Career
Cockney Rejects were formed in 1977 by brothers Jeff and Micky Geggus, with their brother-in-law Chris Murrell on bass and Paul Harvey on drums. Their first demo, "Flares n' Slippers", caught the attention of Small Wonder Records owner Pete Stennett, who introduced the band to Bob Sergeant. With Sergeant, they recorded their single "Flares n' Slippers", which sold out its first pressing. Murrell and Harvey were then replaced by Vince Riordan on bass and Andy Scott on drums, from fellow East End London band, The Tickets. This became known as Cockney Rejects' classic lineup, and its debut at the Bridge House in Canning Town in June 1979 is considered a turning point for the band. In September of that same year, the band signed with EMI and released their album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 in February 1980.
Their biggest hit single in the United Kingdom, 1980's "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. Other singles to appear in the UK were "Bad Man," "We Can Do Anything," "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles " and "We Are the Firm" — all from 1980.
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. Jeff and Mick Geggus (who are brothers) had both been amateur youth boxers, and had fought at the national level. Bass player Vince Riordan's uncle was Jack "The Hat" McVitie, a Cockney gangster who was murdered by Reggie Kray.
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. 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.
EMI records released a definitive Rejects retrospective on 29 August 2011. Called Join the Rejects, the Zonophone years '79-'81, it was a three-disc collection of all their EMI recordings including all the Peel sessions and rare demos from the day. Also included was a colour booklet with a blow-by-blow account of the stories behind the music by Micky Geggus.
The Rejects movie East End Babylon and an album of the same name were released in 2013.
Tony Van Frater died in October 2015, aged 51.
In February 2016, it was announced that former Cockney Reject bass player Vince Riordan had re-joined the band again.
The group were slated to perform their first Australian shows in February 2019, however a family emergency necessitated the postponement of the concerts to July. The concerts were later rescheduled to October and went ahead that month to critical acclaim.
http://www.cockneyrejects.com/
https://myspace.com/readytoruck/bio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockney_Rejects
https://www.facebook.com/TheCockneyRejects
http://www.discogs.com/artist/254787
East End
Cockney Rejects Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've lived all my life
I'll tell you all the truth about
The struggle and stife
All the toffs say it's a bit of a dive
It's the only place left
Where anyone is alive
Take a walk around bethnal green
Or meet the mile end mob
Well they're mean
Gt a 69 bus to canning town
It's never ever gonna get us down
East end
We can't help it if we're
Working class yobs
We can't help it if we hate the snobs
So you can stick to your seaside,
Your beaches and sand
Cos we've got the best home in the land
The lyrics of Cockney Rejects’ song East End celebrate and defend the eponymous working-class London neighbourhood. The singer, who has lived there all his life, is proud of his roots and describes the struggles and challenges that come with life in the East End. Despite being looked down upon by the rich or Toffs, he believes it is the only place where people are alive, as opposed to the superficial seaside destinations or posh neighbourhoods inhabited by snobs. The singer takes the listener on a tour of some of the neighbourhood’s landmarks, such as Bethnal Green and Canning Town, and references the rough and tough Mile End Mob. The song’s chorus celebrates the resilient spirit of East Enders and their unwillingness to be brought down: “It's never ever gonna get us down”.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell you about the place
Let me tell you all about the East End of London
I've lived all my life
It's the only place I've ever known
I'll tell you all the truth about
I'm not going to sugarcoat it, I'll give it to you straight
The struggle and stife
Life is tough here, but we're used to it
All the toffs say it's a bit of a dive
People who are more privileged might look down on it
It's the only place left
But to us, it's the one true home
Where anyone is alive
Where you can truly feel alive and be yourself
Take a walk around bethnal green
Come stroll around one of the most famous areas of the East End
Or meet the mile end mob
Or maybe encounter some of the more notorious gangs
Well they're mean
Who, well they're tough, that's for sure
Gt a 69 bus to canning town
Hop on a bus and come visit another iconic area
It's never ever gonna get us down
But no matter where we go, our spirit won't ever falter
We can't help it if we're
It's just part of who we are
Working class yobs
We might not have much, but we're proud of what we do have
We can't help it if we hate the snobs
We don't take kindly to those who think they're better than us
So you can stick to your seaside,
Sure, you can have your fancy beaches and all
Your beaches and sand
But we sure as hell wouldn't trade it for the East End
Cos we've got the best home in the land
Because to us, this is our home and it's the best one out there
Contributed by Samantha F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ajeng Alfiana
Tell you about the place
I've lived all my life
I'll tell you all the truth about
The struggle and stife
All the toffs say it's a bit of a dive
It's the only place left
Where anyone is alive
East end
Take a walk around bethnal green
Or meet the mile end mob
Well they're mean
Gt a 69 bus to canning town
It's never ever gonna get us down
East end
We can't help it if we're
Working class yobs
We can't help it if we hate the snobs
So you can stick to your seaside,
Your beaches and sand
Cos we've got the best home in the land
Larz Gustafsson
Great song! Great band!
Joo-foh
Sounds as good as it ever did. I've still got their vinyl albums from 1980 somewhere!
8busby
Still a brilliant band. oi oi!!
mediastarguest
Oi interpreted by its finest representatives The Rejects from the East End is synonimous with Tamla Motown from Detroit and rockabilly - bluegrass from Kentucky or New York disco - music of the working class ripped from the streets of each city.
Larz Gustafsson
Excellent band. I hate football but I love this music.
onulf
real old school football music
richard97761
happy go lucky tunes all of em,fucking great.
Martin Black
How can anyone vote this down? Must be Coldplay fans.
girl noise
ha!
Soner Ali
Fanx John