Interview at Wasted, Morecambe 21st may 2005 Colm Callanan with,
Micky Beaufoy and Daryl Smith of CockSParrer.
Micky tracks down Daryl before interview.
COLM; CockSParrer are going to playing again later this year, so whats the
position with CockSParrer, is it that you're all still together but take a few
months out from the band at a time ?
DARYL; CockSParrer exists as a bunch of friends firstly. Unlike other bands
who preach unity, whilst hating the sight of each other, we actually all get on
and meet whenever time and family commitments allow so the band are always
together regardless of whether there are any gigs.If we are being realistic,
SParrer are nearer to the end of their career than the beginning. We get offers
all the time for gigs, but we dont want to take the money and run. It has to feel
right , all the band has to up for it and we want to put on a good show. if a kid
turns up for the first time to see us and it's our 5th show of the tour and the voice
is starting to go , then they're not seeing us at our best. Every show we've done
since 1997 has been more of an event , than just another gig on a tour. I think
band members and punters really look forward to a SParerr show, so it's no bad
thing that we're not constantly touring. However I'd be happy to get the old gits
to do a few more.
MICKY; Sadly, SParrer dont play many gigs these days , Darren Russell from
Wasted is trying to book bigger shows for us as I think we only have a few more
in the tank before we hang up our gear. In fact this will be our first gig for over 30
months which is why I've been guesting as lead guitarist with The Crack for the
last year or so, just to keep my hands working and to keep in touch with the
scene.
COLM: The fact that you were all mates early on, do you reckon thats helped
you stay together ?
MICKY: Absolutley and forget about early on - we have been mates for just about
the whole of our lives. Even when we had 8 years off between 1984 and '92 , we
still had band and family get togethers most bank holidays and are God parents to
each others children. I even forgave them for putting Shane O' Neills picture on
Shock Troops when he didn't play a single note on that album ...........................
DARYL: I've only been in the band for 13 years , so I can't comment on the
"Early Days", but from the first time I met them all I could sense a bond that not
all bands have. There is always a lot of laughter about and I think that kind of
atmosphere helps you stay together.
COLM (To Micky); So why did you leave SParrer in 1993 ?
MICKY: Well I'm afraid it came down to money. Yeh......... I know it's against the
principles of Runnin Riot , but I was in my 20's and had to face reality.I had given
up a really good job in the city in '77 , to go on tour with SParrer , (plus
consecutive tours with The Small Faces , Slade , and Thin Lizzy), because if I
didn't , I would have always wondered if we would have made it. so I used up
all my savings and ended up in debt during the next 18 months or so . So
when the band dissolved in late '78 in the US , I had to start at the bottom of
the ladder again - earning about half what I had been earning in 1977. In fact
I couldn't get another city job, because of my irresponsible work record and
ended up driving a lorry for a year. SParrer still did the occasional gig , but I
hadn't realised that the band would want to go on tour again when we completed
"Shock Troops" , which I had really enjoyed doing, but of course they did want to
tour. I had to be honest with them and said that I couldn't give it all up again and
so they recruited Shug and Chris Skepsis to repalce me , but as it turned out, they
didn't tour that much and i still did some of the most prestigious gigs with
them , like the Gibus club in Paris.
COLM: Where did the name Cocksparrow come from and why was it changed to
CockSParrer ?
MICKY: Simple , it's an old East End greeting as in " Hello me ol' Cocksparrer" ,
and we changed it from Cocksparrow to Cocksparrer because people weren't
pronouncing it right - it sounded too posh like you had a plum in your mouth when
people said Cocksparrow. Also for one gig with the Small Faces at the
Roundhouse , we changed our name to "The Blades" , but it wasn't us - I think
Decca might have had something to do with that
Micky seems hapiest with the questions & answers !
COLM; Why are there 3 capital letters in the bands logo CockSParrer ?
MICKY: It's very important if anyone is getting a permanent tattoo , to get it
right. The k is lower case , the extra capital was put in so that no part of the
name dropped below the horizontal line. (The p had a downward tail) , and
also to improve the appearance of the name as it appeared in our logo. It
looked weak when spelt CockSparrer and one thing about SParrer is that
we weren't weak - in any aspect of our music
COLM: Like the Rejects, the band has been associated with West Ham.,
but you're not all Hammers fans are you ?
MICKY: Well almost - we were all born in the East End and the Hammers were
our local side so Colin , Burge , Will & Garrie are all staunch West Ham fans
unfortunetly my next door neighbour took me to see Arsenal when I was 6 ,
that was my first match, they won against liverpool , and a few weeks later
beat West Ham and I have been a Gooner ever since which made for a
difficult time over the next 20 years or so , but I've a soft spot for the Hammers
and hope they get promoted next weekend , hey though, Daryl marches to the
beat of an entirely different drummer.......................................
DARYL; Hey I know the guys are all season ticket holders at West Ham and
passionate about the club so I have no problem with them , as like all Hammers
fans they have stayed loyal through the bad times as well, and being West Ham
there are loads & loads of bad times...........Ha, Ha, Ha. But I believe in supporting
where you come from. I mean I can't understand someone from London and
supporting Man utd or Liverpool , how can you have the same passion for that
team or area. How can you stand strong with people defending a part of the
country thats alien to you ?. I was born in Watford in a hospital that overlooks
the ground Vicarage Road , I have lived in Watford for 27 years so it's simple I
support Watford. Ok there are times that I'd love to watch better football , have a
bigger firm or a better ground and so on , but to support any other team would
be missing the point , so Up The Hornets !
COLM: Ok, so you guys have been around the world a few times, so whats the
scariest thing thats ever happened to you while you were on tour ?
MICKY: Being locked in the back of a GPO van for 3 or 4 years , lying with our
noses pressed to the roof on top of tons of unsecured equipment as we hurtled
at breakneck speed down the roads to get to our next gig, and we were always
late if that van had over turned , we would have been the next Lynard Skynard ,
dead but on Top Of The Pops , ahh if only but personally I have never felt
worried at any of our gigs no. Not even when a couple of punks threw a table
at us in the Roxy back in '77 , ha, ha, it turned out they did it out of respect.
DARYL: I've never been scared really. Maybe a bit apprehansive if there's
going to be a riot , but nothing that I've lost sleep over. I'd be more worried
for a fan if he paid to see us and went home after getting whacked over the
nose. Thats not what we want at SParrer gigs and luckily they are normaly
friendly safe places to be. But the scariest thing for me was in Germany in
1994 , when a guy came up to me and said "You want to fuck with me ?" ,
I thought he wanted a fight and was just about to hit him with a lump of
wood when he said "No , no, no , - you and me fuck yes ???" , fucking
hell , I've never ran back to a dressing room so fast !
COLM: CockSParrer sang about a lot of issues close to their hearts , such as
unemployment , dissilusioned youth , social issues and so on. So does it
dissapoint you to see the lack of vocal protests in songs nowadays ?
MICKY: Well to be honest , we didn't only sing about social issues , we sang
songs about ordinary life which happened to include all that you've said but we
also included a fair amount of humour , like "Sunday Stripper" , "Whats it Like
To Be Old" and more recently "Last Train To Dagenham" , or real events like
Bats out. There were even a few songs that we did that were entirely make
believe , so I can't take a hard line with todays bands about the content of
their songs. However I think every album should have a few thought
provokers that prick the consciousness of the listener and make them think
about themselves and the culture they are living in and yes there are still a few
bands out there that fulfill that role - even American Idiot by Greenday has a
real message , but I think that Daryl is better qualified than me to talk about the
current Oi scene , with his own band Argy Bargy and his close friendship with
bands like Discipline.............................
DARYL: If ever there was a need for punk rock to come and kick things up the
arse it's now !! I'm sure that there is more apathy now then there was in the 70's.
We are being fed a diet of cheap reality TV , hooked on celebrities that are
famous for nothing other than being famous , and no one has any common
sense anymore. years ago kids got a guitar or keyboards for £29 at Christmas
and made music. Now they sit in front of the latest computer gaming console
and become brain dead. And then we wonder why there is no creativity
anymore ???. Even the kids that are into punk , which is better than them liking
dance music , I suppose , they don't really get it. As much as I like Green Day
and those type of bands personally , it is pretty safe. It's more of a fashion to be
a skate punk or whatever nowadays. I suppose that Rap is the only real protest
music nowadays , which is a shame , coz I fucking hate it. But dig a bit deeper on
the scene and there are bands that still sing about stuff thats relevant !
COLM: You guys were around before the Pistols and are what I'd term the
fathers of "Oi" , which breathed life back into a dying punk scene , so where
do you think the punk - Oi scene goes from here ?
MICKY: Damn , I'm one of the fathers of Oi !, I knew I should have had a
vasectomy, but we were also in the labour ward at the birth of punk - but I was
never convinced that it was our baby , wrong colour hair, we should have
insisted on a DNA test. At least I recognised "Oi" , when it popped out and I
think that whilst it is certainly the only remaining underground genre and seems
unlikely to have its day in the spotlight it is still relatvely healthy and evolving
with lots of original bands as well as dynamic new kids like The Dead Pets or
dare I say it , Argy Bargy........................
DARYL: Sorry Micky that was a bit too medical for me ! , you are never going to
see real street punk on Top Of The Pops. No major label is going to invest big
money in an Oi band , and to be honest - good. Does it need to grow ? The
scene will stay right where it belongs with the people that are passionate about
it. Every now and then someone might break through that you feel could have
more mainstream success , like Deadline or The Dead Pets , and good luck to
them . But I think it will always have a healthy following and as long as there are
venues that give us a chance, we can always promote our own gigs and release
our own music. I have gigged pretty much every week with one band or another
since I was 15 years old and the music scene in the Uk is fucked. If you believe
in something , then get off your arse and make it happen !
COLM: So who were your musical influences ?
MICKY: You have to remember that there were no bands around like us when we
started. So we had to experiment with quite a few , none of which entirely suited
us , so we had to do our own thing. But I think thats it's safe to say that bands
like , The Small Faces , Slade , Thin Lizzy , (Boys are back in town) , and later
Heavy Metal Kids and the Clash all had an impact.
DARYL: CockSParrer , funnily enough ! As well as the Pistols , Clash etc. I found
The 4 Skins and the Oi scene a big influence as punk had lost the creative positive
drive by then. It was full of multi coloured hair people , crashed out on the floor
begging for 10p. Missing the point of punk really !!
COLM: At the reunion gig in The Astoria in '92 , were you suprised at over 2,000
fans turning out to see the gig ?
MICKY; I think it is well documented that we were flabbergasted - 2,000 mainly
young skins and punks who knew every word to every song , which was more
than we did , and they just carried us through. If it had not been for them then
we would have just faded away , but they inspired us to give it one last charge.
DARYL: Not really , as one of their biggest fans before I joined the band , I
understood the impact that CockSParrer had on people and that everyone was
waiting for that gig to happen
Brothers in arms !!!
COLM: What are your favourite SParrer songs , and why ?
DARYL: Changes all the time but probably "Because Your'e Young" , although
I prefer how we play it live on the recorded version. This is the one song that
deserves to get re-recorded as I think we could do it more justice if it was redone.
When we're playing live I like anything that the crowd sing , for example ,
"England Belongs To Me" and "Take 'Em All". Playing wise I enjoy
"Where Are They Now". But it can just be one line that gets me. The hair still
stands on the back of my neck when I hear "When a mother cries for a son she
had, thats when the worlds gone mad", from "Secret Army".
MICKY: Very difficult , probably "Runnin Riot" , as our first single always
stays close to my heart. You know what it's like , you've finally got something on
vinyl to show your mates (and your mum). But I still play a lot of our stuff when
I'm at home like "Because You're Young" , "England........" , "Lies" , and so on ,
even "Out On An Island" , when the mood is right, and the reason can vary from
them being good music , clever lyrics that convey the message or just touch a
nerve in me.
COLM: Whats the best gig or tour you can remember doing ?
MICKY: Wow , just as hard , Morecambe is always special. and I love playing in
the UK. It's a home match and we dont get many serious offers to play in the UK ,
but I usually have an awful hangover from staying up drinking all night , the day
before , while seeing old mates again. So in some ways playing in another country
is easier , and our first European tour in 1994 was great because we got back to
playing packed houses in 7 countries again. But I would have to measure that up
to all the great gigs we did in Germany , especially in Hamburg at the Gross
Freiheit and the USA. CBGB's and San Francisco were brilliant , so sorry I dont
seem to be able to home in on an absolute favourite , maybe you could help me
out Daryl ??
DARYL: Sorry Mick , cant help. Loads and loads of good gigs for different
reasons. The first tour was special and really punk. Smaller venues and more
intimate gigs. The next set of tours had bigger venues , and stages , more crowds
and better sounds. The USA was great , CBGB's , because it was CBGB's , did you
know they were closing it down ?
COLM: Yes,
Daryl; Anyway , San Francisco was the best show though. In England , the first
one in 2001 was more enjoyable for me , but I liked both. Both gigs in Hamburg
have been great , and Leipzig is a great venue. I would probably say that every
German show has been my favourite though. So again I cant give you a definite
answer. In fact we went out for a beer on Micky's birthday and I asked the whole
band the same question and we all came up with the same answer
.................we dont know !
COLM: We see The Stones , Dylan , Cohen & even our own Charlie Harper
continue on performing , so is there a cut off time for SParrer or will it be a wait
and see ?
MICKY: If I was a betting man , I might have had a flutter that Morecambe 2003
would have been our last , which is one of the reasons I started guesting with
"The Crack", but here we are doing another in 2005 and I have heard some
rumours about others - so I guess it will be wait and see , but if it was down to
me , there would definitely be more.
DARYL: Just need to take 'em out and get 'em drunk and bribe 'em. Thats what I
normally do. But we are definitely nearer the end , but never say never !!!!
COLM: If you weren't playing music what do you reckon you'd be doing ?
MICKY: Hard to say - I really love playing , but I do enjoy most sport , both
watching and playing when I can. I love skiing and fishing , not very punk you
know but there you go.
DARYL: "If you weren't playing music" - are you mad !!!! , it's all I've ever done.
When I wasn't playing it , I was selling guitars in music shops , or writing ,
recording or going to gigs. If I never played live again , I would still write and
record. If I wasn't in a band , I guess I would write a book , make a film , or stare
a lot , maybe I'd go on a diet.
COLM: What does it feel like when you're on stage and see the audience singing
every word , and knowing every beat and note of your songs ?
DARYL: It's the only reason to keep doing it. If there was a bad reaction , the
band would have quit years ago. It's a real buzz when you hear the crowd sing
along to the songs. The fact that they know every word and melody is testament
to Steve Burgess's songwriting. I watch loads of famous punk bands , with good
songs and a good following etc., and even when they have a good gig , it's
nothing compared to a SParrer show. The crowd makes the gig for me , I've played
in loads of bands and you always know that if you have a SParrer cover in your
set the crowd will go mad !
logo tattooed make sure you have the proper logo.
