It’s a question Robert Johnson might have pondered as he loitered at the crossroads contemplating the exchange of his mortal soul for earth-bound guitar hero status. What are the metrics of an idiom first coined to dissuade the biddable from the seductions of godless melody?

In the red corner, we have the clarion sounds of dissent: Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone, Joan Baez, Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman, the Clash, Billy Bragg, Bikini Kill, Public Enemy and Kneecap to name a choice few. In the blue corner…Kid bloody Rock.

But let’s not be hasty. Do soggy woke sentiments blind us to an unjustly dismissed catalogue of right-wing musicianship? Perhaps the glittering array of patriots booked for the recent Unite the Kingdom rally in London would showcase the far right’s dominance of the cultural zeitgeist? Surely a congregation committed to ethnic, national and racial superiority would be the place to witness the finest bangers conservative culture can offer.

And then I heard Rikki Doolan. If you haven’t lived through the soul scouring torment of Rikki’s Unite the Kingdom performance, I beseech you, do not go there. Many (though, mercifully, not that many) have seen. Few have emerged unscathed. To describe Rikki’s performance as falling below the standards of an after-hours karaoke bar patronised by tone deaf hyenas on acid would be to understate the horror of Rikki’s call to arms. Safe to say that outside of Aryan family fetes, Rikki’s motley band of musical half-wits will not be fending off booking agents any time soon.

In comparison, over the decade’s progressives, rebels and revolutionaries have amassed an armoury of refrains to stir the hearts and minds of generations. The following itemising of some of the leanest machines to ever trample fascism beneath odes to community, solidarity and peace is by no means exhaustive. You will have your own playlist favourites. For further reading, you might also look out the literature devoted to pop music’s long association with leftist trouble-making and general anti-fascist rabble-rousing. Babylon’s Burning (2021), Clampdown (2013), Under my Thumb (2017) and Walls Come Tumbling Down (2017) or all do a fine job tracing the movements and musicians who have put their talents to the service of social change, from the Stars Campaign for Interracial Friendship to Rock Against Racism, 2-Tone, Red Wedge and Love Music, Hate Racism.

Ladies and gents, enjoy this (partial, wholly biased and by no means complete) roll call of fascist-bashing guitars, turntables and big bass drums.

Bella Ciao (19th C): dedicated to Italian partisans, Bella Ciao’s origins are unclear but this classic anti-fascist singalong may be based on a 19th C folk song first sung by female workers on the paddy fields of Northern Italy.

Leadbelly – Mr Hitler (1942): The blues icon reminds the Fuhrer that ‘You ain’t no iron, you ain’t no solid rock.’

Woody Guthrie: Tear Those Fascists Down (1944): As WWII raged, Guthrie reminded us that despite Fascism’s performative spectacle of power and violence, ‘all those people in this whole wide world’ are a ‘union that’ll tear the fascists down, down, down.’

Elvis Costello: Night Rally (1978)

Heaven 17: (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thing (1981), where the synth pop heroes implore us to ‘grab that groove thang and throw it in the ocean.’

Dead Kennedys: Nazi Punks Fuck Off (1981): a heady rush of speed punk rages against anyone who believes they won’t be ‘the first to go unless you think!’

Kate Tempest: Europe is Lost (2015)

Rebel Diaz and Tef Poe: Fiyah to the Fascists (2020)

There have been occasions where pop music’s record has fallen short of drawing a line in the sand. Eric Clapton’s infamous racist tirade from a Birmingham stage inspired Rock Against Racism’s Red Saunder’s to ask, ‘Who shot the sheriff, Eric? It sure as hell wasn’t you!’ More than one artist (Queen, Rod Stewart) crossed the cultural boycott picket line to play Apartheid South Africa’s Sun City. In 1974, David Bowie claimed that ‘Britain is ready for a fascist leader’ (unlike Clapton, Bowie later recanted, decrying ‘visions of Swastikas in my head’ on 1983’s ‘China Girl.’) Nazi symbols were an early staple of punk iconography from Sid Vicious to Siouxsie Sioux.

US Anarchist Emma Goldman disavowed any revolution ‘I can’t dance to.’ As Reform UK MSPs enter the devolved parliament, we might be forgiven for feeling a little dispirited as the racist infection continues its steady invasion of the body politic. But progress demands joy as well as a sober minded commitment to social change. What better way to raise our spirits than a rousing chorus of Jello Biafra’s blunt directive to fascist punks, or Woody Guthrie’s promise that, ultimately, fascism was doomed to failure and ignominy.

Do Nigel Farage and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon look like dancers to you? No, me neither. All those fascists are bound to lose.

Mike Cowley