Cock Sparrer

Cock Sparrer
Cock Sparrer live in London
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Punk rock, Oi!
Years active	1972–1978, 1982–1984, 1992–present
Labels	Decca, Carrere, Razor, Bitzcore, Captain Oi!
Website	Official website
Members
Colin McFaull Mickey Beaufoy Steve Burgess Steve Bruce Daryl Smith
Past members
Garrie Lammin Chris Skepis Shug O'Neill

Cock Sparrer are a punk rock band formed in 1972 in the East End of London, England. Although they never enjoyed much commercial success, they are considered one of the most influential streetpunk bands, helping pave the way for the late-1970s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre. Their songs have been covered by many punk, Oi!, and hardcore bands.

Their style was influenced by pub rock, glam rock and raw 1960s beat music as delivered by bands like the Small Faces and The Who. Their lyrics mostly dealt with topics related to the daily lives of working class people.

Their name derives from their original name, Cock Sparrow,^[1] a Cockney term of familiarity.

Career

Cock Sparrer was founded by Colin McFaull, Mick Beaufoy, Steve "Burge" Burgess and Steve Bruce – who had known each other since the age of 11. Playing in nightclubs in and around London, they developed the style that was later to be known as streetpunk or Oi!. In 1976, the band met with Malcolm McLaren, who allegedly offered to sign the band alongside his newest discovery, the Sex Pistols. According to the members of Cock Sparrer, the deal never happened because McLaren refused to buy them a round of beers. Another explanation is that they refused to cut their hair as McLaren wanted.

In 1977, Garrie Lammin (Burge's cousin) joined in as second guitarist and the band secured a deal with Decca Records, who were hoping to cash in on the now blooming punk movement. The first Cock Sparrer single was "Runnin' Riot", released in May 1977. It did not sell well, nor did the following singles, and Decca dropped the band in 1978. The band members had already recorded an album's worth of material, which was only released in Spain as Cock Sparrer and wasn't officially in the UK until Razor Records released it in 1987 as True Grit. Cock Sparrer disbanded in 1980, but in 1981, old Cock Sparrer songs were included on several Oi! compilation albums, and interest in the band began to rise again. They reformed in 1982 and signed to Carrere Records, which released the "England Belongs to Me" single. The next release was the band's debut album Shock Troops in 1983. It included the songs "Where Are They Now", "I Got Your Number"' and "Riot Squad." In 1984, Beaufoy left the band and was replaced by Shug O'Neill, who was later replaced by Chris Skepis. The album Running Riot in '84 was released in October 1984.

The band performed several reunion concerts in 1992 (with Daryl Smith as the new second guitarist), and in 1994 they released a new album, Guilty as Charged. In 1997, they released the album Two Monkeys. Since then, Cock Sparrer has occasionally toured and has performed sporadically at punk festivals including the Wasted/Rebellion festival. In April 2008 they headlined Rebellion Vienna ^[2] and also headlined Rebellion Blackpool in August 2008.^[3] They also headlined the Punk & Disorderly-Festival in Berlin in 2009. They also played Riotfest in Chicago playing at the Congress Theater on 10/10/09 and headlined the Metro on 10/11/09.

The band released their fifth studio album, Here We Stand, in November 2007.^[4]

UFC fighter Dan Hardy has used the song "England Belongs to Me" as his walk-out music. "Take 'em All" is often sung by the supporter group ECS at Seattle Sounders FC matches.^[5]

Cock Sparrer members

• Colin McFaull – vocals
• Mick Beaufoy – lead guitar
• Steve Burgess – bass guitar
• Steve Bruce – drums

Discography

Albums

Title	Label	Date of Release	Notes
Cock Sparrer	Decca	1978	Re-released as True Grit in 1987
Shock Troops	Razor	1983
Running Riot in '84	Syndicate	1984
Guilty as Charged	Bitzcore	1994
Two Monkeys	Bitzcore	1997
Here We Stand	Captain Oi!	2007

10" EP

• Run Away EP, 1995, Bitzcore

Live albums

• Live and Loud, 1987, Link
• Live: Runnin' Riot Across the USA", 2000
• Back Home, 2003, Captain Oi!

Compilations

• Rarities, 1995, Captain Oi!
• Rumours Carry More Weight Than Fact (The Best Of Cock Sparrer) 1996, Step-1
• England Belongs To Me, 1997, Harry May
• Bloody Minded, 1999, Dr. Strange/Bitzcore
• The Best of Cock Sparrer 2004, Recall 2 cd
• The Decca Years, 2006, Captain Oi!

7" Singles

• "Running Riot" b/w "Sister Suzie", 1977, Decca
• "We Love You" b/w "Chip on my Shoulder", 1977, Decca
• "England Belongs to Me" b/w "Argy Bargy", 1982, Carerre
• "Run Away", 1995, Bitzcore
• "Too Late" b/w "Because You're Young", 2007, Captain Oi!
• "Did You Have A Nice Life Without Me?" b/w "So Many Things", 2008, Dirty Punk (French Import)
• "True To Yourself" b/w "Chip On My Shoulder (Live)", 2008, TKO Records
• "Spirit of '76" b/w laser etching, 2008, Pirates Press Records

Footnotes

1. ^ Image of band's original "business" card
2. ^ "Rebellion Vienna 2008 Bands". http://rebellionfestival.com/rebellion-vienna-2008-bands.html. Retrieved 2008-08-27. 
3. ^ "Blackpool Confirmed Bands". http://rebellionfestival.com/rebellion-blackpool-bands.html. Retrieved 2008-08-27. 
4. ^ "Captain Oi! Records". http://www.captainoi.com/captain-oi-corner.asp. Retrieved 2007-08-10. 
5. ^ Booth, Tim (2009-06-28). "Sounders make noise". The Spokesman-Review. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/28/sounders-make-noise/. Retrieved 2009-08-11. 

External links

• Official website
• on Myspace.com