{"id":7125,"date":"2025-12-03T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/whats-it-like-to-be-old\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T15:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T15:30:00","slug":"whats-it-like-to-be-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/whats-it-like-to-be-old\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s It Like To Be Old?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/leadPRESS-SHOT-2024_credit-Roberto-Pavic.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" alt=\"Cock Sparrer. (Credit: Roberto Pavic)\"><figcaption>Cock Sparrer. (Credit: Roberto Pavic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You know your band\u2019s legacy is secure when the sold-out crowd at your show can sing two full verses of your song before you even play a single note.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Not that the U.K. Oi! punk originators Cock Sparrer were remotely worried about how they\u2019ll be remembered during their two recent sold-out shows at the Hollywood Palladium (their first L.A. show in 25 years). They were fully in the moment, conducting the crowd as if they were a fist-pumping, chorus-shouting Oi!-chestra. It built to the point that\u2014during lead singer Colin McFaull\u2019s favorite Sparrer song \u201cBecause You\u2019re Young\u201d\u2014the audience held the climactic note longer and louder than even he thought possible. \u201cGood thing we\u2019re not coming back to L.A.,\u201d joked McFaull, \u201cbecause that\u2019s the loudest version of that song ever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>More from Spin:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/12\/why-ella-eyre-isnt-an-international-superstar-and-why-shes-ok-with-that\/\">Ella Eyre Isn\u2019t an International Superstar\u2014And She\u2019s OK With That<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/12\/luke-spiller-brings-us-the-christmas-song-nobody-asked-for-but-needed\/\">Luke Spiller Brings Us \u2018the Christmas Song Nobody Asked for\u2019 (But Needed)<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/12\/for-azam-ali-music-is-where-she-goes-to-tell-the-truth\/\">For Azam Ali, Music Is Where She Goes to Tell the Truth<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>That<\/em> is why I went into these shows with \u201clegacy\u201d looming in my mind. These Palladium gigs were billed as the band\u2019s \u201cfinal L.A. performances ever,\u201d following their 2024 album <em>Hand on Heart<\/em> being the band\u2019s \u201cfinal studio album.\u201d I assumed that after five decades of playing fast, raw, working-class anthems with full hearts, the street-punk legends had decided to rest.<\/p>\n<p>I was wrong. Cock Sparrer is NOT retiring. Not exactly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve always said we will keep going as long as we\u2019ve got our health, we\u2019re enjoying it, and we\u2019re not embarrassing ourselves,\u201d explains guitarist Daryl Smith. The two Palladium concerts show the band is very much checking those boxes, and McFaull shares that the band currently has gigs booked through 2026 and into 2027, largely across the U.K. and Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So why the recent \u201cfinal\u201d distinctions? Because the guys in Cock Sparrer are realists. U.S. visas are expensive and difficult to procure, so from a practical standpoint, Smith says, \u201cIf we\u2019re still going, the honest truth is America\u2019s a big place, so we\u2019re not going to be coming back to the same places. We\u2019ve only got a limited amount of time and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/01-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-1.jpg\" alt=\"(Credit: Stevie Oi)\" class=\"wp-image-649581\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/01-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/01-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-1-340x227.jpg 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/01-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-1-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/01-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/01-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-1-498x332.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Credit: Stevie Oi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I\u2019m grateful that Smith acknowledged this elephant in the room. Of course, Cock Sparrer is more honest than most bands when it comes to aging; see them still playing their early classic \u201cWhat\u2019s It Like To Be Old\u201d with fans chanting back, \u201cBecause you\u2019re old old old old old.\u201d \u201cI guess it\u2019s true that there are some places we\u2019ll never get to now,\u201d McFaull admits, adding that he and the band will continue at their current pace of \u201cprobably a dozen shows a year, as long as we\u2019re having fun,\u201d and that he and Smith still hope to perform in one place they\u2019ve never played: Japan.<\/p>\n<p>This approach fits a band who has always done things their own way, even when that meant taking breaks for years at a time during their early heydays of the \u201970s and \u201980s. \u201cOur number one priority is our friendship,\u201d says McFaull. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve had periods where, \u2018You know what? This isn\u2019t a lot of fun at the moment.\u2019 And we go, \u2018Okay, that\u2019s fine.\u2019 It\u2019s not like we\u2019ve disbanded. We\u2019ll still go to the game on Saturday. We\u2019ll still meet up in the pub at half past 1:00 before we go and that sort of thing. We\u2019re just choosing not to do gigs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing with Cock Sparrer is we\u2019re not a democracy. We\u2019re a bunch of friends first and we would never make a friend do something they didn\u2019t want to do,\u201d Smith offers, then adding with a chuckle, \u201cwhich is great to keep a happy ship and why we\u2019ve been going 50-odd years, but absolutely horrendous when you\u2019re trying to make a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/02-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-2.jpg\" alt=\"(Credit: Stevie Oi)\" class=\"wp-image-649580\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/02-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/02-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-2-340x227.jpg 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/02-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-2-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/02-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/02-CockSparrer-Aug22-credit-StevieOi-2-498x332.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Credit: Stevie Oi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Speaking of their 50-odd years, McFaull is as surprised as anyone that Cock Sparrer and punk music are still going strong. \u201cWhen punk started, it was supposed to be all crash and burn. You\u2019re supposed to come running, smash a few things up, leave a mark, and then never be seen again,\u201d he says. \u201cNo one predicted that here we\u2019d be 50 years later, still talking about it, young kids still coming to the shows, so no one knows what the benchmark is now.\u201d With that uncertainty comes freedom, though, particularly in their songwriting. \u201cWe\u2019re not at the stage of our lives where we\u2019re going to write songs about going out fighting, because we don\u2019t do that anymore. If we did it\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe write strongly worded letters,\u201d Smith cuts in, jokingly. Instead, they bring their older perspective into their music, which in turn allows them to keep connecting with their fans, who are aging as well and passing Cock Sparrer along to their kids.<\/p>\n<p>This shift has led to what Cock Sparrer feels is an improved modern punk scene. \u201cThe U.K. was very tribal. Whether it was mods and rockers or punks and Teddy boys or skinheads versus punks, and it was geographically very tribal\u2026 and that tribal-ness invariably came with a lot of violence,\u201d explains Smith, citing how this danger made it tough for musicians, \u201cas all you want to do is play your songs and have a good time.\u201d Fortunately, Smith feels the violence is gone now. \u201cI mean, you saw the shows in L.A. It felt like a big family. You couldn\u2019t have done that 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago,\u201d Smith says, \u201cThe gigs don\u2019t have that air of menace about them anymore. The idiots have gone and it\u2019s left to people that want to have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/IMG_1670.jpeg\" alt=\"(Credit: Brendan Hay)\" class=\"wp-image-649576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/IMG_1670.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/IMG_1670-340x453.jpeg 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/IMG_1670-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/IMG_1670-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/IMG_1670-498x664.jpeg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Credit: Brendan Hay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But back to that word \u201clegacy.\u201d If Cock Sparrer does someday have a <em>final<\/em> final show, what will they be remembered for? \u201cTo me, the beauty of Cock Sparrer lies in their powerful simplicity. They traded in stupid rockstar tropes to live in the moment,\u201d says Graeme McKinnon, lead singer of the band\u2019s recent L.A. opening act Home Front. \u201cIn the end they\u2019ll be remembered as five working-class musicians who did things their way.\u201d Sparrer\u2019s Smith also looks at this bluntly, offering, \u201cI think you can\u2019t put a price on a legacy, which is just someone turning around going, \u201cNo, they were all right, they were. They were genuine. There was no pretentiousness about them.\u2019\u201d McFaull adds the simple but accurate epitaph: \u201cDoes what it says on the tin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What will I remember about Cock Sparrer? Near the end of that second L.A. show, when the audience sang two verses of \u201cWhere Are They Now?\u201d on their own, I noticed McFaull\u2019s face brighten. He had the most joyful, genuine smile of any artist I\u2019ve ever seen on stage. In this single expression, an artist got to experience what his band means to people in real time. Here\u2019s hoping McFaull and all of Cock Sparrer continue to enjoy moments of connection like this for years to come, wherever they play (even if it is never again L.A.).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2021\/07\/the-greatest-rock-stars-of-all-time\/?utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=bottomlink&amp;utm_campaign=yahoolink\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cock Sparrer. (Credit: Roberto Pavic) You know your band\u2019s legacy is secure when the sold-out crowd at your show can sing two full verses of your song before you even&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,4655,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-oi","category-pushly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7125\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}