I DON’T WANNA GROW UP / JOHN MOORE

An Interview With Punk Legends Cock Sparrer

Thirty-five years ago - long before you could buy an entire punk rock persona at your local mall - a few guys from London's working class East End were bashing together songs that would eventually help define punk music.

Though bands like the The Sex Pistols and The Clash got most of the ink, the guys in Cock Sparrer were just as vital to defining the sounds of London youth beginning in the mid-70's, and helped to found the grittier street punk and Oi! subgenres  of punk rock. It's fairly safe to say groups like Rancid and the Dropkick Murphys would likely never have existed without Cock Sparrer first putting together the blue print. 

The band has been on-again, off-again for the past three decades, but is thankfully back on-again... for now. San Francisco's Pirate Press recently made their latest record, the phenomenal "Here We Stand," available in the U.S. and Cock Sparrer is promising a handful of dates later this year in Chicago, San Francisco and Texas (not a typo, apparently the thirst for Oi! Music in the Lone Star state is unquenchable).

Band founder Colin McFaull and newcomer Daryl Smith (new by the band's standards. He actually started playing with Cock Sparrer in 1992), were patient enough to sit down to an e-mail interview this week.

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What was the band doing in the 10 yrs. between the last two records?

Colin: Not a lot really. We played a few select gigs and started to write the songs for "Here We Stand". The thing about Sparrer is that we exist as mates outside of the band, so even when we're not playing we still get together for a few beers and a night out.

Daryl: I was playing quite a bit with other bands (Argy Bargy, The Crack, etc.) and was still very much part of the live punk scene in Europe. I noticed how things had started to change and gigs were becoming safer, more fun and a really healthy scene was growing. Being part of that meant that I could let the band know which promoters/venues, etc. were ok to do. We played about 10 times between 1997 and 2007 but each gig became an event and it was great that we could play without the fear of trouble, etc. Finally punks, skins, hardcore kids etc. could all come along and enjoy the music without any other agenda. It's this atmosphere and the fact that we're all mates that has made us continue. It's great that the scene realises that no-one else likes us and this is all we've got, so lets not fuck it up by smashing a venue up or something stupid like that. There's a lot more common sense now than there was 20 years ago. It really feels like a big family.

So there are legendary rumors about why you guys didn't sign with Sex Pistols puppet master Malcolm McLarem in the 70's (you wouldn't cut your hair; he wouldn't buy you a round; etc.). Why did you decided not to sign with him? Ever regret that decision?

Colin: It's one thing that we definitely don't regret. We certainly wouldn't be the same band today if we'd taken that particular path. We may not even be mates today or alive. Burge and one of our roadies went to see him in the shop that he and Vivian Westwood had on The Kings Road, Chelsea and persuaded him to travel across to East London to watch us rehearse above a small pub in East London. To our surprise he turned up the following week. It was pretty obvious from the outset that we wouldn't get on - bondage trousers meet Doctor Martens. He listened to a few songs, made a few suggestions (which went down well!!) and offered us a gig supporting The Pistols somewhere. We declined his kind offer and our paths never crossed again.

"Here We Stand" is a fantastic album. How was it to work on?

Colin: We enjoyed making the album. The whole process took about a year from the writing, to rehearsing and arranging the songs to finally recording them. Some of the songs changed quite a bit from their original shape but it was great to finally get in the studio and record them. We were lucky in being able to use Pat Collier to put the tracks down and his studio in Perry Vale was ideal for what we needed. Daryl had worked with him before and he had a pretty good idea of what we were trying to achieve. I think that this was the first time that we actually used the money that we had been given to record an album on the actual recording and not down the pub. We still had the odd disagreement but nothing ever came to blows. Having a great label like Captain Oi in the UK behind the album made us all work a little bit harder and having Pat behind the desk made it a pleasure.

Daryl: Personally, I couldn't wait to get involved with recording a new album. I've only been in the band 17 years, so didn't appear on the older albums! The thing that frustrates me is that although the songs are great, the production always sounds weak next to more modern CDs. So this was a chance to record something that we were not only proud of songwise, but would also SOUND great - without being ‘over produced'. Lars Frederiksen (from Rancid) had always said that if we ever recorded another album, he would love to produce it. He also encouraged us to get off our backsides and do a new album. Unfortunately, he was not around to come and produce it, so we did it ourselves. The way it worked out was great as we probably know ourselves better than anyone else. So Here We Stand is a true Sparrer album. However, we sent it over to the U.S. for Lars to mix. That was a great decision as we could get on with doing what we do best (write, record and produce the songs) and Lars could fill the gap that had always let us down and that was making it SOUND great. I recorded the songs as we went along at rehearsals and so we had a chance to live with them and improve them over the months. By the time we hit the studio, we knew the songs pretty well and knocked the album out in two weeks.

With" Here We Stand" finally being released in the U.S., is this a sign that the band is back for good? Will you be releasing more records?

Colin: The band has never been away. We've just chosen not to do stuff at certain times. We had the opportunity to record albums in the 10 years between "Two Monkeys" and "Here We Stand" but didn't feel as though the songs were strong enough. We'll certainly do another album if the materials there and someone's willing to fund it.

Daryl: If we record an album next year (2010), the band would have had albums out in five decades!! So that would be a cool achievement. But we wouldn't do it for the sake of it. As Col says, we had the opportunity to record in the past, but if we don't feel that the material is good enough we just wouldn't do it. Also, the music industry needs to change and find its feet again. Physical releases such as CDs and Vinyl just aren't selling like they used to and although everyone is downloading etc.; no one seems to be paying for it. Great if you're a consumer but how are the labels going to afford to put bands in a studio in the future if they're not selling anything? It could work out well and put the focus back onto live music and the D.I.Y aspect but at the moment it's hard to fund the record that a band would WANT to make against a record a label can AFFORD to make. Gonna be interesting how it all works out in the end...

Do you plan to tour the U.S. when the record comes out?

Colin: We're coming over three times in 2009. Texas in May, Chicago in October and San Francisco in November. Because of everyone's work commitments, (we all still have real jobs) undertaking a three month promotional tour is really a non-starter but we'll come back whenever we can.

Daryl: Speak for yourself! I don't have a real job! I play in punk bands, put out punk records and do graphic design for punk labels. That's not a job - that's fun! We'll be back in the US whenever we can although it's the logistics that make it difficult.

Obviously there's an entire generation of Oi! bands that are influences by you. What were your influences when you were first starting the group?

Colin: I was 16 when I first joined up with the rest of the boys and like all young school bands you're influenced by what's in the charts at the time, what records your brothers have bought that week and the stuff you read in the music papers. Both of my brothers were "old school" Mods and therefore our house was always full of Tamla and Stax records, as well as the British stuff like The Small Faces and The Who. When Cock Sparrer started we didn't write our own stuff straight away and covered songs by the likes of Slade, The Small Faces and Alice Cooper.

Daryl: Obviously they're all a bit older than me (which makes conversations difficult - my mates are still talking football, drinking and fighting, the band are talking about golf and their pensions!) So my influences were early punk (Pistols / Clash, etc.) the Oi! scene (Business / 4 Skins etc) but I grew up with 2-Tone so bands like The Specials and Madness were a big influence. Outside of the scene I listened to Rose Tattoo and Heavy Metal Kids a lot. But ironically, a lot of my influences on song writing came from Cock Sparrer when I was younger. Never thought I'd end up in the band and looking after the old boys! I'm fortunate to have met and count as friends most of the Oi bands that were influences to me when I was younger.

What are your thoughts of the current punk scene versus what it was like the late 70's and early 80's?

Colin: I think the scene today is very healthy even though it could be considered underground. It gets very little media coverage except for from dedicated magazines and it does seem that while of all the current popular genres, Metal, Rap, Indie, etc. gets loads of press, unless you're Green Day, "Punk" gets little or no attention. But while that can be frustrating it's also great to be part of something that so few people actually "get". One of the things that caused Punk to implode in the 80's and fortunately aided the advent of Oi! was the perceived need to spend thousands of pounds on "Punk" clothes to look the part. Today it's more a case of DIY and who gives a shit what others think about the way you look. Much more how it was intended to be in 1977.

Daryl: There's probably more need for the attitude of the original Punk movement now than at any other time. Economically, politically, socially and musically. Plus we're in a stronger position now because the trendy fashion element that was ripe in 1977 is not so prominent. We've also got the Internet, access to music sharing, etc. that makes the scene more DIY than it ever has been. Unfortunately, kids seem to be more interested in playing computer games than starting a revolution! There's always been a youth movement, Teddy Boys, Mods, Rockers, Hippies, Glam Rockers, Punks, Skinheads etc but since the dance/rave/hip hop scenes there doesn't appear to have been any identifiable youth culture that has any chance of making a difference. It's all so watered down. So whilst I think that we COULD have a better scene than the ‘70's, I don't think we will because there's too much apathy. That said, we don't need mass media coverage and I'm happy playing to the fans we've got and enjoying our own little scene.

Any new Oi! bands that have impressed you lately?

Colin: There are loads of good young bands coming through at the moment. One of my favourites is a band from Blackburn in England called Middle Finger Salute. They're all about 18 and write good songs. They've been on our bill a few times and thanks to the good boys from Rancid are doing the East Coast leg of this year's Warped Tour.

Daryl: There are a few young punk bands that I like, Middle Finger Salute, The Exposed, Vas Deferans. There's not too many new Oi! bands around at the moment. There are a few that I rate that weren't part of the original scene like Discipline, The Agitators, Stomper 98, etc.

Anything else you want to add?

Colin: Just wanna say a big thanks to Skippy and his fellow Pirates for giving us the chance to get "Here We Stand" out in the US. We hope you like it and maybe we'll see you soon.

Daryl: Thanks to all the promoters and labels such as Captain Oi, TKO, Pirates Press, etc. that continue to support us. It's a team effort and that includes the fans. If we all work together and behave ourselves we can continue to get to see the music we love being played in a bar/club in a town somewhere near you soon. - Cheers

[Photo Credit: Samantha Bruce]