U.K. Subs

The U.K. Subs are an English punk band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk.^[1] Formed in 1976,^[2] the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first street punk bands.

Career

The U.K. Subs were part of the original punk movement in England. The band formed in 1976, initially using the name the Subversives.^[2] The band's founder, Charlie Harper selected guitarist Nicky Garratt, bassist Paul Slack, and various drummers (eventually Pete Davis became fairly stable) under the initial name "U.K. Subversives".^[3] The London-based band's early line-up changed frequently.

Their style combined the energy of punk and the rock and roll edge of the then thriving pub rock scene. The band had some hit singles such as "Stranglehold", "Warhead", "Teenage", and "Tomorrow's Girls", with several of their songs managing to enter the United Kingdom's Top Forty.

The band played several John Peel sessions in 1977 and 1978 for BBC Radio 1,^[1] and then signed a recording contract with GEM Records.^[1] Under GEM, the U.K. Subs recorded an album in 1979 called Another Kind of Blues. The group also played a few opening gigs for The Police, as well as recording a set at The Roxy (a punk club), which was issued in 1980 as Live Kicks. Their biggest selling album came with 1980s Crash Course. Crash Course was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on 30 May 1980 during the Brand New Age tour.

In 1979 Julien Temple wrote and directed a short film Punk Can Take It, a parody of wartime documentaries, that consisted mainly of the U.K.Subs playing live on stage.^[4] The film was released theatrically.^[5]

In the 1980s with the addition of a the new bassist Alvin Gibbs and drummer Steve Roberts, the songs took on a more heavy metal-influenced edge. In July 1982, they became the first western band to perform in Poland since the imposition of martial law, and the suppression of the trade union, Solidarity.^[6] Their concert was held in Gdańsk, and they were supported by Brygada Kryzys.^[7] In 1991, the U.K. Subs also had Lars Frederiksen (now of Rancid) on guitar for a 30 date UK tour. Decades after the disbanding of other late-1970s punk groups such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash, the U.K. Subs continue to perform.

Successive U.K. Subs album titles start with consecutive letters of the alphabet, and the band announced on 24 October 2015 via their Facebook page, that the 26th album starting with the letter "Z" would be their last long playing record, although they would continue to release EP's. The band intend to fund the final album through Crowdfunding site Pledge Music, the official start date for their pledge campaign is 1 November 2015.^[8] The U.K. Subs song "Down on the Farm" was covered by Guns N' Roses on their 1993 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?". The U.K. Subs joined the bill for the 2006 Fiend Fest. The band have toured with The Misfits, The Adicts, Osaka Popstar, Agent Orange, and The Ramones. The U.K. Subs song "Warhead" is played in the movie, This Is England. U.K. Subs are one of the regular bands to play the Rebellion Festival nearly every year since its origins as The Holidays In The Sun Festival in 1996.

In 2007, drummer Jamie Oliver was a contestant on the UK quiz show Nothing But the Truth. Vocalist Charlie Harper was among the panel of witnesses. Oliver reached the £5000 mark, but lost it all in a bid to double his winnings.

In recent years, the band's work has been critical of British politician Nick Clegg, with the 2013 song Coalition Government Blues describing the Liberal Democrats' leader as "liking his perks". The band's forthcoming album is entitled Yellow Leader, which is widely suspected of referring to Clegg, with yellow being the official colour of his political party.

Band members

Discography

Albums

• Another Kind of Blues (1979) (UK No. 21)^[9]
• Brand New Age (1980) (UK No. 18)
• Crash Course (1980)
• Diminished Responsibility (1981) (UK No. 18)
• Endangered Species (1982)
• Flood of Lies (1983)
• Gross Out USA (1984)
• Huntington Beach (1985)
• In Action (10th Anniversary) (1986)
• Japan Today (1987)
• Killing Time (1988)
• Mad Cow Fever (1991)
• Normal Service Resumed (1993)
• Occupied (1996)
• Quintessentials (1997)
• Riot (1997)
• Universal (2002)
• Violent State (2005)
• Work In Progress (10 January 2011)
• XXIV (6 February 2013)
• Yellow Leader (2015)
• Ziezo (2016)

Miscellaneous albums

• Crash Course (1980) (UK No. 8)
• Live Kicks (1979) (Recorded Live at the Roxy 1977)
• Dance & Travel In The Robot Age (1980) (Bootleg live album recorded in Milan)
• Live In London (1980) (Australian release of "Live Kicks" plus the rest of "A Farwell to the Roxy")
• Recorded 1979-1981 (1982)
• Demonstration Tapes (1984)
• Gross Out USA LIVE (1984)
• Subs Standards (1986)
• Left For Dead (1986)
• Raw Material (1986)
• A.W.O.L. (1987) (U.S only release)
• The Singles 1978-1982 (1989)
• LIVE in Paris (1989)
• Europe Calling (1990)
• Down On The Farm (A collection of the less obvious) (1991)
• Los Exitos En Singles 1978-1985 (1992) (Argentinian release)
• Scum Of The Earth-Best Of (1993)
• The Punk Is Back (1995)
• Punk Can Take It - Rare And Unreleased 79-82 (1996)
• Peel Sessions 1978-79 (1997)
• Self-Destruct - Punk Can Take It 2 (1997)
• Punk Rock Rarities (1998)
• Live In The Warzone (1998)
• The Punk Singles Collection (1998)
• Submission: the Best of the UK Subs 1982-1998 (1999)
• Warhead (1999)
• Time Warp GREATEST HITS (2000)
• Countdown (Live) (2001)
• World War (Live) (2003)
• Staffordshire Bull (Live) (2004)
• Before You Were Punk (2004)
• Live & Loud (2005)
• Original Punks Original Hits (2006)
• Complete Riot (2006)
• An Introduction to The U.K. Subs (2006)
• Stranglehold (2007)
• Greatest Hits (2009)
• Dance & Travel In The Robot Age (CD) (2010)

Compilation appearances

• Punk And Disorderly III - The Final Solution (1983)
• Backstage pass - Pronit (1986)
• Hardcore Breakout USA (1990)
• Snowboard Addiction - Fun Ride (1994)
• Skaters Gear - 6 (1995)
• Hardcore Breakout USA Volume 2 (1995)
• The British Punk Invasion Vol 2 (1996)
• The Punk, The Bad & The Ugly (1997)
• At War With Society (1998)
• At War With Society - II (1999)
• A Triple Dose Of Punk (1999)
• Mighty Attack (1999)
• Angry Songs and Bitter Words (2003)
• Hardcore Breakout USA 1,2,3,... (2004)
• Radio Olmos] 1993. 2 UK Subs.tracks .Recorded live in a real prison in Argentina.(Harper,Campbell,Barnes,Cahill)

UK chart singles

• "Stranglehold" - 1979 - No. 26
• "Tomorrow's Girls" - 1979 - No. 28
• "She's Not There" / "Kicks" (EP) - 1979 - No. 36
• "Warhead" - 1980 - No. 30
• "Teenage" - 1980 - No. 32
• "Party In Paris" - 1980 - No. 37
• "Keep On Runnin' (Till You Burn)" - 1981 - No. 41^[9]

12" singles

• "Another Typical City" (1983) (EP)
• "The Magic" (1984) (EP)
• "Hey Santa" (1987) (EP)
• "Motivator" (1988) (EP)
• "Sabre Dance" (1989) (EP)

Singles / EPs

• "C.I.D." (1978) (EP)
• "Stranglehold" (1979) (EP)
• "Tomorrows Girls" (1979) (EP)
• "She's Not There" (1979) (EP)
• "Warhead" (1980) (EP)
• "Teenage" (1980) (EP)
• "Party in Paris" (1980)
• "Keep on Running" (1981
• "Keep on Running EP Version" (1981)
• "Countdown" (1981)
• "Shake Up The City" (1982) (EP)
• "Another Typical City" (1983)
• "This Gun Says" (1985) (EP)
• "Live in Holland" (1986) (EP)
• "The Road is Long, The Road is Hard" (1993) (EP)
• "Postcard from L.A." (Split single) (1994) (U.S. only)
• "Betrayal" (1995) (U.S. only)
• "War on the Pentagon" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
• "Day of the Dead" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
• "Cyberjunk" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
• "Riot" (1998) (EP)
• "The Revolution's Here" (2000) (EP)
• "Drunken Sailor" (2002)
• "666 Yeah" (2006)
• "Warhead" (2008) (CD EP)
• "Product Supply" (2011)

Tributes and references

• "I Lost My Love (to a UK Sub)" track by The Gonads (1982)
• "(Give Me) Charlie Harper (Any Day)" track by The Bus Station Loonies (1996)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U.K. Subs.

• U.K. Subs Biography at AllMusic
• U.K. Subs Official website
• UK Subs Online Archive