Anthony Charles Wakeford (born 2 May 1959) is a British neofolk musician, who primarily records under the name Sol Invictus. He is also a member of the punk rock band Crisis and a co-founder of Death in June.

Biography

Early work

Wakeford was the bassist for the English punk rock band Crisis. An openly left-wing and anti-fascist band, Crisis performed at events organized by Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League. Crisis disbanded in 1980, but Wakeford later began touring with a new line-up of the band in 2017. Wakeford, Crisis guitarist Douglas Pearce and Patrick Leagas co-founded the band Death in June. In early 1984, Wakeford was fired from Death in June for "bringing his 'right-wing leanings into the group'"; at the time he had been a member of the National Front (UK). In 2007, Wakeford described his National Front membership as "probably the worst decision of my life". Wakeford had also been a member of the Odinic Rite, a neopagan organization. After being fired from Death in June, Wakeford formed the post-punk band Above the Ruins, and in October 1984, they released a nine song demo album on cassette, Songs of the Wolf, which was distributed through the London-based P.O. box BCM Grimnir, and from the National Front bookshop in Croydon. The band's lyrics denounced communism, capitalism and liberalism. The demo received a favorable review from Nationalism Today, the journal of the National Front. The following year, Above the Ruins contributed the song "The Killing Zone" to No Surrender, a compilation of recordings by white nationalist bands, and in late 1985, announced that their demo would be "soon to be available on record".

Sol Invictus

In 1987, Wakeford distanced himself from right-wing views, and formed the neofolk band Sol Invictus, adapting the band's name from a cult that predated Christianity. The band's music combines acoustic guitar playing and "neo-classical instrumentation" with elements of industrial music. Due to Wakeford's past political associations, Sol Invictus has been accused of neo-fascism. In 1990, Wakeford formed his own record label, Tursa. With distribution by World Serpent Distribution, Tursa released numerous albums by Sol Invictus, starting with Trees in Winter. After World Serpent dissolved in the 2000s, Cold Spring began distributing the band's albums.

Discography