formed Skrewdriver as a punk rock band

Ian Stuart Donaldson, formerly of the cover band Tumbling Dice, formed Skrewdriver as a punk rock band in Poulton-le-Fylde in 1976. At first, Skrewdriver sported a punk appearance , but they later changed their image to a skinhead look. In 1978, Donaldson moved to Manchester , where he recruited guitarist Glenn Jones and drummer Martin Smith. With Kevin MacKay on bass, this lineup toured extensively and built a strong following, although certain venues were reluctant to book the band because of their reputation as a violent skinhead band. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof was reportedly knocked unconscious by a friend of Donaldson who believed that Skrewdriver’s sound had been sabotaged. Performing largely for a skinhead audience, the first versions of the band released one album and two singles on Chiswick Records . Skrewdriver briefly adopted a rocker / biker -influenced look around the time they released the EP Built Up Knocked Down (1979), which was poorly received.