Rock in Opposition

[1] With the help of a £1000 grant from the British Arts Council,[2][3] Hobbs organised a Rock in Opposition festival in London with the slogan: "The music the record companies don't want you to hear".

The event took place on 12 March 1978 at the New London Theatre with the following groups performing:[1] The tour of the UK never materialised, but the festival did generate "a lot of press around the world", and this prompted the five bands to discuss future plans.

[4] While "Rock in Opposition" was never intended to be a formal organisation, they met at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg, Switzerland in December 1978 to reconstitute the movement as a collective.

The spirit of the original festival was preserved in that only artists of quality, innovation and the willingness to be "in opposition" to the commercial music industry performed.

The festival was organised by French music promoter Michel Besset and Roger Trigaux of Present,[8] who received Chris Cutler's sanction to use the name "Rock in Opposition".

[10] A second edition of the France RIO event took place in September 2009 at the same venue as the first, and with the following line-up: Yolk, Aranis, The Muffins, Charles Hayward, Kōenji Hyakkei, Present, Magma, Univers Zero, Combat Astronomy, Electric Epic, Guapo and GMEA.

[11] The fourth edition of the France RIO also took place in September 2011, with a line-up of: Arno, Univers Zero + Present + Aranis ("Once Upon a Time in Belgium"), Alamaailman Vasarat, Vialka, Yugen, Gargantua, Panzerballett, Jack Dupon, Grumpf Quartet, Sax Ruins vs.

[12] The 2011 event was covered in the 2012 documentary film Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition by Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder.