Rocking Against the Right
Political Activism and Popular Music in West Germany, 1979-1980
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4495142 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Laqua (0000-0001-7697-5582, Northumbria University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 86 |
| Pages | 160-183 |
| Publication date | 2018-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History Workshop Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1363-3554 • E-ISSN: 1477-4569 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/hwj/dby020 |
| OpenAlex | W2891484557 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
The article examines radical cultural politics by focusing on the West German initiative of Rock gegen Rechts (‘Rock Against the Right’). This campaign involved concerts, publications and demonstrations, most notably the staging of two large-scale festivals in Frankfurt/Main in 1979 and 1980. Rock Against Racism – launched in Britain in 1976 – served as a model for the activists. Yet Rock gegen Rechts differed from its British counterpart in significant ways, both in terms of the political and musical currents that sustained the campaign and with regard to the object of protest. Through the prism of Rock gegen Rechts, the article shows how campaigners debated the nature of ‘the right’ – an important subject in a country whose fascist past figured prominently in public debate. The campaign occurred at a critical juncture of the German left, as it underwent seemingly contradictory processes of fragmentation and coalition-building during the late 1970s. The article explores a left-wing milieu that was associated with music and alternative lifestyles, but also with a nascent green movement. Moreover, the example of Rock gegen Rechts sheds fresh light on the interaction between music and politics on the one side, and between music, commerce and consumption on the other.
Archaeology · Art · Environmentalism · German · Media studies · Musical · Political science · Politics · Popular music · Prism · Rock music · Sociology · Subject (documents) · Visual arts · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · European history and politics · German History and Society · History · Law
West Germany and the Global Sixties
Greening Democracy
Linker Protest nach dem Deutschen Herbst
Terror and Democracy in West Germany
There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack
Are the Kids United
Are the Kids United? The Communist Party of Great Britain, Rock Against Racism, and the Politics of Youth Culture
Immigration and Urban Transformations
Anarchy, Pop and Violence
Better active than radioactive! Anti-nuclear protest in 1970s France and West Germany
British Social Movements since 1945
Migration and Urban Transformations
Subcultures, Pop Music and Politics
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |