SOUNDTRACK4LIFE: THE B-SIDES: uk subs

Showing posts with label uk subs. Show all posts

Thursday, 7 February 2019

Tidy Tunes 2019 #7/28 I Couldn't Be You - U.K. Subs

I Couldn't Be You - U.K. Subs

From the album

Another Kind of Blues
GEM
Released 14th September 1979

There are so many Singles and Albums that fall under the banner of 'My Soundtrack4Life' and they each have a different tale to tell.

Almost a year before the debut album from the U.K. Subs was released in 1979 (another that will celebrate its 40th Anniversary this year) they issued their debut single/ep C.I.D. on City Records.

I think I first heard them on the Farewell To The Roxy album that had been released in April 1978 and contained two songs with a total time of two minutes and twelve seconds (I Live In A Car and Telephone Numbers) and then came their debut session for John Peel.

Debut John Peel Session

Recorded 23rd May 1978

Broadcast 31st May 1978

1. I Couldn't Be You
2. Tomorrow's Girls
3. Disease
4. C.I.D.
5. Stranglehold

**********

It must have been within a month or so after hearing the Peel Session that I went to see them for the first time in concert, the first of many shows over the years!

On 'I Couldn't Be You' Charlie Harper brings to bear some of those R&B chops from his days fronting his first band back in 1964! It always seemed odd hearing a harmonica on a Punk Rock song but the song is actually a cover version by a British Rock and Roll singer John B. Presley. I've tried hunting for a version by him but to no avail at present. The song in a way seems a little bit out of place on the album but I think it is still one of the standout songs by the band.

I pulled the album out a few days ago having not played it for sometime and a host of memories came flooding back of running around with the Forest Hill Punks, bouncing around London and just outside going to U.K. Subs shows and other bands with my mates.

The lyrics always made me laugh (I can't ever recall wanting to wear a "cowboy hat"!) and yet they seem so relevant to things today when people are forced to work way beyond pensionable age with great uncertainty about actually getting a works pension let alone the measley sum paid out for the State Pension! The other thing of course is that Charlie rejected that 9 to 5 to do something he loved and even though he is now beyond pensionable age he is still doing what he loves whether it be solo or with the band that has given him a lifeline since the 70s.

"They said that you’re a big boy now, it’s time to set you free in the world
Don’t forget that steady job, and don’t forget that steady girl
They said you start at nine o’clock and then we let you out at five
And if you act very smart you get a pension when you’re 65

I said I couldn’t be you if you wanted me to
And you couldn’t be me if I begged you to be"

Friday, 20 July 2018

New Music 2018: Subversions - U.K. Subs (June)

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Subversions - U.K. Subs
Cleopatra Records
Produced by Pat Collier and U.K. Subs
Released June 2018

Released on Limited Edition Red Vinyl (500 Copies) and on CD

Listen To The Album In Full Here:

Click on the links to hear the original versions:
A1 Kick Out The Jams (MC5)
A2 Train Kept A Rollin (The Johnny Burnette Trio)
A3 I Don't Need No Doctor (Ray Charles via Humble Pie)
A4 Boston Babies (Slaughter and The Dogs)
A5 Tired Of Waking Up Tired (The Diodes)
A6 This Perfect Day (The Saints)
B1 Get Out Of Denver (Bob Seger)
B2 Feel Good Hit Of The Summer (Queens of the Stone Age)
B3 Bomber (Motörhead)
B4 Roadrunner (The Modern Lovers)
B5 1969 (The Stooges)
B6 Suffragette City (David Bowie)

Personnel

2018 seems like a busy year for the U.K. Subs as not only are they out on the road and releasing two 15CD Box Sets containing the full set of their albums in Alphabetical Order (Volume 1 is A-M and Volume 2 is N-Z), a brand new studio album plus a new EP coming in November but Charlie Harper (vocalist) released (in April) his second solo album, 'Little Black Crow' (Road Dog Records - his Debut Solo was called 'Stolen Property', it was an album of covers and released in 1982!), he also received the 'King Rocker/Icon' award at the Vive Le Rock! Awards in March and has also had an exhibition of his art alongside Gaye Black down in Sussex. Alvin Gibbs (bassist) is due to release his Debut Album in December under the banner of 'Alvin Gibbs and The Disobedient Servants'. Jamie Oliver (drummer) also has a side project called You and they released their Debut Single (in April) entitled 'Selfish'.

U.K. Subs are no strangers to Cover Versions as over the period of 40 plus years they have played a fair few and even recorded and released some - 'She's Not There' (lead track on the 1979 EP), 'I'm Waiting For The Man' (B-Side of 'Warhead') - and there have been a fair few released on various albums as well but a whole album's worth is something they have not done before (at least as far as I can remember!).

Of all the tracks on Subversions I have to confess to not actually knowing two of them (the Queens Of The Stone Age track 'Feel Good Hit of the Summer' and Canadian band The Diodes' 'Tired Of Waking Up Tired').

As for the other ten they are pretty magnificent. The U.K. Subs are not over fancy and what you get is 12 tracks of raw power from beginning to end. The choices are interesting as there's a couple that would no doubt have been played by the teenage David Charles Perez ('Train Kept a Rollin' and 'I Don't Need No Doctor') and would be quite obscure to the rest of the band possibly and the rest, there's a number of Classic Rock tracks spanning the early 70s, a few Punk/New Wave Classics, a wee tribute to the genius of Lemmy's Motörhead, and the "newest" track is the Queen of the Stone Age song (and that's 18 years old!).

At 74 years old it's great seeing and hearing Charlie still doing what he loves and the current line up of the band is pretty tight and tidy as well. How much longer it goes on who knows but while they are still up and at 'em I'm going to enjoy listening and watching as I have done so for as long as the band have been around!

U.K. Subs

Live at 100 Club, London

19th May 2018

Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Rewind: Warhead - U.K. Subs (1980)

Warhead/ The Harper / I'm Waiting For The Man

Gem Records

Produced by Nicky Garratt and Charlie Harper

Released 29th February 1980

UK Chart #30

A-Side

B-Side

The Harper

I'm Waiting For The Man

Fifth single for the U.K. Subs and the first single from their soon to be released second album Brand New Age (released April 1980).

Warhead opens with a bass line from Paul Slack that opens a floodgate of memories just as songs like Fast Cars (Buzzcocks), Something Better Change (The Stranglers) and Public Image (Public Image Ltd) do.

This was the U.K. Subs as you've never really heard them before. Tackling a big issue like the Middle East, Russia in Afghanistan, the rise of Islamic extremism, the political incompetence of both the USA and Russia to come to a solution and the destruction of nations was not something you would hear much about in those days especially on the radio and certainly not ever on Top of the Pops (until the U.K. Subs performed Warhead on there of course!).

Warhead (2008 Version) on Jet13 Records and re-issued on Combat Rock (France) on 10" Vinyl in 2016 (and CD in 2017) as Warhead Revisited.

It's still a popular live favourite as well:

Warhead - Rebellion 2016.

The B-sides were nothing much to write home about (which was quite unlike the U.K. Subs as their B-Sides were usually pretty quality). The Harper was a little instrumental where Charlie got to show off his chops on the harmonica (demonstrating that he still had a touch of the blues about him). Waiting For The Man was of course a rendition of The Velvet Underground song, whilst it would not necessarily be the one I would go to as a great cover version it did have a bit more of an edge than the Slaughter and the Dogs version (though the Slaughter cover does try and at least maintain some semblance of the original).

Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Happy 72nd Birthday Charlie Harper

(Photo by Mark Latham)

Happy 72nd Birthday

Charlie Harper

100 Club, London

21st May 2016

Banksy

from the New Album

Ziezo (2016)

Monday, 23 November 2015

45RPM: #65 She's Not There - U.K. Subs (1979)

On this day in 1979 (23rd November) U.K. Subs released their Third single for Gem and it was the band's first cover version (She's Not There was recorded by the Zombies in 1964), recorded at Alvic and Kingsway studios. It was Nicky Garratt's first attempt at production, apart from Victim which was again produced by John McCoy. The single contained four tracks and clocked in at five minutes and forty six seconds! .

Victim is a reworking of an early song, No Rules, which appears on the complete Roxy recording Live Kicks.
Kicks was also re-recorded for the second album, Brand New Age.

The band made their fourth Top Of The Pops appearance (see video below) with Paul Slack singing and Charlie on second guitar (though I can never remember seeing Charlie play guitar live back then!). The record entered the UK top 40 chart on 1st December 1979, staying in the charts for 7 weeks and peaking at number 36.

A-Side: She's Not There (R. Argent)
Kicks (Harper, Garratt).

B-Side: Victim (Garratt, Harper)
The Same Thing (Harper, Slack).

Line Up
Vocals: Charlie Harper/ Paul Slack (She's Not There)
Guitar: Nicky Garratt
Bass: Paul Slack
Drums: Pete Davies

I am indebted to UK Subs Time and Matter for the information here. Apologies for not mentioning it before!

Saturday, 12 September 2015

Rewind: 1980 Crash Course (Live) - U.K. Subs

Crash Course (Live) - U.K. Subs

Gem Records

Produced by Nicky Garratt and Charlie Harper

Released 12th September 1980

UK Chart #8

U.K. Subs
Charlie Harper - lead vocals

    Nicky Garratt - guitar
    Paul Slack - bass/vocals
    Pete Davies - drums

Click on the links for more music and information.

The first two albums by U.K. Subs both reached the charts: Another Kind of Blues (14th September 1979 UK Chart #21) and Brand New Age (11th April 1980 UK Chart #18)

Crash Course Album + For Export Only EP

The album was recorded on 30th May 1980 whilst the Subs were out on tour promoting the Brand New Age Album. It was from a show at The Rainbow in Finsbury Park but when the Tour was first announced the venue was originally the Electric Ballroom in Camden. If my memory serves me correctly the Angelic Upstarts were the support.

By the time the album was released in September there was a brand new line up of the Subs as Paul Slack and Pete Davies had played their final show for the band at Brighton's Top Rank on 6th June. Alvin Gibbs joined on Bass and Steve Roberts on Drums.

The album entered the charts at #8 just ahead of The Skids who had just released The Absolute Game (which went in at #9 - a position held the week prior by Stiff Little Fingers' Hanx! album).

The first 30,000 copies of the album contained a 4-Track 12" EP called For Export Only that had been recorded at The Lyceum Ballroom, London on 15th July 1979 (this was the night that New York's Pure Hell supported as did Vermilion and the Aces - who were basically Menace without their lead singer and the female singer was actually a writer for Search and Destroy/Ripped and Torn). And if I'm correct I'm fairly certain that the album had a limited edition run in Purple Vinyl (it's been so long since I lost my physical copy of it that it's hard to remember. Though I can remember who a support band was from a show in 1979!).

Tracklist

I.O.D.

Lady Esquire

Blues

Young Criminals

Friday, 29 May 2015

Alphabet Beats #140: U is for....U.K. Subs

U is for...

U.K. Subs (Then)

Charlie Harper (Vocals), Paul Slack (Bass and Vocals), Pete Davies (Drums), Nicky Garratt (Guitars and Vocals)

Warhead 25th Anniversary Show at The Marquee 2002.

It was Charlie Harper's 71st birthday four days ago, and I didn't forget it but wanted to celebrate it with a bit of style by spotlighting the U.K. Subs here on Alphabet Beats. 71 Years Old! And he's still out there doing what he's been doing for almost five decades!

The past 10 years or so has seen some stability with the line up as there had always been a bit of a turn over of members and the only original was Charlie. It's not quite a Trigger's Broom scenario (if you like Only Fools and Horses you'll get that!) and I saw recently someone saying that if it was Charlie Harper and your Granny on Bongos it would still be the U.K. Subs (or something to that nature)!

Whatever the case, the U.K. Subs are still making new music and recently released 'Yellow Leader' and are one letter away from completing a batch of albums in Alphabetical order! Inbetween there have been loads of compilations, reissues of older albums, Live releases, and a truck load of impressive singles. Click on the links to enjoy the music. There's music from all but one of the albums released in the Alphabetical Series.

I know there's a few old punks out there who might roll their eyes seeing a post about the U.K. Subs but they play a huge part in my own Soundtrack4Life and therefore they have every right to be included here.

Enjoy the noize!