Biography Cock Sparrer
Cock Sparrer (initially Cock Sparrow) are a punk rock band formed in 1974 in the East End of London, England.
Although they never enjoyed much commercial success, the band is considered one of the most influential streetpunk bands in history, helping pave the way for the late-1970s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre. 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. Cock Sparrer's songs have been covered by many punk, Oi! and hardcore bands, including The Bouncing Souls, Agnostic Front, Dropkick Murphys and Roger Miret and the Disasters.
Their name is sometimes thought to refer to cock fighting (as in 'sparring'), although as evidenced by their original name, Cock Sparrow, Image of band's original "business" card it refers instead to a Cockney term of familiarity.
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 remained officially unreleased until 2006. 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 followed by Cock Sparrer's debut album Shock Troops. It was released in fall 1983 and 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 at punk festivals such as the Wasted festival.
The band released their fifth studio album, Here We Stand, in November 2007.
1970s music groupsEnglish musical groupsEnglish rock music groupsBritish punk rock groupsEarly punk groupsMusic from LondonStreetpunkPunk rockEnglish musicians
Cock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock Sparrer
Although they never enjoyed much commercial success, the band is considered one of the most influential streetpunk bands in history, helping pave the way for the late-1970s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre. 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. Cock Sparrer's songs have been covered by many punk, Oi! and hardcore bands, including The Bouncing Souls, Agnostic Front, Dropkick Murphys and Roger Miret and the Disasters.
Their name is sometimes thought to refer to cock fighting (as in 'sparring'), although as evidenced by their original name, Cock Sparrow, Image of band's original "business" card it refers instead to 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 to 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 remained officially unreleased until 2006. 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 followed by Cock Sparrer's debut album Shock Troops. It was released in fall 1983 and 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 at punk festivals such as the Wasted festival.
The band released their fifth studio album, Here We Stand, in November 2007.
Original members
- Colin McFaull - vocals
- Mick Beaufoy - lead guitar
- Steve Burgess - bass guitar
- Steve Bruce - drums
Discography
Albums
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
- England Belongs To Me, 1997, Harry May
- Bloody Minded, 1999, Dr. Strange/Bitzcore
- The Decca Years, 2006
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!
Footnotes
External links
1970s music groupsEnglish musical groupsEnglish rock music groupsBritish punk rock groupsEarly punk groupsMusic from LondonStreetpunkPunk rockEnglish musicians
Cock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock SparrerCock Sparrer
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock Sparrer
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
Links
http://www.sonorika.com/cocksparrer/biographyhttp://www.bioandlyrics.com/cocksparrer
