The Feckin Ejits are the second coming of the original band, who were formed in Aylesbury in the early 80's and built up big and dedicated following. They blasted their way around the UK for a few years before moving on to different projects.
The Feckin Ejits reformed in January 2014, following the untimely death in 2013 from that bastard, cancer, of original guitarist Alex Morison. The initial line-up was frontman Aidan Stirling and guitarist Neil Ledbury, both from the original 80’s incarnation. They were joined by long-time fan of the band, Ian Coe, on drums, Jez Scott on rhythm guitar and Dan Goodger on bass.
A new song – Reunion Song – was written for The Great Skinhead Reunion (that band’s first proper gig after a small warmup) and was recorded (at SoundArc Studios) and a video filmed (by Mini Mammoth) for release as a single, with all proceeds going to the Teenage Cancer Trust. The band remain both extremely proud and profoundly stunned that this reached #3 in the iTunes video chart, being knocked off the podium by Michael Jackson (A song about the plastic-faced paedo is now a firm favourite in the regular set).
Also recorded in 2014 was a version of the Madness song, “Cardiac Arrest”, for inclusion on “Mad Not Cancer”; the third in an annual series of Specialized’s cover albums that focus on the work of one band or artist. Specialized is the Teenage Cancer Trust’s musical arm and The Feckin Ejits are proud to support this incredible charity’s work at gigs, festivals and in the studio.
An album followed in early 2015, again recorded at SoundArc, and was financed by crowdfunding. This sold out in a very short time and in true Ejit form they keep failing to get their arses into gear to re-release it…but it’s available on iTunes so if you really want it (you know you do) you can get it there.
The personnel changed slightly over 2015 with the lead guitar role being taken by Jason Plummer and bass role being taken by Jonny Kokke. The next major event was when they provided a version of Bob Marley’s “Johnny Was” (to the tune of “Johnny B Goode” because let’s face it, Stiff Little Fingers did the definitive cover 40 years ago and there was no way any punk band can follow that) for “One Love”, the next Specialized project. A couple of slots at the Sailor Jerry festial in Brittany, France was the highlight of that period. The mileage driven and alcohol consumed (about 50% of the latter by Ian) that weekend is legendary.
Another change came when Jonny left and Jason’s son Jake stood in temporarily (for 13 gigs and counting....) before Ron Rose joined in the summer 2016 to hugely increase the average height of the band.
The next recording was in May 2017. Once again, Specialized asked the band to submit a song for their next project. This time, "Gifted", a Jam covers album. They chose, appropriately, "Thick As Thieves" and at about 200% faster than the original, the Ejits have again shown their willingness to fuck about with a classic.
With a long list of gigs and festivals under their belts, some played before the bemused, some to the drunk and excitable, yet others to what felt like two blokes and a dog, the Ejits continue to pound out their brand of melodic punk all around the country.
Band member -
Aidan Stirling – vocals Ian Coe – drums Jason Plummer – lead guitar/backing vocals Ron Rose – bass/backing vocals