Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box.

According to Huddle, "it remained just an idea until August 1976", when Eric Clapton made a declaration of support for former Conservative minister Enoch Powell (known for his anti-immigration Rivers of Blood speech) at a concert in Birmingham.

[4][5] Saunders, Wreford and Bruno, who were members of the agit-prop theatre group, Kartoon Klowns, together with Huddle, responded by writing a letter to NME expressing their opposition to Clapton's remarks.

They believed these were all the more disgusting because he had a hit with a cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff": When I read about Eric Clapton's Birmingham concert when he urged support for Enoch Powell, I nearly puked.

[3] Around this time, David Bowie also made inflammatory statements, expressing support for fascism and admiration for Adolf Hitler in interviews with Playboy, NME and a Swedish publication.

"[6] Bowie caused further controversy by allegedly making a Nazi salute while riding in a convertible, although he always strongly denied this, insisting that a photographer simply caught him in the middle of waving.

[11] The first RAR gig took place at the Princess Alice pub in Forest Gate in London's East End in November 1976; Carol Grimes and Matumbi were the main acts.

By 1977 local RAR groups were springing up all over the country, including in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Sheffield, Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol, and across London.

Across the globe, several RAR groups started in the United States, in New York, San Francisco and Chicago, and also in Ireland, France, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark, South Africa and Australia.

In Leeds, Gang of Four, the Mekons and Delta 5 were all actively involved in their local RAR group, as were Au Pairs and the Beat in Birmingham, and Misty In Roots and the Ruts in Southall, London.

[citation needed] With support for the movement growing, in 1978 RAR organised two national Carnivals in London in conjunction with the Anti-Nazi League (ANL) to counteract the rising number of racist attacks in the UK.

On 30 April 1978, 100,000 people marched six miles from Trafalgar Square to the East End of London (a National Front hotspot), via Cable Street for an open-air concert at Victoria Park in Hackney.

[citation needed] In the run-up to the UK general election of 1979, RAR organised the Militant Entertainment Tour which traveled 2000 miles across the country visiting Cambridge, Leicester, Cromer, Coventry, Sheffield, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Lancaster, Edinburgh, Stirling, Aberdeen, Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Cardiff, Llanelli, Exeter, Plymouth, Newport, and Bristol.

This resulted in the death of schoolteacher Blair Peach, and dozens of injuries including the head wounds suffered by Clarence Baker from Misty in Roots, which left him in a coma for several months.

[23] Among the artists who performed for early Cable Street Beat events were Blaggers ITA, Angelic Upstarts, Attila the Stockbroker, the Men They Couldn't Hang, Forgotten Sons and Blyth Power.