Cock Sparrer

***Before Shock Troops even hit the shops, the bands Guitarist Micky Beaufoy had left, replaced with Shug O’Neil who brought a fresh approach to song writing giving Running Riot in ’84 a sound that was different to the bands recorded output to date. Cock Sparrer split up before the record hit the pressing plant meaning they had very little input in the release. Only 8 studio songs were records, so label Syndicate bolstered this with two ‘live’ (in the studio!) tracks. The front cover was also a last minute thrown together affair by the label who decided that crowd trouble from the 1979 West Ham vs Millwall match was suitable. The album was recorded in the same studio as Angelic Upstarts ‘Power of the Press’ and ‘Saturdays Heroes’ by The Business and like a fine wine has become more popular with age.