The 4-Skins are a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band from the East End of London, England. Originally composed of Gary Hodges (vocals), 'Hoxton' Tom McCourt (

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

), Steve 'H' Harmer (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

) 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 people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizen ...

, political corruption, war and unemployment.

Career

The band members first met each other through mutual interest in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

or in bands such as

Sham 69 Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They changed their musical direction after seeing the Sex Pistols play live in early 1976. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, ac ...

and Menace. Most of the original four band members were or had been

skinhead A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youth in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide i ...

s, thus the

double meaning A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

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 Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

style, and

Hoxton Tom McCourt 'Hoxton' Tom McCourt (born 1961) is the former bassist and bandleader of punk rock/Oi! band, The 4-Skins. He was one of the most influential members of the skinhead revival of 1977 to 1978, the mod revival of 1978 to 1979 and the Oi! movement f ...

— who was a

suedehead "Suedehead" is the debut solo 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. Morrisse ...

— was one of the leading participants of the

mod revival The mod revival is 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 started with disillusionment with the punk scene when commercialism set in. It was f ...

. Prior to the release of the band's debut single, "One Law for Them", The 4-Skins contributed songs to the first three

Oi! 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 wa ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s, alongside bands such as

Cockney Rejects Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End of London in 1978. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre. The band members are supporters of West Ham United, and pay tr ...

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 cover ...

, 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 The ...

. The 4-Skins went through many personnel changes during their initial five-year existence, with only bassist/songwriter 'Hoxton' Tom McCourt being present in every band line-up. Other former members include Roi Pearce, who was also the

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

of The Last Resort, and Paul Swain, a guitarist who later joined

white power rock White power music is music that promotes white nationalism. It encompasses various music styles, including rock, country, and folk. Ethnomusicologist Benjamin R. Teitelbaum argues that white power music "can be defined by lyrics that demonize ...

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 power skinhead rock band after reuniting in the 1980s. Their original ...

. 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 An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

G&R London G&R London is an independent record label based in London, England which was established in 2007. The label was set up by Cockney Rejects guitarist Mick Geggus and the original East End Badoes bassist Andy Russell, with the intention of recordin ...

. 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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

at the Punk and Disorderly festival, in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, at the East Coast Oi Fest and as the headlining act on the final day of the

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of 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 a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England 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 Singl ...

songs – "

Cum on Feel the Noize "Cum On Feel the Noize" is a song by the English rock band Slade which was released in 1973 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK Sin ...

" 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 Randale Records.

Band members

1979–1980

(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'' (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'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

, 1980) *"1984", "Sorry" – '' Strength Thru Oi!'' (

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, 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! ''Son of Oi!'' is a punk rock, punk compilation album, released by Syndicate Records in 1983. It is 5th in the Oi! compilation series. Track listing ;Side One - Arthur's Side # "Chip on my Shoulder" - Cock Sparrer # "Onwards" - Kraut (band), Kra ...

'' (Syndicate, 1983) *"Clockwork Skinhead", "Plastic Gangster", "Summer Holiday" - ''Lords Of Oi!'' (Dressed To Kill, 1997) *"Glory Days", "Chaos 2007" - ''Kings of Street Punk'' (

, 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 * {{DEFAULTSORT:4-Skins, The English punk rock groups Oi! groups Punk rock groups from London Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 English musical quartets British political music groups