A father and his two children who were found guilty of racial hatred offences after performing neo-Nazi songs at a gig “did not mean for their lyrics to be taken literally”, a court has heard.
Robert Talland, 59, organised a gig at the Corpus Christi Club in Leeds on September 21 2019 at which his son Stephen, 36, and his daughter Rosie, 33, performed songs that incited racial hatred.
Talland managed his children’s band, Embers of an Empire, and was a leading figure of the “Blood & Honour” neo-Nazi network which promoted their ideology through music festivals and the sale of merchandise for “white power” rock bands, counter terrorism police said.
He also ran a record label, Rampage Productions, which distributed CDs by neo-Nazi groups.
The albums encouraged right-wing terrorism with songs calling for people to “join the fight against race mixers”, to “let the blood flow” and “smash heads in”, prosecutor Thomas Williams told a sentencing hearing at Woolwich Crown Court.
Members of the audience at the 2019 gig were captured on CCTV making Nazi salutes to lyrics that said “Hope you’re ready to die”, “Won’t stop until the last one hits the floor”, and “We’ll send them back in a box”.
Mark Gadsden, defending Robert, said: “The lyrics were metaphorical and not meant to be taken literally.
“It is the case that nobody has acted on that music and go on to commit acts of violence.”
Talland and his children were all convicted of conspiracy to incite racial hatred following a nine-week trial at the same court earlier this year.
Additionally, Rosie and Stephen were convicted of inciting racial hatred.
Robert was also found guilty of one offence of possessing racially inflammatory material and two further counts of disseminating terrorist publications.
Robert, Stephen, and Rosie Talland were arrested on October 1, 2020, after a year-long investigation by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North East.
A search of Talland’s home found hundreds of CDs distributed under his record label, as well as Blood Honour merchandise and banners “covered in neo-Nazi imagery”, the force said.
Blood & Honour was founded in 1987 by the late Ian Stuart Donaldson, frontman of the white power band Skrewdriver.
The group promotes racist, antisemitic, anti-Communist and anti-LGBT violence, and was hit with a UK asset-freezing order in January this year over suspected terror links.
Judge Andrew Lees adjourned the sentencing until September 11.
