Blimey, this is an intimate venue for the legendary UK Subs to perform in, I seriously think that the tickets will fly out of the door! So to avoid any worries, best purchase them right now. You will see the the UK Subs will be performing at the Hope & Ruin, Brighton on Sunday 12th May. The online ticket options are found HERE and you can also purchase them from Resident music in Kensington Gardens, Brighton or Punker Bunker in Sydney Street, Brighton.
Let’s face it, who would have predicted back in 1976 that the UK Subs frontman Charlie Harper would still be gigging and releasing records with his band after 43 years?
It surely is an astounding accomplishment and one that sits in high regard amongst myself and my punk mates, especially as Charlie also sings for the Urban Dogs and does his own solo work too. He has even recently turned up on two new tracks on The Ramonas ‘Acoustic Problems’ album. Is there no stopping the man? How does he find time to do all of this? As well as a spot of fishing, which is his way of relaxing.
The current UK Subs lineup that is endeavouring to keep pace with Charlie (vocals/harmonica) is Steve Straughan (guitar), Alvin Gibbs (bass) and Jamie Oliver (drums) – and before you ask, no it’s not THAT Jamie Oliver!
Chas (as fellow long term band member Alvin Gibbs refers to Charlie) is still just a normal bloke that you can easily approach and exchange some banter with. Likewise goes for his charming wife Yuko. The pair eat, sleep and in Charlie’s case drink all things punk. There’s no sign of the band slowing down. In fact now that the UK Subs have released a bundle of albums down the years with letters A to Z as their titles, were they going to stop releasing material? Yeah like heck!
They’ve recently released a covers album entitled ‘Subversions’, which sees the lads put their own inimitable stamp on the MC5’s ‘Kick Out The Jams’, David Bowie’s glam epic ‘Suffragette City’ and Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers timeless classic ‘Roadrunner’, as well as nine other bopping ditties!
For the record, just in case you were wondering what the UK Subs A to Z albums are, here you go:
Another Kind of Blues (1979)
Brand New Age (1980)
Crash Course (1980)
Diminished Responsibility (1981)
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)
Live in Paris (1989)
Mad Cow Fever (1991)
Normal Service Resumed (1993)
Occupied (1996)
Peel Sessions 1978-79 (1997)
Quintessentials (1997)
Riot (1997)
Sub Mission: The Best of the U.K. Subs 1982-1998 (1999)
Time Warp: Greatest Hits (2001)
Universal (2002)
Violent State (2005)
Work In Progress (2011)
XXIV (2013)
Yellow Leader (2015)
Ziezo (2016)
For more data on the band click HERE and to listen/purchase some of their material, click HERE.
