Cockney Rejects - Power Grab (2022)

Power Grab is the ninth studio album from terrace rock legends the Cockney Rejects. Having created the 'Street Punk’'phenomenon with their EMI released debut album Greatest Hits Volume One in 1979 and its eponymous follow up, Greatest Hits Volume Two in 1980, the band shifted direction to their preferred hard rock leanings with the Pete Way produced The Wild Ones in 1982, to much critical acclaim. After the 'Lethal’'album in 1990 the band called it a day, exhausted by the 'Hooligan Rock' accusations and the lack of live work.

In 1999 they enlisted new bass player Tony 'Van' Frater and drummer Andrew Laing and, now a touring tour de force, they played to ecstatic audiences all over the world and released several albums right until Tony's untimely death in 2015.

After much soul searching, the band recruited former bass player Vinny Riordan (from the band's classic first line-up) and powerhouse drummer Joe Perry Sansome (from Reigning Days) and the boys hit the road again, to even more rabid response than before. Then came covid, and like many thousands of bands the world over, they reluctantly had to down tools. Never a band to rest on their laurels, Mick and Jeff began to write, and the band spent long weekends in the studio with producer Kevin Poree creating their finest, and possibly last, studio album, Power Grab.

And what an album it is. It's the culmination of 43 years on the road and in the studio ('it's a microcosm of everything we have learned and loved since 1979,' says guitarist Mick Geggus) resulting in the most cohesive work they have ever done. From their fledgling Punk days to their Rock heyday, it's all here; the hooks, heartfelt lyrics, searing guitar work and thunderous rhythm section, all in one package. From the gentle, acoustic intro to the blistering Punk snarl of the opener, 'We Were Never Bothered' through the mighty title track, to the closer 'MUG', there isn't any filler here - in fact the band jettisoned some six songs to make this collection the most vibrant and vital thing they have ever created. 'It's 40+ years rolled into one. It's the culmination of evolution. Everything is on this album' states drummer Joe Sansome.

At the end of 2023 the Cockney Rejects will be retiring from the touring scene. They will leave behind a legacy matched by very few of their contemporaries. Catch them while you still can. And listen to Power Grab - It's what Rock ‘N ’Roll SHOULD sound like. The caged beast. And something so alive it hurts. If this indeed is going to be their swansong, they couldn't go out on a bigger high.