Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End o… Read Full Bio ↴Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End of London in 1977. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre. The band members are supporters of West Ham United, and pay tribute to the club with their hit cover version of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", a song traditionally sung by West Ham supporters.

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

Easy Life
Cockney Rejects Lyrics

Jump to: Line by Line Meaning ↴

Percikan sinar matamu singgah di hati
Bergetar bibirku bisu sukar mengerti
Pantasnya diri tertawan
Tak sempat berkelip aku kau punya
Biarpun mengutus ilham menyucuk jiwa menyubur suatu ragam melamar rasa
Biarpun kita mencoba sembunyi
Namun kan terlihat
Yang jelas di wajah

kita memang sarat
merasakan cinta
Bagaikan bintang di malam terang
Tak terhalang menyinari segala
Bertentang mata sebentar dihanyut angan
Tersentak lalu ku sedar diperhatikan
Sedarnya diri terasa kemana
Renungan aku nak alih
Bertentang mata sebentar dihanyut angan
tersentak aku tersedar diperhatikan
Sedangkan diri terasa kemana
Renungan aku nak alih sembunyi
Namun kan terlihat yang jelas di wajah
Kita sememangnya sarat merasakan cinta
Bagaikan bintang di malam terang
Beri cahaya
Tak terhalang menyinari segala
Walau kita coba sembunyi
Namun terlihat segala yang tersimpan dihati
Bintang bintang di malam terang
beri cahaya

Tak terhalang menyinari segala
Walau kita coba sembunyi
Namun terlihat segala yang tersimpan dihati

Line by Line Meaning

Percikan sinar matamu singgah di hati
The light in your eyes touched my heart

Bergetar bibirku bisu sukar mengerti
My lips quivered, unable to understand

Pantasnya diri tertawan
Myself being held captive

Tak sempat berkelip aku kau punya
I was yours before I even had a chance to blink

Biarpun mengutus ilham menyucuk jiwa menyubur suatu ragam melamar rasa
Even though inspiration is sent to touch the soul and nourish a variety of emotions

Biarpun kita mencoba sembunyi
Even though we try to hide

Namun kan terlihat yang jelas di wajah
It's still clear on the face

kita memang sarat merasakan cinta
We are filled with feelings of love

Bagaikan bintang di malam terang
Like stars in a bright night

Tak terhalang menyinari segala
Shining bright, unobstructed

Bertentang mata sebentar dihanyut angan
Gazing into each other's eyes, lost in thought for a moment

Tersentak lalu ku sedar diperhatikan
Startled and then realizing being watched

Sedarnya diri terasa kemana
Becoming aware of oneself, feeling lost

Renungan aku nak alih
I need to divert my thoughts

Bertentang mata sebentar dihanyut angan
Gazing into each other's eyes, lost in thought for a moment

tersentak aku tersedar diperhatikan
Suddenly startled and then realizing being watched

Sedangkan diri terasa kemana
While feeling lost