Cockney Rebel - Mr Soft 1974 (Alternative Version)

[ApollyonAbaddon]

wright should be fucking shot the filth eating shit

[MOONST0MP]

This is exellent!!!

[capebee]

Savvy sound.And I wouldn't throw this guy out of bed for chewing gum .

[FlyingJunk]

If I ever happen to die, I want this song played at my funeral. A great Stones story, too!

[pyote5]

Speaking of Mr Soft does anybody remember the SoftMints commercial with this song

Search for "Scary Breath Mints Softmints Mr Soft "

[dangleberrie]

Hope Steve doesn't get caught in a cross-wind with those flares on....

[poorenglishjuggler]

nice to see someone playing live on totp

[FutureLegendDiva]

I love his expressions!

[abilou1990]

seen them live twice!! they are amazing!

[wcleighty]

Steve is FAR more punk than Johnny Rotten could ever be. and swanky too.

[danzig566]

if you like this qatch libertines and dogs-time

[m2mark1]

This is the musical version of Rik in the young ones ....just love it!

[TerminatorFRA]

mr soft of mr 50ft ?

[MrStratcaster]

so great.Yesterday in Zeche Bochum!

[theraptorofairsoft22]

thumbs up if u only came here came here because of Jebs singing?

[labora4best]

There is no way...huh! I could change myself...like you huh!

Only mister badd-ass forensic tought HE was right!

He was -again- just projecting his own agressive nature onto other people.

Where the simple basics of psychology just LACK, what remains? Raw Shitmakers!

[moorlock2003]

That announcer is obnoxious. I think it's very rude to talk over the music.

[divoff14]

@moorlock2003 Steve Harley & Steve Wright (Announcer) are very good friends.

[moorlock2003]

with friends like that, who needs enemies?

[montechristo2007]

jeremy irons in diehard with a vengeance anyone? anyone?

[krakenwave]

All that girlie screaming is because Marc Bolan was on the way out, Bowie was holed up in LA doing coke and Diamond Dogs and so the teen mags tried to hype Steve here as the next pinup king. Didn't work - Steve was way too original and stroppy for the Jackie crowd.

[jayrox40]

@krakenwave Actually the girls were screaming because the Osmonds were on the show, they co hosted this edition with Noel Edmonds!

[Saladrazalahalahaz]

Gotta love it. Gotta love the bass player too

[lswiler]

rude to chew gum?! how provincial! they were rebels! don't you recognize cheeky irreverance and bisexual innuendo? Oh I'll bet they were every mama's worst nightmare...lookout for your daughters dad!....more importantly..your sons! lol!

[keith904A]

Listen to Howard Devoto and Magazine - I've always thought they were seriously influenced by this band.

[Darkside1974]

Am I the only one that remembers a version of this for the "Trebor Softmints" advert? :-/

[rqh12]

@Darkside1974

I remember at the end of the cold war there was a live simulcast TV debate broadcast from Moscow and London, intended to bring the too peoples together. The Trebor Softmint advert was broadcast at the end of the first advert break. The UK adverts must have gone out to the Russian audience because when they cut back to the studio audience in Moscow they were sitting there stunned with the mouths hanging open. Mr Soft ended the cold war ...they wanted some!

[stupidjunk878]

@rqh12 LOL, really?

[nuttypark]

A True Classic for Sure

[a2n2queen]

Nobody cares about him chewing gum, Mister Announcer Dude.

[rubinoos1]

@a2n2queen Yeah. Other people have uploaded clips from TOTP where he said something about the recording artist that was on at the time. The guy seems like a douche bag.

[fanoftheclyde24]

I'm liking the scotish conection on this page, makes me feel right at home. This song is real class, i love the sercastic smilies steve does when performing this track.

[bettyboo1440]

is this off a sweet ad,mints?

[krakenwave]

sort of but the ad came ten years later and its where Liam Gallagher got his bouncey boy walk from

[Rocknrollbieme]

Dieser Song ist sehr aussergewöhlich und zugleich nimmt er einen gefangen. Steve Harley "lebt" diesen Song. Prädikat: äusserst wertvoll und hörenswert. Er ist mit nichts kommerziellem vergleichbar. Außerdem war ich zu dieser Zeit das erste mal richtig verliebt.

[pinba11wizzard]

noddy holder on solo guitar :)

[cultengirl]

used to listen to this from an old tape recorder, i taped from totp sept'74,i played it over and over and over and over just thought it was fantastic

[PlanetBongoSan]

this guy's just a properly fantastic frontman, he loves it what a cool fucker

[scotymoo]

sounds a bit like peter doherty... or he sounds like him ken what i mean

[ScotRanger1960]

No-one will know what 'ken' means outside Scotland. Think about it.

[Glamking1]

How come Paul Jeffrys is still alive in the music business and would i'd check my Steve Harley Live at Isle of Wight festival dvd. that he proves he is.

[rubinoos1]

This band sounds kind of like Split Enz.

[vertxxgg]

love his classy songs in college daysJohannesburg I llpick on1000

[greenfield57]

i love this track but come up and see is my fav

[Hollandia777]

...We'll be taking off tonight,

Turn off ur eyes and shut the light,

Ure the most, ure so unreal

We'd all be dead without ur SHpie-e-e-e-e-el!.......

[kingofpunk1977]

Great stuff.

[SiolGhoraidh]

I think this band are awfully underrated.

[corkie1005]

with you on this ,one of the best bands from 1970's UK

[TheDayfornight]

@SiolGhoraidh me 2

[englishman1960]

yes Paul Jeffreys did die in the Lockerbie bombing with his wife Rachel while on their honeymoon.

[krakenwave]

Bass player died in the 1988 Lockerbie Pan Am 103 bombing - he was going on his honeymoon. RIP

[trucksavage]

Is that for real? Sh*t. I never knew that and they were one of my favourite bands in the '70s

[Forestamtul]

Its so sad isnt it that innocent lives were lost. But I thought it was the drummer as I noticed him in the newspaper at the time. Or maybe the bass player looked like him.

[Ayrshirenutter]

yes you're correct,at the time the press wrote it was the drummer but had paul jeffreys pic.

[krakenwave]

No - Rebel's firstl bassist, Paul Jeffreys. The original Rebel were sacked after the Mr Soft tour in Autumn 74. George Ford didn't join until 75.

[harfarhs]

@krakenwave - not till 75? Despite the fact we can see him here supposedly in August 74 (see subtitles)?

[krakenwave]

@harfarhs

Eh? Apart from my comment 10 months ago re Steve sacking the rest of the band after the Aug 74 Mr Soft tour...? FWIW the Trebor soft mints ad came out in 87. Thats 13 years after, then. Agreed?

[mrhitmanisback]

@krakenwave he didnt sack the band they made demands he didnt want on him to do with song writing they said they would leave he said go ahead then so they left ,that is what " make me smile " is about

[lillelaban1]

This IS a wonderful underestimated band. Don`t know why they aren`t among the greatest of all time. It`s simply great.

[custardaghost]

Obviously Madness were listening carefully - that fairground sound.

[mugwamp4]

@custardaghost sounded more like Ian Dury to me,

[RonanG]

I remember being transfixed on first hearing the wonderful 'Sebastian'. Great band.

[banneradders]

Still prefer the mints version

[TheBeltane]

Cockney Rebel were superb back then. Original and brilliant. Listen to Timeless Flight cd for a different but equally as good Rebel.

x

[shalotlady]

Timeless Flight :-) My all time favorite. Gets you in a very nice mode

[TheBeltane]

Such good taste! x

[Aphroditeart1]

It's the voice of Steve Wright.

Thanks for posting this!! I love this song but hadn't seen this video before, Steve Harley looks great on this!

[nikakios]

is that john peel who's talking?

[baldystewart]

steve wright

[liverbluebird]

i cant believe i forgot about this song,what a pleasure to find it,what memories.thanks

[georgeayl]

Jeb of jebs jobs sings this

[lvampira]

Well Top of the Pops most of the acts the artist would be lipsyncing that's nothing new....and I lov the fact that he's chewing his gum!

[roughouse]

That Guitarist Couldn't Look More 1974.

[tiddler111]

that last comment answers the guy who claims SH is ripping off Bowie

[bluehairspaz]

rude to chew gum unless of course you are lip synching

[Perfectrequire]

what drugs did he took?!?

still...great live act...he´s an artist

SH

[alan1kenny]

still a classic !

[xInToTheValley]

Is this live, does anybody know?

I'm aware most acts on TOTP tend to mime but this seems too raw, like

Awesome footage :)

[Akyho]

i think the little quick quiet bits he is saying rude things. such as one is obviouse as in " who gives a shhh".

But i did see one band much like cockney rebels play on old totp were all the guitars had no strings and they just strummed and didnt even fake doing anything. Think it was open rebellion.

[harfarhs]

No, guitars aren't plugged in! It's as usual on a lot of these shows, they probably re-recorded it live in the TV studio, so they had a version they felt happy doing, then mimed to that for the broadcast so that nothing would go wrong when cameras were rolling.. hence we have an 'alternative version'..

[birsh]

unplugged version :o))

[SKANDALROCK]

последний раз слышал этот  song 30 лет назад

[plattform5163]

Thanks for sharing this great song!

[Cosmasoniccosmaphone]

for me the begining of the end for Cockney Rebel- lost their weirdness became mainstream (& more successful) but never reached the artistic heights of the 1st line up

[woodiestv]

i'm pleased to let you all know that Pshycomodo is now available to download. A superb album!

[uclrichard]

trying too hard to sound and look gay...trying to cash-in on the bowie-phenomenon....(btw - when harley did this poor imitation, bowie had already moved on and was recording philly soul)...

[tiddler111]

Bowie couldn't wipe this guy's ass. DB was always looking to jump on the latest bandwagon in later years. For a great commentary on Mr. B's desperation to stay 'cool', I recommend Frank Zappa's 'Be in my video'.

[AndrewKFletcher]

Brilliant version. Thanks for bringing back some memories.

[ozzymandi]

Hi, Thanks Ekanbull I thought it was just me.

[ozzymandi]

Is it my imagination or did these guys influence The Cure.

[ekanbull]

Thats funny! Thats one thing i really thought about 2.

Without knowing anything about it at really I would say yes :)

[reaperpro]

Good call! lol

[plattform5163]

Thanks for sharing this great song!

[JulioKras]

shit...is it Christian Bale?

[moocowtoyou]

lmfao I have thought that of him before, unfortunately he doesnt look as good anymore :( poor Steve Harley

[skahoovey]

this is why we liked bands who played live on tv...

[malehawk]

mia tragoudara hastouki gia tous ksenerotous olon ton epohon!!

[estymomo]

robbie williams ripped this song off for his crappy "rock dj"

[bluexxg]

One of the BEST...Muriel the Actor'..best song of Cockney's to me

[tackertone]

Brilliant Band , Top song.

[JRebG]

I think Im in love. What a SEX GOD!!!!

[sherriffflood]

what came first, trebor soft mint, or this song? (great song by the way?

[harfarhs]

1974 8D

[departments2006]

Hmmm....not sure about that piano....

[Glamking1]

I reckon this clip was from the 15th of August 1974 when Noel Edmonds was presenting and we saw the screaming arrival of the Bay City Rollers! this wasnt from the Xmas show, this would be proubaly still wiped in 1988 and then restored in 2006!

[harfarhs]

So how do you account for the line-up we see playing?

[SOMOGYI8230]

They are all session musicians drafted in for the show, with the exception of Stuart Elliott.

[harfarhs]

So it's just a coincidence that they include George Forde on bass and Jim Cregan on guitar?

[SOMOGYI8230]

I am not a connoisseur. I just took my comment from Wikipedia (Harley's next appearance on Top of the Pops was supported by session musicians drafted in for the show). Maybe in august the original band was officially still together, but did not want to come to the show, so session musicians were drafted, all of whom stayed to form the line-up for the subsequent album?

[Glamking1]

but sorry it was for the screaming arrival of Bay City Rollers and that The Osmonds arrived in England on the same night.

[Glamking1]

IIRC August 15th 1974. A new addition to this to the BBC archives - we all have seen this performance thanks to TOTP2, also that Noel Edmonds was presenting and we see the screaming arrival of The Osmonds at the end of that performance.

[harfarhs]

This features the 'Make Me Smile' line-up. Surely in August 1974 the original line-up was still together? I reckon this is from the Xmas 1974 TOTP.

[idontsleep06]

the worlds greatest flairs

[numberstation]

Without wanting to be pedantic,they're "Oxford Bags".

[XFullMeatInuYashaX]

Yeah, I have the original version on my MP3 player.

[seagull72]

amazing!

[kirstiepalmer07]

does anyone know where i can find the original version for download or just watch?

[TheWesternAngel]

Heard this first from the mint adverts,then checked out the original, low and behold discovered Cockney Rebel. Got to admit discovered some great music!!!!!

[kosalet]

This guy was one of the best. As a song-writer and performer I regard him belonging (almost) to the highest class (somehow) together with Bowie, Cohen, Dylan and (only) few others. One can put into the bunch that almost endless queue of mediocrities like Collins, Sting etc. (in themselves good artists) without the same effect than S. Harley does, BUT, something happened to him after Hope & Faith and Charity.

[TheCrippledSilence]

I love the album, I love the song, but Steve is such a retarded, spastic ham in this video. Watching him makes me feel embarrassed for him.

[kimpefc1878]

Retarded spastic , harsh words my friend from over the water , you being deaf with a limp its not very nice to mock is it ?

[Adz5533]

i love the guitar solo.

[goonerbrain59]

BRILLIANT !! thanx 4 postin.

[mothorsen]

"Calm down, dear, it's only a group" XD

Great tune, great band.

[Adz5533]

yeh, class.

[Noragirlie63]

That is just brilliant!!!!!

[gipsyfrontera]

entre bowie y roxy music harley fue tapado pero su nivel era tan alto como ellos..basta escuchar sus dos primeros discos...obras maestras...

[kakyjam]

mr soft!

[Chatita2]

Thank for posting this rare gem. CR used to be my favourite group and I hadn't heard this excellent song for at lest 20 years :-)

[lemonostiftis]

Thanks for uploading that rarity. Fond of them. I've not ever seen their Hidaway song. It's my personal fav although it's so underestimated even by S Harley

[geligniteandlilies]

@lemonostiftis I adore Hideaway too! It was so ahead of its time!

[tommyba59]

Brilliant! Many thanx for posting. The great line-up was: Stuart Elliot (drums), Jim Cregan (guitar) (later to go to Rod Stewart), Duncan Mackay (keyboards) and George (smiler!) Ford on bass. What a Team!!! Trebor soft mints used the song later...

[granitejambo]

Good to see this song back

[misssoftglitterkid]

love this song, love this band, love this singer. nuff said.

[DaRkSiDeVeGGie]

this song is soo great xD