•
Rating: Brief description of the Skinheads from my area: shaved (you weren't expecting that, were you?), weighing between eighty and one hundred and twenty kilos, tattooed and angry. Brief description of their behavior at concerts: prone to "distracted" moshing with elbows at teeth level, they wait in the front row for the artist to perform while doing some healthy shoulder stretching and downing nice pints of fresh beer. In a friendly manner, they socialize with strangers (i.e., everyone who isn't a skin) by forcefully pressing their fist against others' noses, sometimes causing blood to flow if not outright fracturing the nose. Despite the skinheads I encounter at concerts often and gladly leave me with a barrage of bruises and bumps, I wouldn't miss a Cock Sparrer performance for anything in the world. I'm sure the description given in the preface will cause a torrent of discontent on the site, but it is not my intention to generalize, as some of these guys (the vast majority) are very decent people, though some washed-up nutcases are the scourge of Oi! music.
Cock Sparrer needs little introduction; the band from London, formed in the mid-seventies, released their debut album in 1982. Characterized by punk Oi! music addressing working-class themes, they are revolutionary, urging young people to approach life with gritted teeth. However, they do include lighter topics such as football and adolescent antics.
The live performance begins with the applause of an affectionate audience; the band is announced, and the track "Riot Squad" is fired off as the best greeting possible. The band is pumped, despite having been around for over two decades since their early days when they were named Cock Sparrow and mostly played in dark London pubs. It's no joke, but it sounds like they're playing as youngsters. The San Francisco audience barely catches a breath before the chords of "Watch You Back" shake the stands. As is tradition, there's no room for chatter, and "Working" follows directly from the previous song. It feels like you're there, and when the fantastic "Teenage Heart" begins, this time announced by Colin McFaull, I can smell the sweat of the audience while a terrifying mosh claims victims below the stage.
The band needs to catch their breath, and "Argy Bargy" seems just the right song for that, followed by the impeccably played "Runaway Johnny". But if the Cock Sparrer are starting to tire, the crowd seems to be just getting started, singing "Take 'em All" at the top of their lungs. The performance continues with "A.U.", "I got Your Number", the gorgeous "Because You're Young", and carries on with the classics until the eighteenth song "We're Coming Back", after which the audience refuses to leave, forcing the band to deliver an encore of "England Belongs To Me". The live show is fun, engaging, and well-executed. Cock Sparrer may no longer be spring chickens, but they remain excellent musicians and manage to keep a concert alive from the first to the last song. There aren't any notable mistakes, apart from the barely noticeable ones that only a merciless stickler would point out here.
The positive aspect of this concert is that there is an air of fun, brotherhood, and great relaxation. Bands like Cock Sparrer are a musical treasure of great value, and their longevity has allowed for the spread of their proud message.
In conclusion, I have to say the album is definitely worth it, a noteworthy live collection.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Watch Your Back (02:19)
everybody's talking bout' revolution
everybody's talking bout' smash the state
sounds to me like the final solution
right wing, left wing full of hate
(Chorus)
we don't wanna fight
because you tell us to
so watch your back when you attack
cuz we might just turn on you
things get worse with every hour
the future fades into the past
all they want is total power
climbing on the backs of the working class
Chorus x2
we don't wanna be part of no new religion
we don't wanna be part of a political dream
we just wanna get on living our lives
Chorus x2
03 Working (03:30)
I been working all day for me mate on the site
Running around like a blue arsed fly
I been working
And I been working all day for me mate
Every bleeding minute I been on the go
Up and down the ladder like a fiddler's elbow
I been working
I been working all day for me mate
[Chorus]
Wait for tomorrow at half past ten
When I sign on, but until then
I'll be working
I'll be working all day for me mate
Aint' got no cards, don't pay no tax
For a score in me hand I'll be breaking me back
I been working
And I been working all day for me mate
Call me a crook, call me bent
But I need more than food and rent
I been working
And I been working all day for me mate
[Chorus]
They try to follow me every day
I give 'em the slip and I'm on my way
None of the other blokes thinks it's wrong
'Coz every one of 'em's signing on
[Chorus]
They try to follow me every day
I give 'em the slip and I'm on my way
None of the other blokes thinks it's wrong
'Coz every one of 'em's signing on
[Chorus]
The benefit boys are out of touch
What they don't know won't hurt 'em much
I been working
And I been working all day for me mate
If I'm caught I'll go down for a month or three
But they'll still Be paying out looking after me
I been working
And I been working all day for me mate
[Chorus]
05 Argy Bargy (03:04)
it started off like any other show.
sunday nights on the radio.
terry played the songs we wanted to hear.
and terry said things no one else would dare.
he gave it all that he had to give.
they said it was his only reason to live.
but we just listened to the ruck n roll.
terry the dj's radio show.
he give it some of that argy bargy.
giving it all the chat.
he give it some argy bargy.
now what do you think of that.
then came the evening of the mile end row.
the ol' bill found out i don't know how.
we know they tried to lock us up that night.
we were ready for a fight.
terry came onto the air at ten.
he said the filth were waiting for us then.
down at the black boy they were there in force.
and he war right of course.
they told him that he'd better change the song.
they said to tell us that the kids were wrong.
they gave him one more sunday night, to get it right.
that was the night when the girls all cried.
that was the night that he said goodbye.
'cos no matter who paid him, terry never told us a lie.
07 Take 'em All (03:48)
We worked our way up from east end pubs
To gigs and back stage passes
Ex-boxing champs, West end clubs
Americans in dark glasses
Driving ten grand cars, they drink in hotel bars
They're even making money in bed
They wouldn't be no loss, they aint worth a toss
It's about time they all dropped dead.
[Chorus]
Take 'em all, take 'em all
Put 'em up against a wall and shoot 'em
Short and tall, watch 'em fall
Come on boys take 'em all
Well tough shit boys, it aint our fault
Your record didn't make it
We made you dance, you had your chance
But you didn't take it
Well, I gotta go make another deal
Sign another group for the company
I don't suppose we'll ever meet again
You'd better get back to the factory.
[Chorus]
Take 'em all, watch 'em fall [x4]
[Chorus Repeat...]
08 A.U. (03:40)
A U Come outside
I'm fed up with you looking
Like the cat who got the cooking
I said A U
You and me outside
You've got the kind of face
The face of a git
And I really want to hit it
I said A U
You and me outside
Coz I've been watching you
Chatting up all the girls
And I'm fed up with you
And I've drunk enough
[Chorus]
Someone's gonna get a slap tonight
Someone's gonna get whacked tonight
Someone's gonna get a smack tonight
From me
And it's gonna be you
A U You look like a poof
How loud do I shout it ?
Tell me what you're gonna do about it ?
A U You and me outside
You're a bloke who's heading for one
A real fist magnet if ever I saw one
A U You and me outside
I saw you kiss that girl
Over in the corner
It's not jealousy
It's just you and me
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
You've got too much dosh, you're everything I hate
You talk all posh, you make me so irate
You're so cock sure, you're a liability
I told you before, it's not jealousy
It's not jealously
It's just you and me
[Chorus]
09 I Got Your Number (04:14)
It can't be right what I'm reading here
No one believes in all this stuff no more
Our ideas don't see eye to eye
You get your press with a pocketfull of lies
Telling everybody every word is true
One day soon they're gonna see through you
[Chorus]
I got your number
You can fool some people some part of the time
I got your number
I aint ever gonna toe that particular partyline
There'll be some people gonna back you up
But don't look here for moral support
Don't you ask no favours from me
I don't believe in charity
Telling everybody you're wonderful
What are you gonna do when there's no one left to tell it to
[Chorus]
You think you're so special
But you're only fooling
Tell your lies to anyone but me
You think you're so special
But you're only fooling
Tell your lies to anyone but me
[Chorus x3]
10 Because You're Young (04:00)
Because you're young, sharp as a knife
You need that buzz to come alive
Out on the edge, out on the town
You ain't got time to settle down
You're always sure, you're always right
You see it all in black and white
You never listen to anyone
Because you're young
Because you're young, you're torn between
A world of hate and a world of dreams
So much to lose, so much to gain
So much to fight for, so much to change
You don't look back, you don't look down
You gotta turn everything around
You live your life like a loaded gun
Because you're young
Stop talking back, get off the phone
You're late again, you missed the last bus home
This ain't the way you wanna live
I know something's got to give
You're always sure, you're always right
You see it all in black and white
You never listen to anyone
Because you're young
11 We Love You (04:05)
We don't care if you only love "we"
We don't care if you only love "we"
We love you. We love you, and we hope that you will love "we" too
We love "they". We love "they", and we want you to love "they" too
Ah...........
We don't care if you hound "we" and love is all around "we"
Love can't get our minds off
We love you, we love you
You will never win "we"
Your uniforms don't fit "we"
We forget the place we're in
'Cause we love you
We love you. Of course, we do
I love you. I love you
And I hope that you won't prove wrong too
We love you. We do. We love you. We do.
12 Secret Army (01:53)
collecting funds for the holy fight
like a door to door salesman in the dead of night
russian guns help him on his way
bought with money from the usa chorus.
and the ordinary people say what's it for
and the ordinary people say we want no more
but the man at the top knows where to do the most harm,
he's in he secret army.
and this man with a gun says not a sound
i want this aeroplane turned around
he spent his life learning how to fill a man with lead
he'll probably spend the rest of it dead
when a bomb goes off in a city street
when a man gets killed for his beliefs
when a mother cries for the son she had
that's when the world's gone mad
17 England Belongs to Me (03:29)
Years of being told you ain't as good as us
Join the line, sign your name
And they all said that our country's going bust
But no-one's fooling us again
CHORUS:
England belongs to me (you'd better believe it now)
A nation's pride the dirty water on the rivers
No one can take away our memory
England belongs to me
We'll show the world that the boys are back to stay
And you all know what we can do
Heads held high, fighting all the way, for the red, white, and blue.
CHORUS (4x)
Loading comments slowly
