The 25th Ian Stuart Memorial

The 25th Ian Stuart Memorial took place in Northern England on the 21st and 22nd of September. Despite the repressive attempts and sabotage of the UK government, more than 300 people managed to reach the place where the gig was hosted and honored the memory of our founder.

The first evening, as usual, on the stage we saw ballad performers, all known faces, including band members from Brutal Attack, Blackout and Whitelaw. Besides from playing their own songs, they also covered some of Ian Stuart’s ballads. And, of course, the new songs of Blackout “Blood and Honour” did not remain unnoticed!

On Saturday, more and more people kept coming while at the same time, we were receiving information that some of our brothers and sisters where held on the border and checked by police as they were some sort of criminals. As a result, many were not even allowed in the country!

One of the most disturbing things that weekend was the case with our comrades from the Netherlands. They were restrained for over 26 hours on the border between France and the United Kingdom. After release, they were sent back home just because they were going to a gig hosted by Blood and Honour, an organization banned in Germany, Spain, and Russia. What do our Dutch comrades have in common with those aforementioned countries no one even bothered to explain.

However, let us get back to the gig. Around 5 PM Stevie went on the stage and announced the start. He played a few well-familiar ballads and right after his performance, we were able to see a tribute band playing the songs of legendary English bands. Then we saw another tribute band (comprised of band members from Embers of an Empire and March or Die) which this time sang songs of No Remorse. Afterwards, Blackout from Wels entered the stage and for a millionth time, they prove to be one of the best bands from the Kingdom.

Once Blackout sang their last song, on the stage we saw the veterans Squadron. A year after their official return, one of the first skinhead bands demonstrated class and performed amazingly. In fact, very soon, we are expecting to hear their first album in years!

The next band was Whitelaw; we had them over in November last year. And once again, Benny did not cheat on his style to speak between every song, trying to motivate the crowd. The culmination was when the guys asked for a minute of silence and soon after it, we heard speeches playing in honor of Ian Stuart.

Finally, it was time to see one of the most iconic bands in our scene - Brutal Attack. This time they surprised us with new songs from their latest album “21 Rockers”. Before the song “Tales of Glory”, Ken turned to Benny from Whitelaw who was close by and said that he is dedicating this song to him due to his words before the minute of silence.

The last band for the night was Legittima Offesa. Our Italian brothers need no introduction from us. They kept the crowd entertained with their traditional Italian RAC sound. Unfortunately, Dirlewanger from Sweden could not play that night as their vocalist was unwell and was advised not to perform. However, the two-day-long festival went by in a friendly atmosphere. As a tradition, this year again we camped on the spot near the venue.

After nearly 3 days spent with our friends from all around Europe, the time came to say goodbye, but of course, not for long because we will meet each other again on another event organized by our comrades from Blood and Honour. No matter how hard the government and authorities try to sabotage or even ban us, they will never succeed because we have something they do not - unwavering spirit and faith in the final victory. 828!

* Photo shooting was prohabited during the event

Source: https://28bulgaria.blogspot.com