The 4-Skins are an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

working-class Oi! band from the East End of London, England. Originally composed of Gary Hodges (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

), 'Hoxton' Tom McCourt (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

), Steve 'H' Hamer ( bass) and John Jacobs ( drums), the group was formed in 1979 and disbanded in 1984 – although new line-ups formed in 2007 and 2008. Many of their songs dealt with violent topics, but the band has claimed they were discussing the realities of inner city life, not promoting violence. Other 4-Skins song topics include

police harassment The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

, political corruption, war and

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

Career

The band members first met each other through mutual interest in football or in bands such as Sham 69 and Menace. Most of the original four band members were or had been

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

s, thus the double meaning of the band's name. However, Steve Pear had a

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

style, and Hoxton Tom McCourt — who was a

suedehead "Suedehead" is a 1988 single by English singer Morrissey, released on 15 February 1988. Co-written by Morrissey and former Smiths producer Stephen Street, the song was Morrissey's first solo release after the Smiths break-up. Morrissey was in ...

— was one of the leading participants of the

mod revival The mod revival was a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence lasted for de ...

. Prior to the release of the band's debut single, "One Law for Them", The 4-Skins contributed songs to the first three Oi! compilation albums, alongside bands such as Cockney Rejects,

Cock Sparrer Cock Sparrer () is an English punk rock band formed in 1972 in the East End of London. Although they have never enjoyed commercial success, they helped pave the way for the early '80s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre., Their songs have been c ...

, The Business and

Angelic Upstarts Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock / Oi! band formed in South Shields in 1977. AllMusic calls them "one of the period's most politically charged and thought-provoking groups". Angelic Upstarts Biography AllMusic. accessed 3 July 2006 T ...

. The 4-Skins went through many personnel changes during their initial five-year existence, with only bassist/

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

'Hoxton' Tom McCourt being present in every band line-up. Other former members include Roi Pearce, who was also the frontman of The Last Resort, and Paul Swain, a guitarist who later joined white power rock band

Skrewdriver Skrewdriver were an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, in 1976. Originally a punk band, Skrewdriver changed into a white supremacist rock band after reuniting in the 1980s. Their original l ...

. In 2007, The 4-Skins reformed with two original members — lead singer Gary Hodges and bassist Steve 'H' Harmer, plus guitarist Mick Geggus and drummer Andy Russell of Cockney Rejects. This line-up recorded two songs, "Chaos 2007" and "Glory Days", for the compilation album ''Kings of Streetpunk'', released by the independent record label G&R London. In 2008, Hodges formed a new version of the band under the name Gary Hodges' 4-Skins. This line-up played three shows – one in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

at the Punk and Disorderly festival, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at the East Coast Oi Fest and as the headlining act on the final day of the Blackpool Rebellion punk festival in August 2008. Two newly recorded tracks were also released for free on The 4-Skins' official web page. Both were covers of

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

songs – " Cum on Feel the Noize" and "Thanks for the Memories". Following this, the band decided to continue recording and touring. On 4 April 2010, they released a studio album, ''The Return'', on German

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

Randale Records.

Band members

1979–1980

* Hoxton Tom McCourt (guitar) *Gary Hodges (vocals) *Steve 'H' Harmer (bass) *Gary Hitchcock (drums).

1980–1981

* Hoxton Tom McCourt (bass) *Gary Hodges (vocals) *Steve 'Rockabilly' Pear (guitar) *John Jacobs (drums)

1981–1983

* Hoxton Tom McCourt (bass) *Tony 'Panther' Cummins (vocals) *John Jacobs (guitar/keyboards) *Pete Abbot (drums)

1983–1984

* Hoxton Tom McCourt (bass) *Roi Pearce (vocals) *Paul Swain (guitar) *Ian Bramson (drums)

2007

*Gary Hodges (vocals) *Steve 'H' Harmer (bass) *Mick Geggus (guitar) *Andy Russell (drums) *Dave Propri *Chris Caraway

2008–present

*Gary Hodges (vocals) *Bakes (bass) *Big Tom (guitar) *Sedge (drums)

Partial discography

Albums

*''

The Good, The Bad & The 4-Skins ''The Good, The Bad & The 4-Skins'' is the first album by English punk rock/ Oi! band, The 4-Skins. Released in June 1982 on Secret Records, the album topped the UK independent and punk charts, and entered the Top 100 of the UK Albums Chart. ...

'' (Secret Records (SEC 4), 1982) *'' A Fistful Of...4-Skins'' (Syndicate Records (SYN 1), 1983) *'' From Chaos to 1984'' (Live) (Syndicate Records (SYN LP 5), 1984) *''The Return'' (Randale Records (RAN 050), 2010)

Collections

*''A Few 4-Skins More, Vol.1'' (Link Records, 1987) *''A Few 4-Skins More, Vol.2'' (Link Records, 1987) *''The Wonderful World Of The 4-Skins'' (1987) *''The Best Of 4-Skins'' (1989) *''The Best Of The 4 Skins'' (Harry May/Link Records, 1997) – limited edition including 7" singles *''Clockwork Skinhead'' (2000) *''Singles & Rarities'' (Captain Oi! Records, 2000) *''The Secret Life of the 4-Skins'' (Captain Oi! Records, 2001) *''History Of...'' (Double CD, Taang Records, 2003)

Singles and EPs

*''One Law For Them/Brave New World'' (Clockwork Fun (CF 101), 1981) *''Yesterdays Heroes/Justice/Get Out Of My Life'' (Secret Records (SHH 125), 1981) *''Low Life/Bread Or Blood'' (Secret Records (SHH 141), 1982) *''Turning the Past into the Present'' – The 4-Skins, "Thanks For The Memories"/Evil Conduct, "The Way We Feel" (Clockwork Firm/Randale Records (655321 CF-001/RAN 47), 2009)

Compilation appearances

*"Wonderful World", "Chaos" – ''

Oi! The Album Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement w ...

'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, 1980) *"1984", "Sorry" – '' Strength Thru Oi!'' ( Decca Records, 1981) *"Evil" – '' Carry On Oi!'' (Secret Records, 1981) *"One Law for Them", "Yesterday's Heroes" – ''The Secret Life of Punks'' (Secret Records, 1982) *"On The Streets" – '' Son of Oi!'' (Syndicate, 1983) *"Clockwork Skinhead", "Plastic Gangster", "Summer Holiday" - ''Lords Of Oi!'' (Dressed To Kill, 1997) *"Glory Days", "Chaos 2007" - ''Kings of Street Punk'' ( G&R London, 2007)

References

External links

* * *
The 4-Skins
fan site with bio, lyrics and discography.
"Oi! – The Truth"
history of Oi! with information about The 4-Skins

from ''Rising Free'' zine
4-Skins profile
at Nostalgia Central
G & R London website
{{DEFAULTSORT:4-Skins, The English punk rock groups Oi! groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical quartets