FROM ROCK 'N 'ROLL TO HARD CORE PUNK - UKZN ...

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a final attempt to regain control over the militant masses which
was not successful. In fact, resistance increased, and by early
1986, the states of Emergency were lifted in all places except
for the violence-torn province of Natal. 21
Thus by the end of my period of discussion, the socio-political
situation in South Africa was reaching an anguished peak, with
both resistance and counter-resistance movements employing
violent methods of action. It is at this point that the hard core
punk musicians were coming to the fore in Durban and creating
somewhat of a furore on the local music scene. Powerage is
perhaps the best example of a hard-core punk band which had a
well-articulated anti-apartheid stance.
Powerage: An Anti-Apartheid Band
The lifespan of Powerage goes beyond the time period of this
thesis, but much of their anti-apartheid music was written before
or during 1985. It must be remembered that punk bands did all
their recording, promotion and distribution on their own, without
the assistance (or interference and domination) of a record
company. This anti-establishment stance was well embedded in the
minds of punk musicians and their fans even before they began to
take an anti-apartheid stance. Thus, their platform for rebellion
against domination and interference was well established, and it
was no surprise that the hard-core punk bands of the mid-1980s
took up the cause against repression in South Africa. Powerage
recorded their first single in 1983 ('World War 3' and 'Vengeance
of Youth') and their second single in 1985 ('stop Apartheid'
'Death Dance', 'Adapt or Die' and 'Freedom'). Another two singles
were recorded in 1987, both of which had anti-apartheid messages.
Powerage also recorded a cassette which consisted of both studio
and live recordings in 1985.
In every case, the band sought to communicate their message via
p. 570.
21 N. Mandela, Long Walk To Freedom, Randburg: MacDonald Purnell, 1994,