U.K. Subs
U.K. Subs | |
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UK Subs performing in 2007 | |
Background information | |
Origin | London, England |
Genres | Punk rock, hardcore punk, street punk, Oi! |
Years active | 1976–present |
Labels | New Red Archives, Captain Oi!, Fallout, Time & Matter Recordings, Diablo Records, RCA, Punkerama Records |
Associated acts | Urban Dogs, The Damned, Rancid, The Flying Padovanis, King Kurt |
Website | UK Subs Official Website |
Members |
Charlie Harper Jet Jamie Oliver Alvin Gibbs |
Past members |
Nicky Garratt Steve Slack Terry Bones Gregor Kramer Jacek Ostoya Pete Davies David Ayer Alan Campbell Rory Lyons Belvy K Matthew McCoy Steve Roberts Brian Barnes Tony Gannon Paul Slack Chema Zurita Mal Asling Benjie Bollox Rab Fae Beith Eric Baconstrip |
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 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 played some opening gigs for The Police, and recorded a set at The Roxy (a punk club), which was issued in 1980 as Live Kicks. They signed a recording contract with GEM Records in May 1979.[1] Under GEM, the U.K. Subs recorded their most successful studio albums, Another Kind of Blues and Brand New Age. 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
Lead vocals
Guitars
Bass guitar
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Drums
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Discography
Albums
- Another Kind of Blues (1979) (UK No. 21)[9]
- Brand New Age (1980) (UK No. 18)
- Crash Course (1980) (UK No. 8)
- 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
- 1 2 3 O'Connor, Alan (2008). Punk Record Labels and the Struggle for Autonomy: The Emergence of DIY. Lexington Books. p. 2. ISBN 9780739126608.
- 1 2 Apter, Jeff (2009). Never Enough: The Story of The "Cure". Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781847727398.
- ↑ "UK Subs Return To New Zealand & Australia", scoop.co.nz, July 8, 1009
- ↑ "Punk Can Take It (1979)". IMDB. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ↑ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
- ↑ Ensminger, David (2013). Left of the Dial: Conversations with Punk Icons. PM Press. ISBN 9781604866414.
- ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 368. CN 5585.
- ↑ "UK Subs Facebook Video (2015)". Facebook. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 574. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links
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