Rock against Racism is set to be reborn

Trade unions are among the organisations planning a series of events to mark the 30th anniversary of the famous Rock Against Racism Carnival in April 1978, when 100,000 people marched from Trafalgar Square to Hackney’s Victoria Park to oppose the National Front — and to hear the Clash, Tom Robinson and Steel Pulse.

The events are being pulled together by the team behind the Left Field stage at Glastonbury festival, with the support of the UK’s biggest trade unions. All proceeds will go to a legacy project taking the modern history of Rock Against Racism into schools and colleges.

The first in the series of gigs will be at the Brixton Academy on Wednesday 30 April — three decades to the day after the original event, and the eve of this year’s elections for London Mayor and the Greater London Assembly. Performers will include the Alabama 3 and Misty in Roots, as well as guests including Tony Benn.

For more information, visit www.gmb.org.uk/shared_asp_files/GFSR.asp?NodeID=96408