Cockney Rejects
Cockney Rejects |
|---|
Cockney Rejects are an Oi! punk band that formed in the East End of London in 1979. Their song "Oi, Oi, Oi", from their album Greatest Hits Volume 2, was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre.[1] Their biggest hit record in the United Kingdom, "The Greatest Cockney Rip-Off", was a parody of Sham 69's song "Hersham Boys". Other Cockney Rejects songs were less commercial, partly because they tended to be about hard-edged topics such as street fighting or football hooliganism. The band members are loyal supporters of West Ham United F.C., and pay tribute to the club with their hit cover version of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", a song which has been sung by the West Ham supporters at the match since the 1920's.
The violence depicted in their lyrics was often mirrored at their concerts, and the band members often fought to defend themselves (often from supporters of opposing football teams) or to split up conflicts between audience members.[2] Jeff and Mick Geggus (who are brothers) had both been amateur youth boxers, and had fought at the national level. Cockney Rejects expressed contempt for all politicians in their lyrics, and they rejected media claims that they had a British Movement following, or that the band members supported the views of that far right group. In their first Sounds interview, they mockingly referred to the British Movement as the "German Movement" and stated that many of their heroes were black boxers.[1] Jeff Turner's autobiography Cockney Reject describes an incident in which the band members and their supporters had a massive fight against British Movement members at one of Cockney Rejects' early concerts.[3]
Cockney Rejects released their most recent album Unforgiven on the G&R London independent record label in May 2007.[4]
Band members
Original line up (1977–10 Oct.)
- Jeff Geggus, aka Jeff Turner, aka "Stinky" Turner (vocals)
- Mick Geggus (guitar)
- Chris Murrell (bass guitar)
- Paul Harvey (drums)
1978–1980
- Stinky Turner (vocals)
- Micky Geggus (lead guitar)
- Vince Riordan (bass)
- Andy Scott (drums)
1980
- Stinky Turner (vocals)
- Micky Geggus (lead guitar)
- Vince Riordan (bass)
- Nigel Woolf (drums)
1980–83
- Stinky Turner/Jefferson Turner (vocals)
- Mick Geggus (guitars)
- Vince/Vinnie Riordan (bass)
- Keith "Stix" Warrington (drums)
1984–1985
- Jeff Turner (vocals)
- Mick Geggus (guitars)
- Ian Campbell (bass)
- Keith Warrington (drums)
1987–1991
(See line-up 4)
1999
- Jeff Turner (vocals)
- Mick Geggus (guitar)
- Tony Van Frater (bass)
- Andrew Laing (drums)
2000–2006
- Jeff Turner (vocals)
- Mick Geggus (guitars)
- Tony Van Frater (bass)
- Les "Nobby" Cobb (drums)
Present line up (2007)
(See 1999 Line Up)
Previous band members
- Micky Burt (drums) (1991) (Uncertain if he actually played any gigs) (#)
- (Record producer Peter Wilson played drums on the "Flares & Slippers" EP)
Discography
Albums, EPs and singles
- "Flares & Slippers" (7-inch, EP) (Small Wonder, 1979)
- "I'm Not a Fool" (7-inch single) (EMI, 1979)
- Greatest Hits Volume 1 (Album) (EMI, 1980)
- "Bad Man" (7-inch) (EMI, 1979)
- "The Greatest Cockney Rip Off" (7-inch. Limited Edition in Yellow Vinyl) (EMI/Zonophone, 1980)
- "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" (7-inch) (EMI/Zonophone, 1978)
- "We Can Do Anything" (7-inch) (EMI/Zonophone, 1978)
- Greatest Hits Volume 2 (Album) (EMI/Zonophone, 1980)
- "We Are the Firm" (7-inch) (EMI/Zonophone, 1978)
- "Easy Life" (7-inch, Live EP) (EMI/Zonophone, 1981)
- Greatest Hits Volume 3 (Live & Loud) (Album) (EMI/Zemaphone, 1981)
- "On the Streets Again" (7-inch) (EMI/Zonophone, 1981)
- The Power and the Glory (Album) (EMI/Zonophone, 1981)
- "Till the End of the Day" (7-inch) (AKA 1982)
- The Wild Ones (Album) (AKA1, 1982)
- Quiet Storm (Album) (Heavy Metal Records, 1984)
- "Back to the Start" (7-inch) (Heavy Metal Records, 1984)
- Unheard Rejects (Album) (Wonderful World Records, 1985)
- Lethal (CD Album) (Neat Records, 1990)
- The Punk Singles Collection (CD Album) (Dojo, 1997)
- Greatest Hits Volume 4 (CD Album) (Rhythm Vicar, 1997)
- Out of the Gutter (CD Album) (Captain Oi Records, 2003)
- Unforgiven (CD Album) (G&R Records, 2007)
- Oi!Oi!Oi!(7-inch)(EMI/Zonophone,1978)
Compilations
- Oi! - The Album (1980)
- "Total Noise" (7-inch EP) (1983)
- Lords Of Oi! (Dressed to Kill, 1997)
- Back on the Street (Victory Records, 2000)
- Addicted to Oi! (2001)
References
- ^ a b www.garry-bushell.co.uk - Oi! – The Truth by Garry Bushell
- ^ Turner, Jeff (2005). Cockney Reject. London: John Blake Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1 84454 0545.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Turner, Jeff (2005). Cockney Reject. London: John Blake Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1 84454 0545.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Cockney Rejects