(The most serious photo we could find of the Rejects)
Listen I’m gonna quote ya’ll a song, you tell me if you can figure out it’s deep coded meanings:
”I’d like to thank my mum and dad
They gave me the best time that I ever had
And my mates that believed me when I was at school
I had the last laugh, Up You All!
It was the greatest cockney rip off
It was the greatest cockney rip off
It was the greatest cockney rip off
It was the greatest cockney rip off
Why’d I pay to get on the bus
Who drives around with the companies trust
We all know that we’re the best
So drop the press and all the rest!
It was the greatest cockney rip off
It was the greatest cockney rip off
It was the greatest cockney rip off
It was the greatest cockney rip off
Maybe it’s because i’m a Londoner
That I love London town
Oi! ya has-been
How ya goin me ol’ china
Well in order mate innit
This firm and me pal”
Wow,right? That shit is Pynchon-esque in it’s obfuscasity. None of that means exactly one damn thing. Except for maybe that whoever is singing it is probably not opposed to throwing a bottle at your face for laughs.
The above quoted is from The Greateset Cockney Rip-Off by the Cockney Rejects, one of the lesser known of the British Oi! bands. A lot about the Oi! movement was both bad and stupid, but I still love the Rejects. They used to actually stop live performances not to stop fights, but to pick them. I’m not a fan of violence at shows or anywhere else for that matter, but that shit is awesome. It’s like taking a break from your job for five minutes to straight clothesline somebody.
I have a point here somewhere hold on. After a recent trip to London a friend of mine brought me back a Rejects single from 1980 with The Greatest Cockney Rip Off on side A and Hate of The City on the flip side. It was obviously put out to support a single, no cover art, plain brown sleeve and the vinyl itself is fuckin horrible. And the songs, though I still like the Rejects, are not really their best. What is interesting about it though is it’s a part of history now. Back in those days you would see The Boomtown Rats on The Top of The Pops, you would read about Skinhead Terrace violence in the papers on Mondays and kids were lining up to get their Docs or leathers. I don’t know why, but the sheer popularity of Punk Rock in England, the fact that is was so above ground while when we were coming up it was so obscure, fascinates me. Yeah, so that’s all. Oh, by the way, the Rejects actually hold the distinction of having written the single best song ever recorded till now, proven by science and mathematical proof. Police Car. Check it out. God himself cranks that song on Friday nights.
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“Freedom? There ain’t no fuckin freedom!” is probably one of the best opening lines to a punk song ever.