SOUNDS December 5, 1981

VALAC VAN DER VEENE gets on the sharp end of some cue ups from the UK SUBS

We're all such 'sensitive boys', jerkin' a living from the rock 'n' roll gutter. Streaming with sweat, a night on the town... legit reasons for tomorrow's hangover and another sweet memory of a Subs gig.
The 100 Club. Leather studded armour of punk tribes clashes in mock battle 'round the stage. The air's so heavy the speakers can hardly cope with the pressure. Music for below the waist.
Even if its roots stretch back five years, adrenalin rushes to dynamite the brain. "I don't wanna die in my bed," yells Harper. "We got no main ambition," chorus the band. (Qu. 'Ambition' ).
Earlier this year saw wilderness roamings for the UKs. No finance, a bust-up record company and a postponed album made previous traumas of a junked rhythm section look tame.
Determination, their intensely loyal followers and sheer hard graft led a procession of vinyl knockin' at the doors of the charts - and then new deals, the current single, the new LP - 'Endangered Species' - in the'can at last and out in January, and a punishing tour schedule that's now led them, to Holland.
Only 56 dates in nine countries - but things are bound to get better!

So, TIME for a little time with the masters of bodily abuse. The sun's barely over the proverbial yard-arm. Sub-fusque lighting suggests a later hour in this down-city billiard bar.
Charlie's moaning 'cause "it's far too early for this kinda thing!" As the afternoon wears on, conversation drifts between idiocy and the deadly serious - humour's never out of reach though.
So 'Endangered Species' is finished - how did the recording go!
"Great, took two weeks instead of the normal three and we've broken new ground. One side's aimed at old Subs fans and the other has a more polished feel - not losing the intensity but..."
"Well, everyone thinks we're morons and we can't play intelligently. We've developed, we're proud we can play well and that we've got the expertise," chips in Alvin.
"We don't want to lose old fans, but the band has to progress, and the way we've planned it we hope they'll follow through with us."
The progressed Subs sound is a kick in the nuts for anyone who thinks they've been rutted. Dynamics, a new edge to Charlie's voice and thoroughly unwholesome churning bass 'n drums are just some of the ingredients to expect.
Forecast - the biggest chart success yet for the band... but 'ang about. We're talking about the latest slab of Subsian surge - after all the let-downs where did the money come from to do it?
"NEMS, our new company, gave us enough for recording - and a bit of pocket money - on the understanding they'd be signing us. As usual, there were loads of legal hassles so we eventually signed after the LP had been recorded and cut.
"We just had to get another record out, we'd have gone to any lengths. The material had built-up over the last year. We worked out details and arrangements in-the studio we don't rehearse beforehand - it's not so exciting if you know exactly what's gonna happen. .."
And we'd rather keep the raw, live atmosphere and tolerate a few mistakes," intones Steve's Yorkshire accent.
Worried stares from the bartenders as the band clamber over those precious acres of green baize for the photoshoot. And then the first of my serious questions... AGE!

YOU CAN'T OVERLOOK, indeed, no attempt's been made to surpress the fact that, well - most of the band ain't exactly spring chickens, and Charlie's the other side of 30.
Nothing's more depressing than men acting like kids, and trying to disguise those added years. The Subs don't. That's why they stay vital and fresh.
They haven't forgotten Teenage Wildlife, no·sir, but they've the maturity which stems from experience, and it's sure helped them weather bad times.
Subs have sparkle. Subs have style. Musical hackery has generally treated them kindly on this score - but it's the media that perpetuates the 'ageist' (awful word, sorry) philosophy.
It's sad, sad record barons watching their sales figures and waistlines expanding who market youth in all its posey packaging. I can take my share of airbrushed fantasy. It's fools who believe it though. Survivors like the Subs can be twice as intoxicating...
Alvin warms to this subject, though I expected hostility... "it's not how old you are, how you look, how you dress - it's what's inside - and i reckon what's in Charlie's head is about 15!
"I go back to my home council estate and see the kids I was at school with who're in their early 20s now. They've got a wife and two kids and accepted the fate that's mapped out for them.
"Education doesn't teach it contains people, conditions them. It keeps people's horizons in check - you're meant to be a mechanic; you're more suited in a bank.
"Then they're taught it's OK to have a few pints and a game of darts... Suddenly they're mentally 40, their minds go the same way as their bodies - SOFT. I can show you it happening. Do the press ever talk about that! "Now if Keith Richards - one of me heroes - does something, he's hounded and insulted and they pick on his age. See what a stupid set of values it is!"
I ask their manager about Charlie's alleged heart problems - again expecting an invitation to mind my own business.
"Yes, he did have a mild attack, and because he's so fit it affected him about as much as a bout of flu. For a short time after, we wondered when the second was coming because of his stage antics.
"The rest of the band ignored it, and he's fitter and looks better now. than he did before it happened. I think he must have a Dorian Gray picture in his flat!"
More honesty I respect...

AS AMERICAN BACKING for their original record company, Gem, dried up, the band saw a proposed US tour crash in the debris, postponement of their album and controversy surrounding their 'new' image as shown on the 'Keep On Running' single sleeve. That single cover had you wearing distinctly un-punk clobber and it must have lost you fans. All four Subs agree this was the case, and the reasons for having their image imposed on vary from member to member.
Alvin - "We did it to keep 'em happy, and having the change was fun. A band should be prepared to experiment with new looks and ideas.
"it's depressing 'to see groups with the same look year in and year out - but the way we approached it was a mistake."
Steve - "In this business, if you make a mistake it's under everyone's nose and you're never allowed to forget it. It if was a factory or something, you'd be forgiven - and the thing forgotten in an hour."
The final irony was, after spending money on the 'new image Subs' the single - good incidentally - was promoted with just one advertisement. The money had dried up, no more general finance - not even 'beer money'.
These were tough times, the musical equivalent of the cold shower treatment -- and back to the small clubs while newer punk outfits looked poised to capture their slot.
"Charlie got on the case contacting small clubs and promoters. We just had to gig very cheaply... that's contrary to what Erazerhead said in Sounds about us not doing small places."
Trouble wasn't getting the smaller gigs - but persuading the public the Subs were back in pubs and clubs. Gates were often low because people thought it was all a hype.
And as far as Charlie and the boys stand, their limelight hasn't been stolen by the latest punkdom .
"The proof," says Nick, "will come if the new bands are around in a couple of years time.
"Entertaining groups will last - and without sounding boastful - the Subs have influenced the new bands and they've said as much."

TALKING OF newer outfits provoked our next discussion which ran along the lines - punk's now five years old. Now, if you haven't noticed, things in this country haven't exactly got any better!
I get the impression of hundreds of small voices shouting in the dark - never united or strong enough to make actual change.
Surely now is the time for action. Could the various threads of No Nukes, No CallUp, Dead End Jobs and all the other 'we don't wants' make a movement THEY might take notice of!
"People take punk very seriously, when it's just a release - a fun thing" - Charlie's voice indicates he's heard this before.
But if you say it's a movement, isn't it a time when punk - in its own way - has to accept a kinda responsibility! '77 bought shock, anarchy and a new fashion industry - as well as the refreshing changes seen in the Music Business.
'Trouble is in '81 - bumflaps and whitewash won't save you from that one big flash!
"One of the punk beliefs is there shouldn't be leaders or organisations .."
The 'leaderless' punkers put Rotten and Pursey on tinsel tattered thrones before they realised we just had Hollywood Heroes again - this time with their spots retouched!
"Some people equate it with fashion - you know - there are some things you have to do to prove you're a punk.. For every one like that, there are a hundred backing this freedom movement.
"An interesting point, if you look at music from World War Two, is that it was a fantasy, romantic - a ray of hope - and entertainment."
Did that 'entertainment' put smiles on the faces of the dying as they lay crushed and burnt, shot and bombed? Did 'The White Cliffs Of Dover' anaesthetise' better than morphine!.
"People don't want politics in music as well - they can tune into the radio and get depressed anytime they want it's all you hear!
"The punk movement's got a strong grapevine, things happen spontaneously - that's a sign something's been achieved... and the central theme behind this band is that there isn't one, and that was one of the first punk ideals."
We agree to differ. I distrust music and politics, yet at the time the Subs were contesting my 'pull together views, their album contains nuke songs - 'Endangered Species', the what the hell downer of 'Ambition' and 'Living Dead' and the machine age warnings in 'I Robot' .
I asked the Subs these questions as they're in the position of touring nine countries - and combined, the kids of a Continent could just make enough noise so Europe isn't turned into a Space Invader game for generals!
I'm not suggesting the Subs turn into politicians - but perhaps their undoubted influence could unite in a small way! Or perhaps we're so hooked on 'tame' battle games, we won't really care when the real one happens!
The UK Subs are are important spearhead in one sector of the punk legians.. As I learnt, their battle flag motto is just 'FUN'. Good Luck to 'em.