A NOTORIOUS neo-Nazi rock band are set to play their first ever UK gig in Scotland next weekend amid calls from campaigners to ban them from entering the country.
The Sunday Herald has learned that Bound for Glory, a US white power thrash metal outfit known for performing in front of giant swastikas and songs about "racial pride", are booked to play a secret venue in Falkirk on October 22.
It will be the largest white power concert ever to take place in Scotland, attracting hundreds of skinheads and white supremacists from Scotland, England and Europe. More than 500 tickets have already been sold but the location for the event has been kept under wraps by organisers to prevent protesters from shutting it down.
Initial rumours suggested that the gig would be staged in Edinburgh or Bathgate in West Lothian but campaigners, Hope Not Hate, say they have discovered that Bound for Glory are booked to play in Falkirk.
Matthew Collins, of Hope Not Hate, said: "The gig was advertised for Edinburgh and people were told to make their way to Edinburgh, but we have discovered now that it is in Falkirk.
"The police have told us that they don't know anything about it but we've been told that actually the police have met with organisers to ensure that it goes ahead safely. We've been told that the police know it's in Falkirk and that they've been given a 10pm curfew.
"It's still the same date, October 22, and people are still being told to go to Edinburgh, but only a handful of people know that it's in Falkirk. They'll be given a phone number to ring when they get to Edinburgh and then they'll be told to get on a bus or train onwards to Falkirk."
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland denied the claims and stressed that police were still gathering intelligence.
She said: "We are aware of the existence of this group and are taking all necessary steps to confirm the time, date and place of the concert.
"Police Scotland regularly works closely with Local Authority partners to investigate and, where possible, intervene in any event that promotes extremist or racist views."
The concert has been organised by London-based Vicky Pearson, a veteran of Britain's neo-Nazi scene, and her Scottish-based boyfriend Thomas 'Steny' Stenhouse.
Minnesota-based Bound for Glory were first rumoured to be headed for Scotland in January and were reportedly booked to play La Belle Angele in Edinburgh before the venue's owners withdrew.
The group, first formed in 1989, have penned songs entitled 'Behold the Iron Cross', 'C**n Shootin Boogie II' and 'Doctor Martens Dental Plan', and glorified Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in the song 'Time Bomb'.
The group has also voiced support previously for Combat 18, a British Nazi terror group who targeted ethnic minorities and 'leftists' throughout the 1990s, and its original vocalist Erik Banks - shot and killed in 1993 - was convicted of a racial assault.
Bound for Glory has toured Europe several times, playing to a crowd of 1300 in Germany in 1992, but it has never performed in the UK.
Its members previously entered the UK in the mid-1990s to play at a gig in England organised by neo-Nazi music promoters, Blood and Honour, but the event was cancelled. The band's frontman Ed Wolbank blamed the UK's "Zionist Occupation Government".
Hope Not Hate has written to Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, urging her to refuse them entry this week on the grounds the event has "the potential for violence and disruption" and "stirring up tensions" against ethnic minorities.
Nick Lowles, of Hope Not Hate, added: "At a time when racist attacks are on the increase and many Blood and Honour supporters have been imprisoned for their involvement in a riot in Dover earlier this year, hundreds of drunken Nazis on the streets of Scotland is the last thing the country needs."
A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: "An individual can be excluded on the grounds that their presence is ‘not conducive to the public good’ if it is reasonable, consistent and proportionate based on the evidence available."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel