Cockney Rejects

Formed in East London in the late 1970s, the Cockney Rejects rejected the art-school punk scene, delivering a fiercely working-class sound. Their lyrics reflected the realities of inner-city life—police harassment, street battles, and football—striking a chord with the youth of the time.

Signed by EMI after just four gigs, the Rejects quickly rose to fame with sell-out UK tours and a chart-topping debut album. Their wild antics on Top of the Pops earned them a ban from the show, adding to their rebellious reputation. In 1980, they recorded the iconic “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” to celebrate West Ham United’s FA Cup final.

In the 1990s, the Rejects gained new fans as bands like Rancid and Green Day cited them as inspirations. Returning to the stage in 2000, they have since performed to massive audiences worldwide, known for their high-energy live shows.

In January 2024, the band evolved. Lead singer Jeff “Stinky” Turner now fronting a revitalized line up featuring Olga (Toy Dolls) on guitar, JJ Kaos (Last Resort, Anti-Nowhere League) on bass, and Ray Dust (The Business, Argy Bargy) on drums. This “punk rock supergroup” is bringing the Cockney Rejects’ legacy to fans right across the globe.

Formed in the turbulence of late Seventies East London as an answer to the dominant art school punk, Cockney Rejects cornered their patch with their brand of terrace singalong classics and a white hot live set. "East End Babylon" The movie, originally released in 2013 through Cadiz Music is the no-holds-barred and acclaimed documentary that tells their story through interviews, rare archive footage of the band and their East End roots plus dynamic live footage. As well as the film itself, the DVD release includes over 90 minutes of outstanding bonus extras including unseen music and interview footage.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;Current members

• Jeff Geggus (Stinky Turner) – vocals (1978–present)
• Michael Algar (Olga) – guitar (2024-present)
• JJ Pearce – bass (2024-present)
• Ray Bussey – drums (2024-present)

{{col-2}}

;Former members

• Mick Geggus – guitar (1978–2024)
• Vince Riordan – bass (1979–1983, 1987–1991, 2015–2024)
• Chris Murrell – bass (1978–1979)
• Paul Harvey – drums (1978–1979)
• Andy Scott – drums (1979–1980)
• Nigel Woof – drums (1980)
• Keith Warrington – drums (1980–1985, 1987–1991)
• Ian Campbell – bass (1983–1985)
• Tony Van Frater – bass (1999–2015; died 2015)
• Andrew Laing – drums (1999–2000, 2007–2017; died 2023)
• Les Cobb – drums (2000–2007)
• Joe Perry Sansome – drums (2017–2024)

{{col-end}}

{{#tag:timeline|

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18

PlotArea = left:110 bottom:60 top:0 right:15

Alignbars = justify

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy

Period = from:01/01/1978 till:{{#time:d/m/Y}}

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom

ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1978

ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1978

LineData =

at:07/03/1980 color:black layer:back

at:30/09/1980 color:black layer:back

at:01/07/1981 color:black layer:back

at:10/11/1982 color:black layer:back

at:25/08/1984 color:black layer:back

at:12/04/1990 color:black layer:back

at:04/06/2002 color:black layer:back

at:21/10/2007 color:black layer:back

at:16/10/2012 color:black layer:back

at:30/09/2022 color:black layer:back

Colors =

id:Vocal value:red legend:Lead_Vocals

id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar

id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass

id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums

id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_Album

BarData =

bar:Jeff text:"Jeff Geggus"

bar:Mick text:"Mick Geggus"

bar:Olga text:"Michael 'Olga' Algar"

bar:Chris text:"Chris Murrell"

bar:Vince text:"Vince Riordan"

bar:Ian text:"Ian Campbell"

bar:Tony text:"Tony Van Frater"

bar:JJ text:"JJ Pearce"

bar:Paul text:"Paul Harvey"

bar:Andy text:"Andy Scott"

bar:Nigel text:"Nigel Woolf"

bar:Keith text:"Keith Warrington"

bar:Andrew text:"Andrew Laing"

bar:Les text:"Les Cobb"

bar:Joe text:"Joe Perry Sansome"

bar:Ray text:"Ray Bussey"

PlotData=

width:11

bar:Jeff from:start till:01/11/1985 color:Vocal

bar:Jeff from:01/05/1987 till:01/05/1991 color:Vocal

bar:Jeff from:01/02/1999 till:end color:Vocal

bar:Mick from:start till:01/11/1985 color:Guitar

bar:Mick from:01/05/1987 till:01/05/1991 color:Guitar

bar:Mick from:01/02/1999 till:06/03/2024 color:Guitar

bar:Olga from:06/03/2024 till:end color:Guitar

bar:Chris from:start till:01/03/1979 color:Bass

bar:Vince from:01/03/1979 till:01/10/1983 color:Bass

bar:Vince from:01/05/1987 till:01/05/1991 color:Bass

bar:Ian from:01/10/1983 till:01/11/1985 color:Bass

bar:Tony from:01/02/1999 till:29/10/2015 color:Bass

bar:Vince from:30/10/2015 till:06/03/2024 color:Bass

bar:JJ from:06/03/2024 till:end color:Bass

bar:Paul from:start till:01/03/1979 color:Drums

bar:Andy from:01/03/1979 till:20/05/1980 color:Drums

bar:Nigel from:20/05/1980 till:30/11/1980 color:Drums

bar:Keith from:01/12/1980 till:01/11/1985 color:Drums

bar:Keith from:01/05/1987 till:01/05/1991 color:Drums

bar:Andrew from:01/02/1999 till:01/10/2000 color:Drums

bar:Andrew from:01/02/2007 till:01/02/2017 color:Drums

bar:Les from:01/10/2000 till:01/02/2007 color:Drums

bar:Joe from:01/02/2017 till:06/03/2024 color:Drums

bar:Ray from:06/03/2024 till:end color:Drums

}}

• Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (EMI, 1980)
• Greatest Hits Vol. II (EMI, 1980)
• The Power and the Glory (EMI, 1981)
• The Wild Ones (A.K.A. Records, 1982)
• Quiet Storm (Heavy Metal Records, 1984)
• Lethal (Neat Records, 1990)
• Out of the Gutter (Captain Oi Records, 2002)
• [https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/cockney-rejects-unforgiven-white-vinyl-lp Unforgiven] (CD - G&R Records, 2007 / Vinyl LP - Cadiz Music, 2024)
• [https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/cockney-rejects-east-end-babylon-clear-vinyl-lp East End Babylon] (CD, LP - Cadiz Music, 2012){{Cite web|title=Cockney Rejects - discography, line-up, biography, interviews, photos|url=https://www.spirit-of-rock.com/en/band/Cockney_Rejects|access-date=2020-06-21|website=www.spirit-of-rock.com}}
• [https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/cockney-rejects-power-grab-cd-lp Power Grab] (CD, LP, Boxset - Cadiz Music, 2022)

• "Flares & Slippers" b/w "I Wanna Be A Star" / "Police Car" (7-inch, EP) (Small Wonder, 1979)
• "I'm Not a Fool" b/w "East End" (7-inch single) (EMI, 1979) UK No. 65
• "Bad Man" b/w "New Song" (7-inch) (EMI, 1980) UK No. 65
• "The Greatest Cockney Rip Off" b/w "Hate Of The City" (7-inch. Limited Edition in Yellow Vinyl) (EMI/Zonophone, 1980) UK No. 21
• "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" b/w "West Side Boys" (7-inch) (EMI/Zonophone, 1980) UK No. 35
• "We Can Do Anything" b/w "15 Nights" (7-inch) (EMI/Zonophone, 1980) UK No. 65
• "We Are the Firm" (7-inch) (EMI/Zonophone, 1980) UK No. 54
• "Easy Life" (7-inch, Live EP) (EMI/Zonophone, 1981)
• "On the Streets Again" (7-inch) (EMI/Zonophone, 1981)
• "Till the End of the Day" (7-inch) (AKA 1982)
• "Back to the Start" (7-inch) (Heavy Metal Records, 1984){{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |year=2006 |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |edition=19th |location=London |page=112}}
• "It's Gonna Kick Off!" (7-inch, EP) (Cadiz Music, 2016)
• "[https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/cockney-rejects-goodbye-upton-park-7-signed-copies Goodbye Upton Park/Bubbles"]" (7-inch) (Cadiz Music,2016){{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}
• "[https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/cockney-rejects-bubbles-the-rocker-7-picture-disc Bubbles/The Rocker]" (7-inch Picture Disc) (Cadiz Music, 2019)
• "[https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/cockney-rejects-chapecoense-the-outfit-boss-of-bosses-split-7-single-signed Chapecoense/Boss Of Bosses]" (7-Inch)(Cadiz Music, 2019)

• Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (Live & Loud) (1981)
• Unheard Rejects (1985 - collection of demo tracks recorded between 1979 and 1981)
• We Are The Firm (1986)
• The Best Of The Cockney Rejects (1993)
• The Punk Singles Collection (Dojo, 1997)
• Oi! Oi! Oi! (Castle, 1997)
• Greatest Hits Volume 4: Here They Come Again (Rhythm Vicar, 2000 - reissued as Back on the Street - Victory Records, 2000)
• Join the Rejects, the Zonophone years '79-'81 (EMI, )
• [https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/cockney-rejects-hammer-the-classic-rock-years Hammer - The Classic Rock Years] (4CD Box - Cadiz Music 2013)

• Oi! The Album (1980)
• Total Noise (7-inch EP - 1983 - as Dead Generation)
• Lords Of Oi! (Dressed to Kill, 1997)

• [https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/cockney-rejects-east-end-to-the-west-end-dvd-cd-vls East End To The West End] - Live At The Mean Fiddler 2007 - DVD & CD
• [https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/cockney-rejects/products/east-end-babylon-the-story-of-the-cockney-rejects-vls East End Babylon] - The Story Of The Cockney Rejects - DVD

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Cockney Rejects}}

• [http://www.cockneyrejects.com Cockney Rejects Official website]
• {{discogs artist|Cockney Rejects}}
• {{imdb name|2473166}}
• [https://www.instagram.com/cockneyrejects/?hl=en Cockney Rejects Instagram]
• [https://x.com/cockneyrejects2?lang=en Cockney Rejects Twitter]

{{Cockney Rejects}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Street punk groups

Category:Musical groups established in 1979

Category:Oi! groups

Category:English punk rock groups

Category:EMI Records artists

Category:Punk rock groups from London

Category:Association football fandom