Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2010

The original “Oi!” punk band is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and it’s safe to say that the Cockney Rejects’ first-ever world tour won’t incite the kind of violence that characterized their early gigs. Formed by brothers Jeff and Mick Geggus—both of them boxers—the band’s first concerts were notorious for all-out brawls between skinheads of various soccer-club allegiances. The group rejected accusations that they were affiliated with the British National Front and cited black boxers as their heroes, but as the title of their latest album Unforgiven suggests, the working-class Oi! movement remains widely misunderstood. Will Japan’s unemployed freeter army make common cause?

The Cockney Rejects
Oi! punk band formed in ‘70s London. Jan 22, 6pm, ¥4,000 (adv)/¥4,500 (door). Garden, Shimokitazawa. Tel: 03-3795-1069.