough Justice, Tumbling Dice, The Klansmen, White Diamond |
Ian Stuart Donaldson (11 August 1957 - 24 September 1993), also known as Ian Stuart, was a British Neo-Nazi singer, musician and songwriter, most known as the frontman of Skrewdriver, a British punk rock band that later became a white power rock band. He was born in Lancashire, England, and raised in Poulton-le-Fylde.
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Ian Stuart Donaldson attended Baines School in Poulton, where he met Sean McKay, Phil Walmsley, and John Grinton. After, they formed the cover band Tumbling Dice, who played songs by The Rolling Stones, Free and The Who. They formed Skrewdriver in 1975.
At first Skrewdriver had a punk image, but eventually they adopted a skinhead look. The original version of the band gained a reputation for attracting violence at their concerts , but they did not openly promote any far right political views.[1]
After the original Skrewdriver lineup parted ways in 1979, Donaldson formed a new lineup and began to write songs for a white power skinhead audience. The new version of Skrewdriver openly promoted far right groups such as the National Front. raising funds for them (and affiliated organizations) through the White Noise Records label. As a result, Skrewdriver became known for its involvement in the white nationalist movement and its associated music genre, Rock Against Communism. Donaldson, along with Nicky Crane, founded Blood and Honour, a neo-Nazi network that distributes white power music and organizes concerts.
Donaldson also became leader of two other bands, The Klansmen (a rockabilly band) and White Diamond (a hard rock/heavy metal band), and he released several solo albums. Along with Skrewdriver guitarist Stigger, he recorded the albums Patriotic Ballads volumes 1 and 2, which included covers of traditional folk songs such as "The Green Fields of France". Donaldson's voice also appeared in the song "The Invisible Empire" (whose title refers to the Ku Klux Klan) on the 1989 album See you in Valhalla by neo-Nazi rock band No Remorse.
Donaldson was one of the principal organisers of a white power concert near Waterloo station in London in 1992. Anti-Fascist Action organized a protest, which resulted in physical confrontations.[2][3]
On 10 July 1993, Stuart and Skrewdriver played their final concert in Waiblingen, Germany. The programme, Second anniversary of the Kreuzritter für Deutschland, was organized by freelance writer and white nationalist book author Andreas J. Voigt,[4] who leads the semi-secret society Deutschherrenklub.[5]
On the night of 23 September 1993, Donaldson was in a car crash in Derbyshire that resulted in his death the following day. Stephen Flint, a friend of the band, died at the crash scene. It was Donaldson's car, but Robert Sherlock was driving, and at the inquest he described how it had felt as if the steering wheel "was 'snapped' from his hand." Derby coroner Peter Ashworth concluded:
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