Album Review: Cock Sparrer - Shock Troops
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Captain Oi!’s mission to update and re-release as many classic Punk albums as is humanly possible continues apace and, this time, he’s set his sights on one of the genres more important records: Cock Sparrer’s Shock Troops.
Five years on from the self-titled debut, Sparrer unleashed one of punk’s most important records and one which still contributes heavily to the band’s live shows to this day. From the opening, upbeat bars of Where Are They Now? to the chilled-out vibes of Out on An Island, there isn’t an ounce of fat on Shock Troops and its status as being equally vital to your punk collection as Never Minds the Bollocks, London Calling and Ratus Norvegicus is undisputed.
Those jaunty rhythms and clean guitar from Micky Beaufoy and Chris Skepis on the opener, Where Are They Now? belie the topic of the betrayal of the punk ideology, name checking journalists and musicians who spear-headed the first shots across society’s bows, yet didn’t follow through. References to Joe, Jimmy and Rotten, and the six years on, all allude to the laurel-resting of bands who thought the job was done.
Shock Troops is the classic it is because it speaks to generations, while being of its time. Working is a tongue in check story of someone working cash-in-hand while still signing on – and would have numerous sequels across several Sparrer records in the future. Riot Squad covers the poor unfortunate who opts for a career in the Police, only to find himself the victim of his own urges (dodgy coppers! Who’d’ve thunk it?)
What makes Sparrer still relevant is the focus on the events of their day, which resonate through the intervening forty-years. That they do this in a way that doesn’t force their stance down the listener’s throat is a credit to their craft as songwriters.
You can listen to Secret Army as a driving punk track with a catchy tune but read a little deeper into the lyric and you find a world gone mad. Droogs Don’t Run uses the imagery of Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange to relate being in a band to being in a gang, with it’s all for one attitude and the need to stand together. It’s a thesis that Sparrer would revisit over the years, including on this year’s Hand on Heart record. Based around a shuffling rhythm and an earworm melody, it’s another one that had multiple meanings, there for the finding.
Unusually, the Colin McFaull penned Out on an Island, takes a more chilled vibe into its musicality; laid back guitar and a lilting vocal can make you miss the militaristic drum lines and the lyrics wishing to be alone on the titular island and away from the System that has us all as little more than a unit and a serial (National Insurance) number.
Take ‘Em All and I Got Your Number still feature live regularly, but not as often as We’re Coming Back, having been Sparrer’s set closer for many years now; a simple ditty of comradeship and solidarity that is guaranteed to make even the most stoic skinny tear up.
The bonus track is the constant penultimate set closer - and national anthem in waiting - England Belongs to Me, which Colin once commented at a gig in Manchester always goes down well in Scotland. I think the tongue was firmly in the check when he said that; Argy Bargy, a song so influential that it was adopted as a band name in 1992 by, well Argy Bargy. The simple riff and the singalong chorus is a fan favourite to this day and always get a great reception whenever it gets some airtime.
Finally, Colonel Bogey is an Oi! take on the Kenneth J Alford march made famous through Bride on the River Kwai. It’s a fitting end to the album, but probably won’t garner more than a couple of spins.
As mentioned earlier, Shock Troops is an utterly indispensable album for your punk collection and while Cock Sparrer have recorded some great records since, none are as complete or as essential as this one. It’s their Number of the Beast, Ace of Spades or Highway to Hell, the foundation of what the band would go on to become and an unparalleled landmark release.
