I have been made aware of a UK Subs tribute band called the Ukulele Subs and decided to investigate a little further.
The UK Subs are a legendary punk band that formed in 1976 and are fronted by the wonderful 74 year old forever punk rocker Charlie Harper. After 42 years on the case, he is still going strong with the band. Charlie is like a national institution and clearly many people think this including Neil, Dave and Satu, who have taken the bull by the horns and launched the Ukulele Subs.
Neil Keenan (ukulele/vocals) and Dave Fanning (bass) – veterans of various bands, including Blyth Power, The Apostles, Faction and The Piranha Brothers – and Satu Salonpaa (percussion/harmony vocals) have a shared love of ukuleles and the UK Subs, and so they hit on the idea of strumming away to their favourite Subs songs, plus a few other punk rock classics thrown in for good measure.
Indeed I must admit that this is a case of thinking outside of the box, but perhaps local Subs fans who are still hungry for more would appreciate their take on the band’s greatest hits.
What to expect from the Ukulele Subs – click HERE.
Interested in witnessing this live? Then why not grab a pint and join them at their first ever Brighton gig on Saturday 24th November, which is taking place at The Pipeline located at 6 Little East Street, Brighton, BN1 1HT. Singing along is encouraged, and no earplugs are required. Find out more about the act HERE.
On the night they will be supporting punk rock stalwarts The London SS, who in part reformed back in 2012. This is the somewhat supposedly controversial band who turned a few heads when they were originally active in 1975 and 1976, due to their band name. Although the modern incarnation have posted on their website “DISCLAIMER! The London SS neither support nor condone nazism, neo-nazism, fascism, racism, sexism, bullying, homophobia or random acts of tw*tism!”.
The current lineup includes founder member guitarist Eunan Brady (who was formerly in the glam rock/proto-punk outfit the Hollywood Brats). The original line-up famously had none other than future Clash and Big Audio Dynamite member Mick Jones, future Generation X, Chelsea and Sigue Sigue Sputnik impresario Tony James, and future The Damned and Lords Of The New Church band member Brian James (who is no relation to Tony).
It’s also reported that The Damned’s drummer Rat Scabies had also played with London SS and in fact many other notable musicians tried out for the band but did not make the cut. These included two future members of The Clash, Paul Simonon and Terry Chimes. Another future Clash member, Nicky “Topper” Headon, was asked to join but declined.
So the London SS was as some would arguably say one of the main catalysts for the punk rock movement.
What to expect from London SS – click HERE.
Find out more about the band HERE.
