Dick Lucas

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Dick Lucas is the vocalist of the highly influential and ofttimes controversial seventies and eighties British anarcho-punk rock band, the Subhumans. Lucas' lyrical content ranged from his outrage and defiance at a system that had, in his perception, betrayed him, "No, I don't believe in Jesus Christ, my mother died of cancer when I was five, no I don't believe in religion, I was forced to go to church and I wasn't told why", to questioning why we exist as we do, "we live we die, and in between we sit and wonder why, why must we some day die...of gods and guns do we need to die for Christ's sake, or for anyone", to the seemingly hypocritical response to smokers (Lucas being a smoker himself), "you, don't you want a fag, don't you want a fag, fag, fag, fag? No! I've got cancer!" and "It's the story of your life/and at the end of it's your death/And every word that's in between/Is just a waste of breath"

With the breakup of the Subhumans in the late eighties came another band, Culture Shock, followed by a short silence from Lucas, after which he formed the equally scathing and critical Citizen Fish, a punk-ska group, featuring Subhumans bass player Phil on guitar, the newly added Silas on drums (presently replacing original member Trotsky), and long time collaborator Jasper on bass guitar.

Lucas' later writing has proven to be less politically oriented, and heavier on social awareness, stressing understanding between people, and active communication. A long-time vegetarian, he has written numerous songs addressing the topic. Subhumans still have a rigorous touring schedule, often turning up for gigs tired, but still summon up enough energy to deliver an electrifying show. A notable example is of a show they played at the legendary squat venue 'The Wagon' in northern France in late 2004, the band had just driven up from a show in Switzerland almost non-stop, and upon arriving at the Wagon, had plenty of time and energy to socialise and entertain.

Lucas is also a published author of "Write The Way Up" - a compilation of a short story, random writings and poetry, mostly from out-of-print zines he created, and intermittent sketches.