Sham 69 released their first single, "Ulster", on Step Forward Records in August 1977, and its success in the independent charts prompted Polydor to sign the band. Their major label debut was "Borstal Breakout" in January 1978, followed by UK singles chart success with "Angels With Dirty Faces" (reaching number 19 in May 1978), "If The Kids Are United" (number 9 in July 1978), and "Hurry Up Harry" (number 10 in October 1978). The latter came from their second LP and first full studio album, That's Life.
They then started to move away from punk rock into a sound heavily influenced by classic British hard rock bands such as Mott The Hoople, The Who and The Faces, evidenced on their third album, The Adventures of the Hersham Boys. Sham 69 broke up after their fourth album. Pursey moved in a heavy metal direction after working with the remaining members of the Sex Pistols for a short time, under the name Sham Pistols. Dave Treganna joined the pioneering 1980s glam-punk-Gothic band, The Lords of the New Church, with Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys and Brian James of The Damned.
Pursey resurrected Sham 69 in the 1990s with a different line-up, but without major success. "If The Kids Are United" was used in a McDonald's advertising campaign, long after the rights to their songs had been sold. Pursey is a vegetarian, and appeared in the UK media condemning the use of one of his songs by what - he saw - as a multi-national animal and human abuser. The band gained further media attention when "If The Kids Are United" was played during UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's entrance at the 2005 Labour Party Conference. As a result of this, they were invited onto BBC TV's current affairs programme, Newsnight to sing a version of the song. Altered lyrics were sung, including "Mr. Blair / We know you care / So bring them home / Don't leave them there", referring to the troops remaining in Iraq after the the 2003 invasion.
In 2006, Virgin Radio listeners voted overwhelmingly for Jimmy Pursey to record a song to support England in the FIFA World Cup. The song was based on the Sham 69 hit, "Hurry Up Harry", and instead of the lyric being, "We're going down the pub", it was changed to, "We're going to win the cup!" The resulting single, "Hurry Up England" reached number 10 in the UK Top 40, becoming the band's first such hit for over 26 years.
In 2006 Jimmy Pursey left Sham 69, leaving guitarist Dave Parsons to carry on with a new singer. Sham 69 continues to tour in this new line up.
I Don't Wanna
Sham 69 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I don't want no strike
And I don't want no dole queue
No I don't wanna
No I don't wanna
No I don't wanna be
And I don't want no gold watch
And I don't want no pension book
No I don't wanna
No I don't wanna
No I don't wanna be
I don't wanna live up in the sky
And I don't wanna be buried high
And I don't want no skyscraper
No I don't wanna
No I don't wanna
No I don't wanna be
The lyrics to Sham 69’s song “I Don’t Wanna” express the rejection of traditional societal expectations for a person’s life path. The singer refutes the idea of working in a factory and being a part of a strike or reliant on the dole queue. Instead, the singer desires to break free from the constraints of societal norms and expectations. They do not want to work until they are sixty-five, nor do they want the “gold watch” or the pension book, which are seen as rewards for accepting a life lived by a 9-5 routine. Finally, the singer expresses their desire to not be confined to a skyscraper or buried high up, seemingly a symbol of the isolation and detachment that can arise from attaining monetary success.
Overall, the song is a commentary on how capitalist society has established a set of cultural expectations and values that, in turn, limit an individual’s pursuit of their own desires, aspirations, and happiness. Rather than conform to the steady grind, the singer refrains from fulfilling these expectations and instead champions their right to self-determination and individuality.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't wanna work in no factory
I don't want to spend my life working in a mundane job, devoid of any personal satisfaction.
And I don't want no strike
I don't want to be involved in any conflicts or confrontations between workers and employers.
And I don't want no dole queue
I don't want to be unemployed and dependent on government welfare.
No I don't wanna
I strongly oppose such undesirable situations and refuse to be associated with them.
No I don't wanna
I am not interested in following conventional norms or standards set by society.
No I don't wanna be
I would rather choose an alternative way of life, in accordance with my own values and beliefs.
I don't wanna work to sixty five
I don't want to work until retirement age, sacrificing my younger years for the sake of monetary gain.
And I don't want no gold watch
I don't want to be rewarded with material possessions for spending my life working in a job I dislike.
And I don't want no pension book
I don't want to rely on a pension plan as a means of mitigating the consequences of choosing a job I don't enjoy.
I don't wanna live up in the sky
I don't want to live in a high-rise building, removed from the natural world and the simple pleasures of life.
And I don't wanna be buried high
I don't want to die and have my body buried in a high-up location, far removed from the living world.
And I don't want no skyscraper
I don't want to be part of the capitalist system that values profit and materialism over human well-being and natural beauty.
No I don't wanna
I reject the dominant culture that promotes such a worldview and embraces an alternative, more humane vision of society.
No I don't wanna
I refuse to conform to societal expectations and instead pursue a path more in line with my own values and principles.
No I don't wanna be
I aspire to a more fulfilling, authentic way of life that is true to my own nature and potential.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BLAIR DALY, BRETT JAMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Redefining Myself
50 year old here still listening Sham 69
Mark Riley
58
laverdisti500
so young
Andy Sandel
Exactly the same here 56 years of age stil listening entirely 📎🧷⛓🔒
Steve Lira
Your old
--48 yr old.
Eric Crawford
Congratulations.
Glynn Smith
Love sham 69 when I was 14 now 56 still go see them keep on rocking jimmy
Tim Langley
In 1977 I saw Sham 69 at Gatsbys New Wave Club (later to become Torquay EF School). The support was a band fronted by Kirk Brandon called The Cane.
Jimmy sprayed the croud of about 30/40 punks with a hose at the end of the gig.
I was 16, and in a punk band called Critical Press at the time.
Happy days.
PETER CORRIERI
Sounds of primal rock ⚡️🙌🏼
Cynthia aka Girlcrawl
Classic early British punk.