COCK SPARRER released their 8^th (and final) studio album ‘Hand on Heart’ in April last year and ended 2024 with it being voted ‘Album Of The Year’ in Vive Le Rock magazine.

They will end 2025 with a one-of UK headline show at The Barbican York on 13^th December. This year will see the band promote the album worldwide, with shows in USA, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain and more. The York show is the only chance to see the band on home soil this year at their own headline show.

Cock Sparrer are a band that have had their career in reverse. They’re the biggest punk band most people have never heard of – and are more popular now than at any time in their career or at the ‘height’ of punk. Any night of the week, anywhere in the world, if they’re playing the Sparrer faithful turn up en-masse to have a party.

They’re widely considered to be one of the most influential Street Punk bands in history and regularly headline all the major punk festivals. But it’s their club shows that show the strength of loyalty and love that their fans have for this band.

The thing about Sparrer is that they’re not just a band. They are childhood friends and have been making a noise since they got together way back in 1972. They were playing, drinking, going to football and generally making a nuisance of themselves when the late 1970s punk scene started in London. Finally, it seemed that there were hundreds of like-minded people with the same attitude.

However, the boys were from the wrong side of town and didn’t quite fit in with the ‘art school’ scene. They’ve always done things the way they wanted to. As punk ended up with its own set of rules they were always on the outside as they just didn’t buy into it.

Despite being courted by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren (who they turned away for not buying a round of drinks), early tours with the Small Faces, Thin Lizzy, Motörhead, and Slade, amongst others, and a record deal with Decca, the ‘music industry’ just wasn’t ready for Cock Sparrer.

Once all the hype around Punk had died down and all the ‘famous’ punk bands were no longer invited on Top of The Pops, Cock Sparrer started to carve out their own path and pick up likeminded people along the way – the Sparrer family. The band may never have made it to Top of The Pops, but they’re now top of the bill!