Cockney Rejects
Vance Riordan – Bass & Andy Scott – Drums
I like punk and I like Sham – I got nicked over West Ham… Police Car
As you can gather by the name the Cockney Rejects were a London band, and more specifically from Canning Town East London, where the people who lived there were called cockneys. A poor area it was either crime, football, boxing or being a rockstar as an escape and for the band it was the latter two.
Formed in 1978 and centred around the heavy rock and punk loving Geggus brothers – Stinky (Jeff) and Mickey – they also had their brother-in-law Chris Murrell on bass and Paul Harvey on drums.
The band contacted Sounds writer Garry Bushell and this was exactly the type of punk that he was looking for and believed passionately in. So much so, that he became their manager. As such, features by him and others in the influential weekly newspaper Sounds built up the band.
Garry Bushell – Punk was supposed to be about kids with no future, kids from the tower blocks, kids on the dole, working class kids. We are going to pick up the guitar and have our own voice. The reality was a lot of the people involved initially were middle class pretenders. The music was still exciting but the bands were frauds. Yet the first Punks inspired and ignited bands like The Angelic Upstarts and The Cockney Rejects, people who were the real deal. They were kids from tough, working class backgrounds forming their own bands. Matteo Sedazzari/ ZANI
A demo tape saw them secure a one-off single with Small Wonder who released Flares & Slippers, (produced by Jimmy Pursey) in mid 1979, a three track single and which was quickly picked up and played by John Peel. An inevitable Peel session followed in August 1979 with Police Car, Are You Ready To Ruck, Flares & Slippers and East End.
It was the success of this and the excitement around the band that led to their deal with EMI followed by a string of well performing singles sales-wise from I’m Not A Fool to The Greatest Cockney Rip Off ( a good natured pisstake of Sham 69). By then bass and drums had been replaced by Vance Riordan ex Sham 69 roadie and the Dead Flowers and Andy Scott ex The Tickets respectively.
Discovered by Sham 69’s Jimmy Pursey, this rabble produced two fine singles, the excellent Flares and Slippers / Police Car / I Wanna Be A Star (1979 Small Wonder) and I’m Not A Fool / East End (1979 EMI). The start of I’m Not A Fool was used in a Levis jeans advert and the song is arguably as powerful and explosive as anything the Sex Pistols ever did. Discuss!
Then became enmeshed in oi before sliding into dire heavy metal (lord save us from their version of Motorhead and ZZ Top’s Francine)
Taking the streetpunk yob sound and attitude one stage further than Sham 69, Cock Sparrer and Menace, they picked up disillusioned fans of those bands. Heavily centered around football and fighting, the band picked up football hooligans and crews particularly West Ham United ones whom they were ardent supporters of. This would eventually lead to some grim scenes of ultra violence as the band played gigs around the country.
Cockney Rejects at the Bridgehouse Canning Town – Photo Credit?
Garry Bushell The first stand-alone Oi scene developed around the Cockney Rejects and their regular gig venue, the Bridge House in Canning Town, East London. It became the focus for an entire subculture. In 1980, this was the LIFE! The Story Of Oi
Cockney Rejects Site | Cockney Rejects Facebook
TalkPunk
Post comments, images & videos - Posts are checked and offensive or irrelevant ones will be removed
