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Oi! is a working class street-level subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s.^[1] Look up oi in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Glam rock (also known as glitter rock), is a rock music style that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s which was performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots. ... Pub rock was a mid- to late-1970s musical movement, largely centred around North London and South East Essex, particularly Canvey Island and Southend on Sea. ... A drinking song is a song sung while drinking, that is, consuming alcohol. ... Football crowds chant Football chants. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... The East End of London, known locally as the East End, is an area, with no formal authority or boundaries, that spans a number of administative districts of London in England. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block, chimes or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... The punk subculture is a subculture that is based around punk rock. ... Skinheads, named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, are a working-class subculture that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. ... This article is about the hooligan subculture. ... Punk Pathetique is a sub-variant of Punk Rock termed by Garry Bushell. ... Garry Bushell (born May 13, 1955 in Woolwich, South East London) is a newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter and author. ... Sounds was a British music paper, published weekly from October 10, 1970 – April 6, 1991. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture. ... Football hooliganism (sometimes described as the English Disease) is hooliganism by football club supporters. ... The mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in the United Kingdom in 1978 and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). ... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ...

The music and associated subculture had the goal of promoting unity between punks, skinheads and other non-aligned working class youths (sometimes called herberts). The Oi! movement was partly a response to a sense that many participants in the early punk rock scene were, in the words of The Business guitarist Steve Kent, "trendy university people using long words, trying to be artistic...and losing touch". ^[2] In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a set of behaviors and beliefs, culture, which could be distinct or hidden, that differentiate them from the larger culture to which they belong. ... The punk subculture is a subculture that is based around punk rock. ... Skinheads, named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, are a working-class subculture that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. ... The Business is a UK based Oi! band formed in the late 1970s. ...

Oi!-related clothing items include traditional British punk and skinhead-oriented items such as: rocker jackets (sometimes customized with paint and metal spikes or studs); flight jackets; Harrington jackets; denim jackets or vests; T-shirts (often with images or text related to the skinhead or punk subcultures); Ben Sherman or Fred Perry shirts or sweaters; jeans (sometimes splattered with bleach); bondage trousers; bullet belts; studded leather belts; braces; combat boots or Dr. Martens boots; and flat caps. Hairstyles associated with Oi! include shaven heads or spiked hair, including Mohawks (sometimes dyed). Punk fashion is the styles of clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. ... Rocker jackets. ... If traced to its very beginnings, the flight jacket was created for practical reasons. ... A Harrington jacket is a short, lightweight jacket, usually with a tartan or check lining, favoured by mods and skinheads. ... This article is about the material denim. ... T-Shirt A T-shirt (or tee shirt) is a shirt with short or long sleeves, a round neck, put on over the head, without pockets. ... Ben Sherman is a British clothing company, producing shirts, suits, shoes, accessories and other items. ... For other persons named Fred Perry, see Fred Perry (disambiguation). ... This article is about the type of clothing. ... This article is about the chemical whitener. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about firearms projectiles. ... Bold textA belt is a flexible band, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. ... For other uses, see Leather (disambiguation). ... A man wearing classic suspenders, which hook directly into the trousers instead of using clips. ... These paratrooper boots have rubber lug outsoles and side zips. ... Dr. Martens is a brand of shoe, often known as Doc Martens, Docs, or DMs. They have a characteristic air-cushioned sole, dubbed Bouncing Soles, developed by Dr. Klaus Maertens (note the different spelling). ... Rear view of a flat cap Front view of a flat cap A flat cap (see alternate names below) is a rounded soft mens cap with a small brim in front and a somewhat stiff peak in the back. ... The famous Mohawk leader Joseph Brant wearing a scalp lock. ...

History

The Oi! genre became a recognized genre in the latter part of the 1970s, fusing the sounds of early punk bands such as The Clash, the Ramones and The Jam with influences from early British rock bands such as the Rolling Stones and The Who; football chants; pub rock bands such as 101ers and Eddie and the Hot Rods; and glam rock bands such as Slade and Sweet. Direct precursors to the first Oi! bands included Sham 69, Cock Sparrer and Menace, who were around for years before the word Oi! was used retroactively to describe their style of music. This article is about the English punk rock band. ... This article is about the band. ... The Jam were an English punk rock/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Rolling Stones redirects here. ... The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964. ... Football crowds chant Football chants. ... Pub rock was a mid- to late-1970s musical movement, largely centred around North London and South East Essex, particularly Canvey Island and Southend on Sea. ... The 101ers were a pub rock band from the 1970s, notable only as being the band that gave Joe Strummer (later of The Clash) his initial start as a musician. ... ... Glam rock (also known as glitter rock), is a rock music style that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s which was performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots. ... For other uses, see Slade (disambiguation). ... Sweet (referred to as The Sweet on albums before 1974 and singles before 1975) were a popular 1970s British band. ... Sham 69 are an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1975. ... Cock Sparrer (initially Cock Sparrow) is a punk rock band from East London. ...

Originally the music style was called street punk, streetpunk, new punk or real punk.^[3] Other terms that have been used at certain points are street rock, street rock 'n' roll, Oi!/street punk and streetpunk/Oi!.^[4][5] In 1980, writing in Sounds, rock journalist Garry Bushell labeled the movement Oi!, taking the name from the garbled "Oi!" that Stinky Turner of Cockney Rejects used to introduce the band's songs. The word Oi! is an old Cockney expression, simply meaning hey! or hello! Garry Bushell (born May 13, 1955 in Woolwich, South East London) is a newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter and author. ... The Cockney Rejects are an Oi! punk band which formed in the East End of London in 1979. ... St Mary-le-Bow The term cockney is often used to refer to working-class people of London, particularly east London, and the slang used by these people. ...

Some of the first bands to be explicitly labelled as Oi! were Cockney Rejects, Angelic Upstarts and The 4-Skins. The first wave of Oi! bands was followed by bands such as The Business, Blitz, The Blood, The Last Resort, Combat 84, Infa Riot, The Burial, Condemned 84 and The Oppressed.^[6] The Cockney Rejects are an Oi! punk band which formed in the East End of London in 1979. ... The Angelic Upstarts were a staunchly anti-fascist, anti-police, pro-IRA, Socialist working class oi! punk band of late 1970s and early 1980s. ... The 4-Skins are a working class Oi! punk rock band from East London, England. ... The Business is a UK based Oi! band formed in the late 1970s. ... Blitz is a British punk/Oi! band who enjoyed success in the indie charts in the early 1980s. ... Cover of The Bloods False Gestures for a Devious Public The Blood are a London-based punk rock band, formed in 1982. ... The Burial were a ska-, northern soul- and folk-influenced Oi! band from Yorkshire, England that formed in 1981. ... The Oppressed is a Welsh anti-fascist Oi! band that was formed in 1981 in Cardiff. ...

The general ideology of the original Oi! movement was a rough sort of quasi-socialist working class populism. Lyrical topics included unemployment, workers' rights, harassment by police and other authorities, and oppression by the government.^[2] Oi! songs also covered less-political topics such as street violence, football, sex and alcohol. Although Oi! has come to be considered mainly a skinhead-oriented genre, the first Oi! bands were mostly comprised of punk rockers and people who fit neither the skinhead nor punk label. Religious socialism Key Issues People and organizations Related subjects Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... CIA figures for world unemployment rates, 2006 Unemployment is the state in which a person is without work, available to work, and is currently seeking work. ... Soccer redirects here. ...

The Oi! movement lost momentum in the United Kingdom, but Oi! scenes formed in continental Europe, North America, Asia and other locations. In the United States, the Oi! phenomenon was mirrored by the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s, especially by bands such as U.S. Chaos, Agnostic Front, Iron Cross and S.S. Decontrol. Although similar in spirit and influence to Oi! (particularly in the earlier stages), hardcore expounded itself in an American middle class (rather than working class) fashion as its influences spread. Other notable bands that have been influenced by the original Oi! scene include: The Press^[7], Anti-Heros, The Templars, Wretched Ones, Those Unknown, The Bruisers, Dropkick Murphys, Oxymoron, Iron City Hooligans, Paris Violence, Street Dogs, Roger Miret and the Disasters and The GC5. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... North American redirects here. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Hardcore Punk is a subgenre of Punk Rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s. ... U.S. Chaos are an American hardcore punk band from New Jersey, formed in early 1981. ... Agnostic Front are a New York Hardcore Punk band formed in New York City in 1982. ... Iron Cross is a hardcore/Oi! band from Baltimore, Maryland and Washington D.C.. They play a rough form of streetpunk, and are one of the first bands in the United States to adopt the skinhead look and the Oi! musical style. ... SSD (Society-System Decontrol) was a Boston hardcore band. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... The Templars are an Oi! band formed in Long Island, New York in April of 1991. ... The Wretched Ones are an Oi! band from New Jersey. ... Those Unknown are one of the most influential, albeit understated, bands in modern punk rock. ... For information about articles that involve variations on the term Bruiser, please see Bruiser. ... DKM redirects here. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Paris Violence is a french Punk Oi group from Paris formed in 1994 . ... Street Dogs is a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. ... Roger Miret and the Disasters promotional photograph, c. ... The GC5 (Grady Coffee Five) was a punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, formed in 1997 and split in 2003. ...

In the mid-1990s, there was a revival of interest in Oi! music in the UK, with new bands emerging such as Pressure 28, Another Mans Poison, Boisterous, Argy Bargy, Straw Dogs. This led to older Oi! bands receiving more recognition. In the 2000s, many of the original UK Oi! bands have reunited to perform and/or record, and some of the bands never broke up in the first place. Some of those bands are: Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Cock Sparrer, Angelic Upstarts, The Business, Cockney Rejects, Red Alert and Sham 69. Peter and the Test Tube Babies are a punk rock band formed around Brighton in 1977 and still touring today. ... Cock Sparrer (initially Cock Sparrow) is a punk rock band from East London. ... The Angelic Upstarts were a staunchly anti-fascist, anti-police, pro-IRA, Socialist working class oi! punk band of late 1970s and early 1980s. ... The Business is a UK based Oi! band formed in the late 1970s. ... The Cockney Rejects are an Oi! punk band which formed in the East End of London in 1979. ... Sham 69 are an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1975. ...

Controversy

Because some fans of Oi! were involved in white nationalist organisations such as the National Front and the British Movement, some histories of rock music dismiss Oi! as racist.^[2] However, none of the bands associated with the original Oi! scene promoted racism in their lyrics. Some Oi! bands, such as the Angelic Upstarts , The Burial and The Oppressed were associated with left wing politics and anti-racism..^{[3] [8]} The mainstream media associated Oi! with far right politics following a concert by The Business, The Last Resort and The 4-Skins on July 4, 1981 at the Hamborough Tavern in Southall. Asian youths firebombed the tavern, mistakenly believing that the concert was a neo-Nazi gathering, partly because some audience members had written National Front slogans around the area.^[2] White Nationalism (WN) advocates a racial definition (or redefinition) of white national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. ... The British National Front (most commonly called the National Front) is a British far right political party whose major political activities were during the 1970s and 1980s. ... The British Movement was a British neo-Nazi group. ... Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Ethnocracy Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial quota... The Angelic Upstarts were a staunchly anti-fascist, anti-police, pro-IRA, Socialist working class oi! punk band of late 1970s and early 1980s. ... The Burial were a ska-, northern soul- and folk-influenced Oi! band from Yorkshire, England that formed in 1981. ... The Oppressed is a Welsh anti-fascist Oi! band that was formed in 1981 in Cardiff. ... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into far right. ... The Business is a UK based Oi! band formed in the late 1970s. ... The 4-Skins are a working class Oi! punk rock band from East London, England. ... It has been suggested that Southalls South Asian community be merged into this article or section. ... Asian people[1] is a demonym for people from Asia. ... Molotov cocktail is the generic name for a variety of crude incendiary weapons. ...

In the aftermath, many Oi! bands condemned racism and fascism. These denials were met with cynicism from some quarters because of the Strength Thru Oi compilation album, released May 1981. Not only was its title a supposed play on a Nazi slogan (Strength Through Joy) but the cover featured Nicky Crane, a British Movement activist who was serving a four-year sentence for racist violence. Garry Bushell, who was responsible for compiling the album, insists its title was a pun on The Skids album Strength Through Joy. He also denied knowing the identity of the skinhead on the album's cover until it was exposed by the Daily Mail two months later.^[3] Bushell, who was a socialist at the time, noted the irony of being branded a far-right activist by a paper who "had once supported Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts, Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia, and appeasement with Hitler right up to the outbreak of World War Two." ^[3] Fascism is a term used to describe authoritarian nationalist political ideologies or mass movements that are concerned with notions of cultural decline or decadence. ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazism or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... Kraft durch Freude (KdF, literally Strength Through Joy) was a large state-controlled leisure organization in the Third Reich, a part of the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeiterfront - DAF), the national German labour organization at that time. ... Nicola Vincenzio Nicky Crane was born on May 21, 1958. ... Garry Bushell (born May 13, 1955 in Woolwich, South East London) is a newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter and author. ... The Skids The Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (1958 - 2001, guitars / vocals / keyboards), Richard Jobson (vocals / guitar), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and William Simpson (bass guitar / vocals). ... The Absolute Game was The Skids 1980 third album (not counting the two different mix versions released of their second album 1979s Days in Europa) and was produced by Mick Glossop. ... The Daily Mail is a British newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. ... Religious socialism Key Issues People and organizations Related subjects Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (November 16, 1896 – December 3, 1980), was a British politician known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists. ... The flag of the British Union of Fascists showing the Flash and Circle symbolic of action within unity The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a political party of the 1930s in the United Kingdom. ... Mussolini redirects here. ... Combatants Kingdom of Italy Ethiopian Empire Commanders Benito Mussolini Emilio De Bono Pietro Badoglio Rodolfo Graziani Haile Selassie Ras Imru Strength 800,000 combatants (only ~330,000 mobilized) ~250,000 combatants Casualties 10,000 killed1 (est. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Sound samples

To download a song, right click on the download link and select 'save target as'.

• "British Oi! Is Fighting Back" by Bakers Dozen:
  click here to download
• "Flashback" by Splinter:
  click here to download
• "Who Profits?" by Sick of Society:
  click here to download

Notable Oi! bands

• The 4-Skins
• Angelic Upstarts
• Blitz
• The Blood
• The Burial
• The Business
• Cock Sparrer
• The Casualties
• Cockney Rejects
• Dropkick Murphys (early days)
• The Exploited (early days)
• The Oppressed
• U.S. Chaos
• The Wretched Ones
• Oxymoron
• Peter and the Test Tube Babies
• Sham 69
• Splodgenessabounds
• The Templars

The 4-Skins are a working class Oi! punk rock band from East London, England. ... The Angelic Upstarts were a staunchly anti-fascist, anti-police, pro-IRA, Socialist working class oi! punk band of late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Look up Blitz in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cover of The Bloods False Gestures for a Devious Public The Blood are a London-based punk rock band, formed in 1982. ... The Burial were a ska-, northern soul- and folk-influenced Oi! band from Yorkshire, England that formed in 1981. ... The Business is a UK based Oi! band formed in the late 1970s. ... Cock Sparrer (initially Cock Sparrow) is a punk rock band from East London. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Cockney Rejects are an Oi! punk band which formed in the East End of London in 1979. ... DKM redirects here. ... The Exploited is a punk rock band from the second wave of UK punk, formed in late 1979 or early 1980. ... The Oppressed is a Welsh anti-fascist Oi! band that was formed in 1981 in Cardiff. ... U.S. Chaos are an American hardcore punk band from New Jersey, formed in early 1981. ... The Wretched Ones are an Oi! band from New Jersey. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Peter and the Test Tube Babies are a punk rock band formed around Brighton in 1977 and still touring today. ... Sham 69 are an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1975. ... Splodgenessabounds were a United Kingdom punk band. ... The Templars are an Oi! band formed in Long Island, New York in April of 1991. ...

Footnotes

This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• History of Oi! by Garry Bushell
• Punk and Oi! in the UK -includes interviews and news about Oi! bands
• Oi! the Web Site -includes information about the original Oi! compilation albums
• Chapter on Oi! in Skinhead Nation