Cock Sparrer

One of the first Oi! bands, Cock Sparrer were playing loud, raw, Cockney working-class anthems as early as the first wave of British punk, although record company difficulties prevented them from issuing much material until the early '80s, when the Oi! movement was well underway. Their second album, 1982's Shock Troops, was their definitive work, and set the template for their recording career with simple, straightforward chock-a-block tunes, forceful guitars, pounding drums, and singalong choruses matched to proudly defiant lyrics bellowed with a distinctive sneer by lead singer Colin McFaull. Once they found their trademark sound, they stuck with it, and nearly all their work followed this pattern, but hundreds of punk and Oi! bands would be inspired by their music, running the gamut from Agnostic Front and Murphy's Law to Rancid and the Dropkick Murphys.