Punk under-achievers Decca totally failed to recognise the potential of street punk pioneers Cock Sparrer – just as they overlooked the possibilities in Adam Ant, almost willing their small stable of young upstarts to lose. When two classic Sparrer singles, Runnin’ Riot and a Stones cover, We Love You, failed to set the chart alight in 1977, Decca bizarrely chose to release the band’s self-titled album solely in Spain, and the Sparrer split soon after.
Justice began to be done in 1980, when the group were featured on the Oi! The Album compilation, and the reconvened Sparrer found themselves snapped-up by Razor, who released their seminal Shock Troops album in 1982. These days, of course, Sparrer are highly-regarded punk festival headliners with a worldwide fanbase thanks to their trademark stomping singalong anthems – and much of that is rooted in this album. The majority of its tracks remain in the band’s live set to this day, and it remains the high watermark of their career. Any album that opens with a foursome as strong as Where Are They Now, Riot Squad, Working and Take ’Em All is on to a winner.
