• The Magazine
  • Interviews
  • Current
  • Nostalgia
  • Legends
  • European
  • World
  • Log in
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • The Magazine
  • Interviews
  • Current
  • Nostalgia
  • Legends
  • European
  • World
  • Log in
  • Subscribe

Oi! Blowing Bubbles with The Cockney Rejects

Pink by Pink
October 22, 2018
in Features

exc-5bcdadd7652dead937c80324

BY JEZ ROBERTS

In 1980, Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister, The Empire Strikes Back was the number one grossing film in the UK and Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in The Wall (Part II) began the year at No.1; but in May that year, The Cockney Rejects aggressively reached No. 35 in the charts with their punk take on West Ham’s terrace anthem I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles. This meant that on May 22nd, The Cockney Rejects appeared on Top of the Tops, decked out in West Ham shirts surrounded by pretty bubbles in the air, no less.

This wasn’t their only appearance on the show but one that fused football and music together. Before that appearance on TOTP in 1980, Second Division West Ham reached the FA Cup final. Frank Lampard Snr’s winning header in the semi-final replay against Everton – his first goal for over a year – spawned another Upton Park terrace classic to the tune of White Christmas: “I’m dreaming of a Frank Lampard/Just like the one at Elland Road/When the ball came over and Frank fell over and scored the f*cking winning goal!”

They would face a seemingly superior Arsenal in the final; a team boasting the considerable talents of Pat Jennings, Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton.

The Cockney Rejects were arguably the architects of the genre of ‘Oi!’ In an article by The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis, he asserts that it was the Cockney Rejects’ manager coined the term “Oi!” to describe a third generation of punk-inspired working-class bands playing “harder music on every level, guitar driven, terrace choruses”. On the surface it is Punk, but in the eyes of true ‘Oi!’ fans it is the genuine sound of the British streets in the late 1970s. The B-side to I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles shows a less savoury side to football culture at the time. ’West Side Boys’, was not really a traditional singalong terrace anthem:

We meet in the Boleyn every Saturday

Talk about the team that

we’re gonna do today

Steel cap Dr. Martens and iron bars

Smash their coaches or do’em

in their cars

This verse alone shows the darker side of The Cockney Rejects. It displays what a certain but significant element of fans during the period felt about their Saturday afternoons and that the football itself was often a secondary consideration.

The FA Cup final in 1980 was won by a single goal, scored by a stooping Trevor Brooking. It was their third FA Cup success and came in a relative halcyon period in West Ham’s history; in the 1980/81 season they were promoted to the First Division and were also runners up in the League Cup to the great Liverpool side of the day.

The Cockney Rejects appearance on Top of the Pops was a great crossover of football culture and music. The manner of the performance exemplifies where a section of West Ham – and other clubs – fans were at that particular time. If you wanted a little insight into the ‘fuck you’ attitude and scene in 1980, The Cockney Rejects’ performance is the first thing you should go visit. The passion that is showed for West Ham is impressive. They show aggression in an almost comical performance. Due to the ‘backing track’ mime-a-long nature of Top of the Pops in those days, they overtly mock this, like many other bands did through the show’s history; perhaps the most occasion being Oasis’ performance of ‘Roll With It’, when Liam and Noel Gallagher openly mocked the make-up of the show by swapping roles within the band.

The Cockney Rejects’ Oi anthem will never stand the test of time, it bottled an essence that was very much of the moment in British football and social culture. But I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles will last forever.

I’m forever blowing bubbles,

Pretty bubbles in the air,

They fly so high,

Nearly reach the sky,

Then like my dreams,

They fade and die.

Fortune’s always hiding,

I’ve looked everywhere,

I’m forever blowing bubbles,

Pretty bubbles in the air.

FOLLOW JEZ ON TWITTER @Jez__Roberts AND CHECK OUT HIS BLOG HERE https://jezroberts.wordpress.com/

Related Posts

Events

Grammy Predictions and Odds (2023): Who Will Win Best Pop Solo Performance & Other Prestigious Awards?

The Grammy Awards are set to take place on February 5 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California....

by Jamie Ingram
February 3, 2023
0
1998: When the World Cup and EA Sports combined to create computer game heaven
Features

1998: When the World Cup and EA Sports combined to create computer game heaven

The FIFA computer game series has now grown to an incredibly lucrative and, for some, time-consuming franchise. The days...

by Liam Togher
March 11, 2022
0
The Physio : Life in the Camp
European

The Physio : Life in the Camp

During a tournament, the presenter will often say we will be going live to the England camp, or any...

by Gavin Blackwell
June 22, 2021
0
The Physio: Running repairs
Current

The physio: The more things change, the more they stay the same

It wasn't all that long ago when the medical team in all the 92 professional clubs consisted of one...

by Gavin Blackwell
March 8, 2021
0
Load More
Next Post

Former Sunderland star Kieron Brady on the case for equality and acceptance

Events

Grammy Predictions and Odds (2023): Who Will Win Best Pop Solo Performance & Other Prestigious Awards?

by Jamie Ingram
February 3, 2023
0
0

The Grammy Awards are set to take place on February 5 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Based...

Read more
UNC vs Duke Betting Odds: Bet on Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA Men’s Basketball, Feb 4, 2023)

UNC vs Duke Betting Odds: Bet on Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA Men’s Basketball, Feb 4, 2023)

February 2, 2023
0
golf betting

Best Golf Betting Odds: Top 5 Golf Betting Sites for PGA Tours, US Open, Masters Tournament, and Other Major Golf Events

January 31, 2023
0

Bengals vs Chiefs Betting Odds, Spread, Predictions & Key Match Info: NFL Championship Game Summary (2023)

January 27, 2023
0

WWE Royal Rumble Betting Odds, News, Predictions & Picks (Fans Believe In The Rock)

January 27, 2023
0
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Profile

© Copyright 2023 – Football Pink

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Profile

© Copyright 2022 - Ronnie Dog Media All Rights Reserved. Live Score

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Gmail
  • Print Friendly
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr