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.
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War on the Terraces
Cockney Rejects Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a dark place over there
The seats and the stands are bare
But you remember, not long ago
All the times that we battled there
The sun, it shines right on the gutter
And you remember that he was there
And you should know, right there in the fold
[Chorus]
War on the terraces
War on the terraces
It was war on the terraces
War on the terraces
The local pub, it stands silent
And all of this town will be soon
And you remember the pints we would sink
And sing, "The fuzz is watching you"
The youth remember them wagons
That took us straight down the nick
When we would sing back to them
"Don't it make you feel like a prick"
[Chorus]
So you're looking up at the terrace
And smile, yeah it breaks your face
And to the younger generation
We'll be here to take your place
[Chorus]
The Cockney Rejects’ song War on the Terraces is a bold and unapologetic condemnation of football violence. The song describes a football game and the territorial rivalry that exists between opposing fans. The opening lines describe the opposing team’s end of the stadium as a "dark place", suggesting a foreboding and violent atmosphere. The lyrics also highlight the emptiness of the stadium and evoke memories of previous encounters between the two sides.
The chorus of the song, "War on the terraces," is delivered with an aggression that suggests a call to arms. It emphasizes the intensity of the hatred that exists between the rival fans and the potential for violence at any moment. The song also addresses the police presence at football matches and the tense atmosphere that it creates. The lyrics describe the watching eyes of the police – referred to as "the fuzz" – and the rebellious response of the fans.
The final verse of the song is a warning, a promise and a challenge all rolled into one. It speaks to the younger generation and suggests that the tradition of football violence will continue. The lyrics, "We'll be here to take your place," suggest the idea that the older generation will not cower, but rather continue to fight on behalf of their team until they are no longer able. In conclusion, War on the Terraces is a provocative and powerful song that celebrates the hooligan culture of the 80s while cautioning against the destructive consequences of violence.
Line by Line Meaning
Go!
Let's get started!
It's a dark place over there
The other team's territory is intimidating and scary.
The seats and the stands are bare
No one is sitting in the seats, and the stands are empty.
But you remember, not long ago
Despite the current emptiness, we have fond memories of past battles.
All the times that we battled there
We have fought many times in this place in the past.
The sun, it shines right on the gutter
The sun lights up the dark and dirty areas of the opposing team's territory.
And you remember that he was there
We remember who we fought against and where.
And you should know, right there in the fold
We are proud of our fighting spirit and will continue to defend our territory.
That you grabbed him by his hair
We fought rough and didn't hold back.
[Chorus] War on the terraces
We are always ready for a fight to defend our territory.
The local pub, it stands silent
The nearby pub is empty too, indicating that everyone is scared to be associated with us.
And all of this town will be soon
We will eventually take over this entire town with our fighting spirit.
And you remember the pints we would sink
We fondly remember drinking at the pub before our battles.
And sing, "The fuzz is watching you"
We taunt the police, knowing they are watching us.
The youth remember them wagons
Younger people in our group remember being transported to jail in police wagons after a fight.
That took us straight down the nick
We were immediately taken to jail without question or hesitation.
When we would sing back to them
We fought back and didn't back down from the police, even while being transported to jail.
"Don't it make you feel like a prick"
We taunt and insult the police, questioning their commitment to their job.
[Chorus]
We are always ready for a fight to defend our territory.
So you're looking up at the terrace
We are looking up at our own stands, proud of our fighting spirit.
And smile, yeah it breaks your face
We are smiling so hard with pride that our faces almost hurt.
And to the younger generation
We will pass on our legacy of fighting spirit to the younger members of our group.
We'll be here to take your place
We will continue to fight and defend our territory for years to come.
[Chorus]
We are always ready for a fight to defend our territory.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Matthew Pender
Love this tune don't make them like this anymore
Muzenga Rocker
Fudido esse som e esse clipe! Cockney Rejects é zica! Saudações do Brasil!
Millwallboy75
I miss the proper Millwall mayhem.
Edgar Banuelos
We need more punk songs with stadium cries.
Jesus in the disco
Just great ! Lots of fun for everybody. Remember the 80ies , it was a good time 😎
Mark McLaughlin
How could a youth in the 70's not be thrilled to bits by this ..fucking mental and the 80,s even better left home and school by 83 magic .Still is ...
InvisibleYetVisible
Great tune although I still prefer 'I Remember Fighting on the Terraces' as my hooligan anthem. Still this is a great tune.
new bridge
jeff and mick was great real east london boys not like todays trash, me im irish but lived the times of the bridge house and miss the cockneys and there way of living life, goodluck chaps
madstylesnz
Its easy to see why they say sport is a replacement for war when you watch this
Graham Green
Check out the "unbeatable" ICF backing off of MUFC at the start. Including Cass in his woolyhat. All captured on camera!