A shocking new book is forcing a long-overdue reckoning within the music industry, meticulously documenting the pervasive and persistent use of Nazi imagery and antisemitic rhetoric by some of the world's most iconic artists.
A Meticulous Catalogue of Musical Offenders
British author Daniel Rachel, in his vital new work This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika and the Third Reich, has compiled a damning alphabetical list of evidence. The book, set for release in North America soon, challenges the music world to finally acknowledge its hateful mistakes.
The examples span generations and genres. John Lennon was known to collect Nazi memorabilia, shout "Sieg Heil" in Germany, and goose-step on stage, a behaviour also mimicked by Mick Jagger in Berlin, where such acts are illegal. The Beatles infamously included a cut-out of Hitler on the iconic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.
The transgressions are not confined to classic rock. The book notes contemporary figures like Kanye West selling swastika-themed merchandise, punk rappers Bob Vylan calling for violence against Israelis, and Irish group Kneecap promoting antisemitic extremism.
From Shock Value to Deep Flirtation
Rachel's research reveals that for many artists, the use of Nazi symbols went beyond mere provocation. David Bowie had a "deep flirtation" with fascist imagery, owning a large collection of Nazi memorabilia that included Joseph Goebbels' desk. He once gave a Nazi salute at London's Victoria Station in 1976.
Other legends are implicated. Eric Clapton once declared on stage the need to "Get the wogs out! Get the coons out!" while wearing a Nazi Iron Cross. Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page was known to wear Nazi uniforms at concerts, and Motorhead's Lemmy amassed a vast collection of memorabilia, praising the SS uniform.
The list is extensive and unsettling: Madonna's lyrics referencing a "synagogue of Satan," Michael Jackson singing antisemitic slurs, Ozzy Osbourne expressing admiration for Hitler, and The Sex Pistols singing "Belsen was a gas." Even the band Joy Division later expressed regret for naming themselves after Nazi concentration camp brothels.
A Call for Accountability and Journalistic Scrutiny
When challenged, Rachel found that artists often offered weak justifications, claiming they wanted to "shock" or "demystify" the symbols. The author soundly rejects these excuses. "'Demystify' implies there was a mystery. So what was the mystery? What is the mystery of the swastika? There is no mystery," Rachel states from his London home. "Those kinds of excuses are vacuous."
He concludes that the book is a call to account for everyone—artists, the industry, and the media—for allowing this fetishism to persist with little consequence. He hopes it prompts journalists to be tougher in their questioning.
"Rock and roll has made mistakes," Rachel asserts. "And we have to acknowledge that." His work stands as a stark reminder that the intersection of music and hate is not a relic of the past but a continuing issue demanding scrutiny and condemnation.
