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
We Can Do Anything
Cockney Rejects Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They say it's all just hype
Just take a look of fear in their eyes
Cause it's the in thing to abuse us
Behind our backs of course
They shroud the truth
With their own brand of lies
But we don't care what they say
Cause we're all having the time of our lives
Cause we're gonna do just anything
We're gonna sing what we wanna sing
And we'll wade through anything that you say
We're all having too much fun
We can't stop we've only just begun
We're gonna carry on for another day
Now you keep giving us verbal
When we're not around
When we're there you don't utter a sound
You'd better stop it
You ain't getting nowhere
And it's too easy to smash
You right into the ground
Right into the ground
In Cockney Rejects' "We Can Do Anything," the band addresses the criticism and negative talk surrounding their success as a punk band. The opening lines of the song address the criticism that they are on their way out and that their success is just hype. The band acknowledges the fear in the eyes of those who ridicule them, and the fact that it has become popular to abuse them behind their backs. The band sees through the lies and fabricated stories that are spread about them, with a realization that the people who criticize them just can't handle their success.
The lyric "we will never be put away" signifies the band's unwillingness to bow down to the criticism and to give up their passion for making music. The chorus of the song further emphasizes this, with the line "we're gonna do just anything / we're gonna sing what we wanna sing." Cockney Rejects expresses a determination to continue making the music that they love, despite the negative feedback they receive. The line "We're all having too much fun / We can't stop we've only just begun / We're gonna carry on for another day" further drives this point home.
The band turns their attention to their critics in the second verse of the song, with the lyric "Now you keep giving us verbal / When we're not around / When we're there you don't utter a sound." This line shows that the people who criticize the band are only brave enough to do so when the band is not present. The band then warns their critics to stop insulting them, as they are not going to take it lying down. The line "You'd better stop it / You ain't getting nowhere / And it's too easy to smash / You right into the ground" emphasizes the band's strength in the face of criticism.
Line by Line Meaning
So they say that we're on the way out
People are saying that we are no longer relevant and important
They say it's all just hype
They believe that everything about us is just a temporary trend
Just take a look of fear in their eyes
When they see us, they become afraid and intimidated
Cause it's the in thing to abuse us
It has become a popular fad to mistreat and demean us
Behind our backs of course
They do this when we are not around to defend ourselves
They shroud the truth
They cover up the reality of the situation
With their own brand of lies
By telling their own version of the story, they are deliberately misleading others
But we don't care what they say
Their opinions and criticisms do not affect us
We will never be put away
We will not be silenced or dismissed
Cause we're all having the time of our lives
We are enjoying ourselves and our music too much to care about the negativity surrounding us
Cause we're gonna do just anything
We are open to anything and will do what we want
We're gonna sing what we wanna sing
We will not be told what to sing or how to express ourselves
And we'll wade through anything that you say
We will not let your criticism or insults affect us
We're all having too much fun
We are enjoying ourselves too much to let anyone else bring us down
We can't stop we've only just begun
We have just started and are not ready to stop anytime soon
We're gonna carry on for another day
We will continue to make music and have fun despite what others say or think
Now you keep giving us verbal
You keep insulting and criticizing us verbally
When we're not around
You only do this when we are not present to hear it
When we're there you don't utter a sound
You are too scared to say anything when we are actually there
You'd better stop it
You should cease your negative behavior and stop mistreating us
You ain't getting nowhere
Your efforts to bring us down will not be successful
And it's too easy to smash
It is effortless for us to retaliate and fight back
You right into the ground
We will easily win any conflict or dispute and come out on top
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike H
The rejects top boys respect!
whoami7721
Great editing on this. Do the Rejects even still tour? Would be great to see them. Probably haven't played the US since the Reagan administration.
ME
Just seen them in Montreal on the 22 of july!
Bladerunner64
That depends. Last night I saw Ruts DC in Hamburg. Also an awesome band from the early eighties. It was a fantastic gig. And I think they are still touring the US as well.
whoami7721
Cool! The old punk bands that are still going tour Europe mostly. They don't come to America much.
Bladerunner64
whoami7721 going to see them next weekend in a small club in Hamburg/Germany! Can't wait!!
WOETOE
whoami7721 going to see them in november in the netherlands!
burnley66
excellent end edit
Sidney De Rouck
Now we are in the i dont know what gender i am time.. times change
Marcelo Rodrigues Cunha
Precisa dirigir melhor essa raiva.