Throughout life, the events that stand out the most usually tend to be a series of firsts. Your first fist-fight. Your first kiss. Your first beer. But for a host of punk rockers who were foaming at the mouth for nearly two decades, there’s another first to log into that fuzzy gray matter - the first time Cock Sparrer came to America.

The frigid and dismal weather greeted the British five-piece as they exited the plane in New York City. It didn’t seem to bother them - the nippy air wasn’t that much more hospitable back home in London’s East End. Unfazed, the boys - vocalist Colin McFaull, bassist Steve Burgess, drummer Steve Bruce and guitarists Mickey Beaufoy and Daryl Smith - pressed on gigging that night and quickly hopped a train for Boston the following day.

No time for sightseeing. There are minds to be enlightened in Beantown.

Even before the band pulls up at Boston’s South Station train depot, the city is buzzing. At the subway stations, skinheads are downing flasks of hooch while trying to avoid John Law. Kids with spiky hair are on every corner in Kenmore Square talking. Waiting. Thinking. Planning. Counting the minutes to show time.

As the echoes of sound check reverberate through the walls of the club, the throng of punks huddled on the sidewalk gasp as they finally catch a glimpse of what they’ve waited their whole lives for. Even hidden behind layers of brick and mortar, the sound of “Where Are They Now?” is worth its weight in gold.

The Cock Sparrer story, like that of most great punk bands, starts in the East End in the mid-70s. A group of friends with common bonds tied together by a love for football and music. Starting off playing mostly covers, Cock Sparrer moved on to write their own material, performing at local venues such as the Bridgehouse Pub in Canning Town and The Marquee in West London. When they weren’t in the rehearsal space, the boys were watching the action down on the pitch, supporting their beloved West Ham Football Club on Saturday afternoons.

But for some reason, Cock Sparrer never made it across the pond. Why was that?

“I think the truthful answer is that we’ve always wanted to come [to America], but it’s never worked out for a number of things,” according to McFaull. “This time, everything has fallen into place and we’re happy to be here.”

For a number of bands, finances and working papers are giant obstacles that often put the kibosh on any North American tours. It is tough for most bands to pay their airfare, lodging, transportation and the numerous other expenses out of pocket and without the support of a record label. This is mostly why Cock Sparrer has arrived in the States 20 years behind schedule.

Contrary to any misinformation being passed about in various punk rock sewing circles, Cock Sparrer has never booked a U.S. gig until this past tour. “People ask ‘why have you canceled so many times when you come to America?’” states Smith. “We’ve never canceled. We can’t be held accountable for rumors that people make without us knowing. We wanted to make it but things take longer than you expect. TKO Records were the first people who said ‘Here are your plane tickets, come to America.’ We would like to apologize to the fans who have been waiting for a long time, but it’s not our fault.”

The road to America may have been a long and arduous one, but it does seem to have its highlights and humor. Cock Sparrer first got the tour wheels in motion in September 1999 when they set out to book four shows - two in New York City, one in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco. But do to the overwhelming response on the band’s Web site by the Boston scene, one of the New York gigs was relocated further north.

Cock Sparrer admits that minimal preparation went into their first U.S. tour. Although their set was nearly flawless and extremely tight, the band never played out back home in order to gear up for hungry American crowd. “We started rehearsing on the train this morning on our way from New York to Boston,” McFaull said with a chuckle. A grinning Smith chimed in that the band hoped that by the time they were flying home, they would have learned all the songs.

With a career sprawling into its third decade, there certainly are a lot of songs to learn. After The Sex Pistols made headlines with “Anarchy in the U.K.,” record companies were drooling over the new sound. Decca Records quickly snatched up Cock Sparrer and ushered them off to the studio. 1977 saw the release of two singles by the lads - “Runnin’ Riot” and “We Love You”/ “Chip on My Shoulder.” Although the media moguls in England were looking for another smarmy green-haired, safety-pinned gang of snots to step up to the plate, Cock Sparrer refused to conform to their wishes.

A meeting with The Pistols’ Malcolm McLaren did not go as planned for the boys, either. A shot that could have made them stars with their name emblazoned on The Sun’s front page fizzled with little emotion, in retrospect, from McFaull. “He came down to see us and he listened. He wasn’t impressed. We weren’t impressed,” he says now with a straight face. “He went his way and we went ours. There goes life. No biggie. We don’t regret it. I think that you can make decisions at the time that you believe to be right and they may not turn out in 20 years to be the right decision. But you make the decision for the right reasons at the time.”

“At least our bass player’s not dead,” Smith interjects to lighten the mood.

Cock Sparrer persevered after their near miss with fame through McLaren. They continued to gig and record and short while later, the punk scene began to implode. The Pistols called it a day and the overly fickle British media were attempting to usher in new wave and make room for “serious” punk acts. Cock Sparrer was effectively backed into a corner.

Time stood still for a while with no new developments, but when British TV mogul Garry Bushell put together an album of honest, working class street rock dubbed Oi!, Cock Sparrer was back in demand. And they have been ever since.

As the years have passed, the scene may have changed and the boys may have gained a little weight and lost a little hair, but their love of music and football still hold true. Football is still an important part of life for five blokes who grew up within sight of the football grounds and developed a lust for the game at an early age. McFaull, who took to the stage clad in a West Ham United T-shirt that linked him to the firm via the marriage vow, reiterates the point. “Football is where we come from,” he explains. “It was a part of our growing up so, yeah, it’s still important. We still go to the matches. We still follow the team. Some of us don’t quite have the same taste…” He directs that last barb towards Smith, the relative newcomer to the band.

Smith, who was raised in the town of Watford, continues to support his hometown team, despite the fact that they are the cellar dwellers in the British Premier League. During a vote of no confidence from McFaull, Smith tries to justify his unpopular stance. “You’ve got a lot of people who will support Manchester United or Liverpool because they’re big teams. But in England, football is about loyalty to your hometown,” he says. “I would love to support a big club, but I’ve lived in Watford all of my life. Football is about supporting where you come from.”

With regards to the art of football hooliganism, an ancient practice and dinosaur from the past by their accounts, they state that times in the terraces have taken a turn for the less dangerous. “Was it ever any art?” McFaull ponders. “I think the whole atmosphere has changed now on the soccer grounds in England. There’s still some hooliganism around, but not as much as it used to be.”

Smith agrees. “A lot of kids read the old sleeve notes from old albums and they think that all of the old punk and Oi! bands ever did was go to football and cause trouble. It wasn’t really like that. Everyone’s got this image that all of the Oi! bands all know each other and all drink in one pub in the East End of London and go to football and cause trouble every week. It’s just not like that.”

Obviously, these two cannot see into the future. In June, during the Euro 2000 Cup, England was again under the scrutiny of FIFA for acts of thuggery at matches abroad. Despite warnings that England would be denied entry into World Cup play for the sporadic accounts of violence that travel with the team, hooligans still press on and continue to support their clubs - whether the clubs want them to or not.

If you missed Cock Sparrer’s four-day tour, don’t worry. They left the door open for a return bout with the U.S. They hinted at playing in Atlanta and also in the Midwest somewhere down the line.

The Sex Pistols had their day, but now they’re gone. The same goes for the mighty Clash. But one lamp still burns brightly in the U.K., and until Cock Sparrer throws in the towel for good, England will always belong to them.