I t started off like any other show ("Argy Bargy")you see, the thing about Sparrer is that they're not just a band. The four original members (Steve Bruce - drums, Mick Beaufoy - guitar, Steve Burgess - bass and Colin Mcfaull - vocals) together with their tour manager, Will Murray, have known each other since the age of eleven. They were born and raised in London's East End, growing up in an atmosphere of football and rock music. For most of their lives, they've been mates.They all attended the same school and, in 1972, swapped homework for rehearsals in order to form a group, playing Small Faces songs and not much else. They were later joined by Garrie Lammin, the first of several rhythm guitarists. Garrie had a lot going for him: he owned a Marshall stack, had a spikey haircut and was Burge's cousin. Thanks to Terry Murphy, who ran the Bridgehouse pub in Canning Town (East London's coolest rock venue), the boys were never short of somewhere to play, even if it was only a wet Monday night with an audience of just Terry and his bar staff.Sparrer began to write their own songs. They were based on the life they led and the characters they met while supporting West Ham Football Club every Saturday afternoon. The sound that evolved was more raw than the prevailing heavy rock favoured by their contemporaries and soon attracted a regular following. The gigs at the Bridgehouse were now being supplemented by support slots at The Marquee in London's West End (thanks to Archie, The Marquee's dodgy jock doorman).Malcolm McLaren came to see the band rehearse in a room over The Roding pub in East Ham with a view to taking them under his wing and turning them into the 'next big thing' (sound familiar ?). Bondage trousers and safety pins met Doctor Martins and jungle greens. It was not to be. Malcolm invited the boys to play with the newly formed Sex Pistols at a strip club in Soho but his inability to buy them a beer did not go down well and the association ended there (if onlyOh well, who gives a shit ?)Shortly afterwards the music scene was changed forever with the release of 'Anarchy In The UK'. Suddenly record companies were rushing to find anyone who didn't sound like the 'dinosaur' rockers that had now become so 'un-trendy' and Cock Sparrer signed their lives away to Decca Records (along with 'Slaughter And The Dogs' from Manchester). Fame and fortune were just around the corner.
They all lived in a house in Dagenham, Essex. When not gigging, they spent the time in the kitchen playing football, drinking in the local pub or praying for Will to win enough money on the horses to pay the rent. They had 'acquired' boxes and boxes of both their singles which they used for rifle practice in the back garden (they're sick when they now see them being offered for huge amounts of money in record collector magazines).
Cock Sparrer were, are and always will be:Colin McFaull - vocals, Steve Burgess - bass guitar, Steve Bruce - drums, Mickey Beaufoy - guitars, Will Murray - road managerFive blokes in a pub, five mates having a laugh, more than just a band.Plus new boy Daryl Smith (he's only been with the band since 1992)
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