Are 200 neo-Nazis heading to Sefton this Saturday?

Hitler salutes and a secret gig that activists are desperate to stop

Dear readers — are you heading to the Nazi gig in Bootle this weekend? 

For those out of the loop, this is a secretive event featuring bands from across Europe, billed as the “Birthday Bash” of organiser Chad Charles. But behind the scenes, activists are working to have it called off. Why? Well, if the pressure group Hope Not Hate is to be believed, Charles is the country’s most prominent Nazi gig promoter. 

Charles claims he’s a new man. A veteran of the  1980s skinhead scene who was imprisoned for inciting racial hatred, he wrote on Facebook two years ago that he had long since “changed”, putting his nationalism behind him. But The Post has seen extensive evidence, much of it shared with us by Hope Not Hate, that challenges Charles’ narrative, including his business selling t-shirts which feature Nazi slogans. 

Editor’s note: Apart from the first section of this story, today’s piece is for paying members only. That’s because The Post is reader-funded: without paying subscriptions, we would not be able to continue to produce high quality journalism without intrusive ads popping up all over your screen. It costs only £7 a month to sign up — giving access to two extra deeply-reported editions a week. If you think Liverpool needs this kind of reporting and you want us to be around for the long term, please join up now, or take advantage of our offer for a 7-day free trial. 

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Your Post briefing

The commissioners overseeing Liverpool City Council have announced they will be leaving the city after three years. The government appointed them to oversee Liverpool back in 2021 after the revelations of the Caller report. Since then, the government team has taken control of decision-making powers, which will be returned to the council’s elected representatives next month. The council will receive “continued support” during the changeover, provided by an independent board. 

The Bluecoat arts centre will receive £680,000 from Arts Council England to refurbish its Grade I listed building. The money will go towards reconfiguring the first floor of the centre, known by visitors as The Bistro, into an event and performance area with a full sound and lighting system. CEO Mary Cloake says the investment is “transformative” while Arts Council England says “it’s particularly important that we’re making this happen in communities where cultural investment has historically been low”. 

And could Liverpool be receiving a royal visit sometime soon? The odds are ever in our favour after King Charles accepted the patronage of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, Orchestra, and Choir. Queen Elizabeth II had previously supported the charity for over six decades after becoming patron in 1958, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s chief executive Michael Eakin OBE saying the charity felt "very privileged" to now have Charles on board. 

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Are Nazis descending on Bootle this Saturday?

By Jack Walton and Abi Whistance

On Saturday, up to 200 people will descend on Sefton for an alleged Nazi gig. Billed as "Chad's birthday bash", the Chad in question is the right-wing nationalist Chad Charles, a man in his early fifties from Merseyside previously imprisoned for race-related crimes.

The Post understands ticket holders have been told to head to Bootle on Saturday for the gig. Far-right bands from across Europe, some of whose members have been linked to prominent neo-Nazi groups, have been booked to play. However, the exact venue for the “birthday bash” won’t be announced until the day. That’s unless a team of activists can rumble the venue before Saturday. 

Charles has been described by Hope Not Hate as Britain’s most prominent Nazi gig promoter. But in the past, his parties have been thwarted by anti-racist campaigners; a planned celebration of his 51st at The Snig pub in Widnes two years ago was cancelled last minute after Hope Not Hate made the police and Cheshire Council aware of its Nazi links. 

Illustration by The Post’s Jake Greenhalgh

At the time, The Snig’s landlord Peter Brady denied it was intended to be a Nazi gig at all — though he relented under the pressure and agreed to cancel the entire affair. Meanwhile on Facebook Charles said that though he was once a “right wing nationalist”, those days were well behind him. He said that since his jail sentence for inciting racial hatred back in the 1980s, he had “totally changed my life around”. 

This time Charles is being more careful, keeping the location under wraps. But his social media posts seem to undermine his claims of being a reformed man. Just last week he responded to a Facebook post depicting a “smoky Jew flavour" packet of crisps by saying “just full of dust at the bottom of the bag”. Elsewhere, images of him doing Nazi salutes and wearing t-shirts reading ‘Blood and Honour’ are easy enough to find — Blood and Honour refers to the neo-Nazi music network founded by members of the infamous punk band Skrewdriver, whose hits include White Power. That same Nazi music promotion network has links to the terrorist group Combat 18 (with UK members barred from joining the prison service, armed forces, and police).