On Sunday 30th April 1978 following a (quite long, I did it) march from Trafalgar Square to Victoria Park in East London 100,000 people gathered to hear Tom Robinson, the Clash, Steel Pulse, X-Ray Specs etc.
The Carnival organised by Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League without question made an impact in communities and workplaces across the country. Local groups and gigs were organised and the objective to push back the advance of the National Front on the street and at the polls was achieved. Albeit some argue the arrival of Thatcher in 1979 helped and as we know in 2025 its a job that has to be done on repeat and then some.
The impact went wider though. It was featured on the ITV news that evening but none of Monday’s papers carried it. Partly papers just didn’t cover anything like that then, partly it reflected a still continuing bias about what counts as politics and what does not.
However the next edition of the New Musical Express had it on the front page with three pages of coverage inside. Its circulation in 1978? 300,000 copies a week
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