U.K. Subs at Łykend: London punk rock from Charlie Harper’s band in Wrocław

7 FEBRUARY 2014

The band’s story began in October 1977, when Charlie Harper, a veteran of several London bands including The Marauders and Bandana, met guitarist Nicky Garratt. Drummer Steve Jones and bassist Steve Slack soon joined them. The band began playing regularly in London clubs, and their songs “I Live In A Car” and “Telephone Numbers” appeared on the live compilation “Farewell To Roxy”.

The band’s line-up stabilised in April 1978, with Peter Davies becoming the new drummer and Paul Slack the bassist. In May 1978, U.K.SUBS signed with GEM Rec. The success of their early single “Stranglehold” led to an invitation to appear on Top Of The Pops. Their classic debut album, “Another Kind of Blues”, arrived in September 1978. In 1979, U.K.SUBS set out to conquer America, supporting The Police. In the first months of 1980, they toured Europe alongside The Ramones. April 1980 brought their second album, “Brand New Age”, which consolidated U.K.Subs’ place on the music scene. It was followed by the live album “Crash Course”, which climbed to the top of the British album chart.

Soon after recording this album, Pete Davie and Paul Slack left the band, replaced by Steve Roberts, formerly of Cyanide, and bassist Alvin Gibbs. U.K.Subs’ fourth album, “Diminished Responsibility”, appeared in February 1981. After its release, the Subs toured Britain with Anti Pasti and The Stiffs. The rest of 1981 was filled with countless concerts across Britain and Europe. Their next album, “Endangered Species”, came out in March 1982. Steve Roberts left after it was recorded, and Sol Mintz took his place. With their new drummer, the Subs embarked on a tour of the United States lasting several months, alongside Antio Nowhere League. In 1983, U.K.Subs flew to Poland for 13 concerts. They were the first punk group to visit the country, performing in its largest cities alongside Republika.

After returning to the UK, Charlie Harper began work on “Flood Of Lies”. Alvin Gibbs, Nicky Garratt and Charlie Harper reunited in a New York studio in 1987 to record “Killing Time” for the band’s 10th anniversary. In 1997, marking their 20th anniversary, Subs recorded two acclaimed albums in their classic line-up, “Quintessentials” and “Riot”. In 2000, they returned to Poland with the classic line-up of Nicky Garratt, Alvin Gibbs and Charlie Harper, playing four warmly received concerts.

The album “Time Wraped” appeared in 2001, featuring new versions of classic songs. In 2002, to mark their 25th anniversary, U.K.Subs recorded the new studio album “Universal”, which was warmly received by fans. The U.K.Subs story appears to have no end: they remain one of the few classic punk rock bands still playing concerts around the world.

U.K.Subs have so far recorded more than 15 studio albums, countless singles and live records. U.K.SUBS songs have been covered by The Exploited, Henry Rollins, Die Toten Hosen, Guns'N'Roses, Kazik and Kult, and Farben Lehre.
The band played at Wrocław's Alibi club in January 2009.
This time they will be supported by British punk rock singer T.V. Smith.