Alvin Gibbs – Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Volume 3

"Diminished Responsibility Vol. 3" starts off with the familiar tale of an unexpected phone call, this time from U.K. Subs frontman Charlie Harper. “Alvin, what are you doing tomorrow?” and then we are off on another adventure in the company of genial bassist Alvin Gibbs. Yes indeed, if you have read and enjoyed the first two volumes of Alvin’s autobiographical trilogy then you will know it’s like the roll of the dice when he picks up the phone. Who knows who will be on the other end of the line with an offer to pack his bass and get moving. Volume 3 of this quite brilliant series of memoirs opens with Charlie asking Alvin to re-join the Subs in 1994, and he duly obliges. What follows is an exhilarating roller coaster of a ride through Alvin’s experiences travelling the world and back with, what turns out to be one of the most disorganized, chaotic but of course much loved bands in Punk Rock’s musical history. Yep, if you thought being a touring and recording musician was a glamorous job, then you might be in for a shock as Alvin tells all with his usual searing honesty and superb descriptive prose. At the centre of the maelstrom of U.K. Subs activity is of course legendary and loveable frontman Charlie Harper who, it seems had a habit of saying “yes” to pretty much any suggestion of gigs, tours, record releases from people who, sometimes don’t have the band’s best interests at heart. These include reunion gigs with former line-ups (without telling the members of the current line-up), playing gigs in far-flung locations without the proper logistics in place, using fans and non-professional promoters and tour managers, trying to keep it ‘Punk’. But the long list of jaw-dropping misadventures is frustrating enough to us as a reader and you can easily imagine why the Subs have possibly had more musicians pass through their ranks than The Fall and The Blue Aeroplanes put together.

Alvin with U.K. Subs - photo by Retro Man Blog

Alvin recounts tales of promoters running off with their gig money, reneging on deals, support bands stealing their riders, band mates going missing, issues with record labels and crazy tour van drivers. It gets so bad that Alvin steps in, taking over the role of tour manager in order basically just to ensure they all have Hotels and get paid their promised fees. Things improve when Charlie’s Japanese wife Yuko takes on most of the unenviable managerial tasks and they also find a settled line-up with Alvin and Charlie joined by powerhouse drummer Jamie Oliver and super-cool guitarist Jet. This purple patch produced a run of fantastic, well received albums (now packaged together as a great boxset “The Jet Age 2006-2016” by Cherry Red Records) and the band’s profile skyrocketed. Along the way, Alvin talks candidly about the various colleagues he has shared a stage with since his return to the Subs line-up including their iconic guitarist Nicky Garratt and drummers Steve Roberts and Jamie Oliver. A word of warning, no spoilers, sometimes they are not painted in a very complimentary light, but you think if Alvin can forgive them, then we should too and he is always fair in his explanations on the various trials and tribulations he encounters. 

Alvin with U.K. Subs - photo by Retro Man Blog

Again, as I found with Alvin’s previous books, I really enjoy his more personal thoughts away from the music, and in Volume 3 there’s certainly a hell of a lot to take in over the time scale covered in the book. He muses on the negative aspects of Covid, 9/11 and Brexit and on the scarily debilitating illness that hit him for six. He touches on the perils of social media and does battle with keyboard warriors on internet fan’s forums. Alvin does not shy away from on-the-road encounters of the romantic kind, but he is never gratuitous, and this is a big plus in his favour. He also documents his struggles with relationships, loss and divorce – often caused by said Rock ‘n’ Roll lifestyle - with a refreshing honesty. It’s heartening to read about his unbridled passion for karate (he has a black belt) and history (he has a degree) and his love of France (he has a house near Bordeaux) not forgetting his support of Crystal Palace football club, ah well… 

But back to the musical adventures, and he tells us about the royalties lottery win of Guns ‘n’ Roses covering the Subs “Down on the Farm”, and there’s some welcome gossip on his encounters with some famous names - the surprisingly friendly (The Misfits) and the not so friendly (Marky Ramone if you must know…). He brings us up-to-date with the current Subs line-up and discusses his own side project Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants along with Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC and that's it, the trilogy draws to a highly satisfactory close. I’m now just as interested to see what Alvin comes up with next in the literary world as I am about his next musical venture – I said before, his books are part travelogue and part tour diary and personally, I’d like to see him explore more of the travel and historical aspects of some of the amazing places he has visited, how about a three volume set of those writings?

The book has been published by Tome & Metre, the publishing wing of the brilliant Time & Matter Recordings, the go-to place for any self-respecting U.K. Subs fan. It features loads of fantastic previously unseen on-the-road and on stage photos mostly from Alvin’s own personal collection, there's a comprehensive discography and a foreword by Gaye (Advert) Black too. You can still listen and download our Retrosonic Podcast episodes with Gaye and two episodes with Leigh Heggarty, just subscribe for free at our SoundCloud site here and check out the archive, or subscribe at Spotify, Amazon Music or iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

You can read my reviews on Alvin’s two previous volumes at the highlighted links below:

Volume 1 - Childhood and early music up to his first stint in the U.K. Subs 1980-83.

Volume 2 - Leaving the Subs, almost joining Hanoi Rocks, moving to LA, touring with Iggy Pop, then joining the Hanoi Rocks spin-off Cheap And Nasty.

The Price "No Justice?" New Compilation & Launch Event at Sounds Of The Suburbs Records Ruislip on March 20th.

33 1/3 years after they released their first single, The Price release their debut album "No Justice?" on Cadiz Records featuring nineteen studio recordings from 1988-1993. The Price played hundreds of shows during this time, including support slots to Transvision Vamp, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, The Lords Of The New Church, Wilko Johnson, Mega City Four, Senseless Things, John Otway and many more, as well as sharing the stage with contemporaries like Red Letter Day, The Newtown Neurotics, The Chairs, Action Pact, TV Smith’s Cheap, Who Moved The Ground?, The Shout and Porky The Poet (now better known as Phil Jupitus) among others. They also toured the UK with The Lurkers and were one of the few bands to play in East Germany (including gigging in Leipzig and East Berlin and a recording session in Halle as well as supporting Half Japanese in Magdeburg and Cottbus) before The Wall came down. The band appeared on a compilation album with The Manic Street Preachers (who they were booked to support but who got too big for the gig!) and their two 7” singles 'The Price You Pay' / 'The Man With The Smile' and 'So What About Love?' / Between The Lies' were both Single Of The Week in The NME and Sounds magazines. BBC radio presenter Steve Lamacq was an early champion of the band, and ex-Ruts guitarist Paul Fox produced their second single ‘So What About Love?’ They also went on to work with famed and fabled producer Pip Williams who also produced Status Quo, Dr. Feelgood and more. Although the band released a six-track mini-album ‘The Table Of Uncles’ in 1990 they were never able to release a full-length LP at the time, so this release collects together many of their best-loved songs in a long overdue overview of their career. Price guitarist Leigh Heggarty now plays in Ruts D.C., and has also worked with Henry Rollins, Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants, Wayne Kramer, T. V. Smith, Department S and many more. Leigh explains further...

Tony from Sounds of The Suburbs Records (R) & Leigh Heggarty - Pic Retro Man Blog

"One day in the dim and distant past, I received a cassette of The Price in the post. Way back in those pre-internet days one of the main ways you got your music to promoters, journalists, indeed anybody who might be interested in what you were doing, was to send them a tape. Most of them disappeared forever, but this one had been sent back to me in the stamped addressed envelope that I invariably included in the package along with a plea to send the tape back if they didn't like what they heard so that we could use it again. This was an unusual occurrence, which is probably why it's stuck in my mind. The accompanying note said that the music was interesting, but that we needed to think more about our melody lines; also we should look at making the arrangements more commercial - maybe by listening to the sort of things that were getting into the charts at the moment - and while we were doing that, perhaps think about the sounds on those records, especially on the drums. Oh and we should always include at least one photograph of the band so that people could see what sort of image we had. Needless to say we did none of those things.  

It's interesting to speculate on what might have happened if we had taken even any of those points to task...Would we now be thinking about reforming for yet another money-spinning World Tour to coincide with the latest box set reissue of our illustrious back catalogue? Would we all be in poverty-ridden obscurity, bitter and twisted at the way that our music has been sold and resold by a ruthless music industry without any of us ever seeing a penny for it? Would we be somewhere between the two? And if so which would we be nearer to? These are obviously all rhetorical questions, as we were far too naive to have even considered considering any of it. Well, I certainly was anyway. 'No Justice?' collects together 19 tracks recorded between 1988 and 1993 - here are some of my memories from that time". Leigh Heggarty January 2022 

The excellent Sounds of The Suburbs Records in Ruislip will be hosting a free in-store live show from The Price to celebrate the release of "No Justice?" on Sunday March 20th at 2pm and you'll be able to buy the album on the day too. Please check out the event page here for more details. If you can't make it you can order the album from Cadiz here. Leigh Heggarty has his very own Blog "Leigh's Mad World of Guitars" and you can also check out our thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast special episode with Leigh. if you search and subscribe at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or Mixcloud or you can listen/download directly from SoundCloud below:

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 2: Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC

Alvin Gibbs "Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Vol. 2”

Here’s another rollicking, rip-roaring Rock ‘n’ Roll memoir from U.K. Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs courtesy of the always excellent Time & Matter Recordings publishing wing Tome and Metre. “Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Vol. 2” picks up the tale from the aftermath of Alvin’s sudden and unexpected dismissal from the Subs in 1983 and ends some 11 years later with a cliff-hanger phone call from Charlie Harper and a tantalising offer. First of all, I was pleasantly surprised to read in the foreword that Alvin and T&M have decided to expand this thoroughly entertaining autobiography series to a trilogy of books with Volume 3 hopefully due to be published at the end of the year. This will continue with Alvin’s adventures following that fateful phone call from Charlie right up to the present day. 

Cheap And Nasty in Berlin, 1991 by Mark Plummer

Anyway, back to Volume 2 which starts up with Alvin going through a bit of a musically quiet patch following his departure from the U.K. Subs and the realisation dawns that he might have to get some real work to make ends meet. So he gets a job as a Hospital Porter! This is where Alvin’s writing comes into its own and the descriptions of his day job are shot through with a hilarious, if occasionally morbid humour, when it comes to unexpected autopsies and navigating corpses on trolleys through the Hospital car parks. It’s like a cross between Carry on Doctor and the best of Dave Allen’s sketch show. In fact, near death experiences loom large throughout Volume 2 – whether its narrowly avoiding drug overdoses, being hit by an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter Scale or getting his parachute cords twisted during a sky dive, Alvin certainly does get into some scrapes. A lot of the danger and the drama however, does seem to stem from one person and that’s Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy. On one hand, his - what can only be described as a love/hate - relationship with Andy does offer Alvin quite a lot of opportunities including the chance to join Iggy Pop’s band for his “Instinct” period world tour and the chance to replace Sami Yaffa in Hanoi Rocks. However, the hand that gives can also take away and Andy’s hedonistic lifestyle often scuppers the best opportunities that the pair find themselves in. 

Alvin on stage (centre) with Iggy Pop in 1988 by Paul McAlpine

Along with Andy, it’s also Alvin’s relationship with his American wife Mary that’s at the heart of Volume 2 and the strains on their marriage caused by a life in Rock ‘n’ Roll music are laid bare with a searing honesty. The couple move to San Francisco and L.A. where Alvin is immersed in the local music scenes. He tells us of his bands Revolver and Broken Glass and his relationships with Timo Kaltio and Nasty Suicide and mixing with Hollywood stars such as Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, James Russo and most impressively (to me at least…) George Wendt or Norm from “Cheers”.  There’s some funny tales of auditions including an offer from Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s to try out for her band World’s Cutest Killers and an infuriating encounter with John Lydon’s brother Martin.

Alvin in Revolver, 1986

Things do get better after that thankfully, Guns N Roses cover the Subs “Down on the Farm” on their “Spaghetti Incident” LP, there’s a reunion in New York with Charlie Harper and Nicky Garratt and then of course, Andy McCoy recommends Alvin to Iggy Pop. Although the “Instinct” tour is covered in Alvin’s excellent book “Neighbourhood Threat – On Tour with Iggy Pop” he does add quite a bit of extra background info and gossip to his time spent touring the world with Iggy, which makes for fascinating reading. The book ends in 1994 and his time with Cheap & Nasty, which sadly is beset by the usual music industry problems and hassles with management and record labels. It’s another thoroughly satisfying read and as I mentioned in my review of “Volume 1”, Alvin excels with his evocative reminiscing of travels and experiences in places such as India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Japan and this lifts his books far above any standard Rock ‘n’ Roll memoir. Although, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of on-the-road debauchery thrown in for good measure! I’m already looking forward to “Volume 3”.

Alvin with the U.K. Subs photo by Retro Man Blog

To order the book please check out Time & Matter here. For our feature on "Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Vol. 1” please check out the Blog Archive here. Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants official page is here and more info on the U.K. Subs can be found here. Thanks to Mark & Rob at Time & Matter.

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Singles of 2021

Well, 2021 has been another great year for new music despite the obvious and ongoing hardships of the pandemic as is evident in the four superb Retrosonic Podcast new release specials that we've put out this year. Listed below are twenty of our favourite Singles of 2021, so please do click on the highlighted links to investigate these fantastic bands and records further. You can hear tracks from most of the featured bands in Retrosonic Podcasts Episode 42 "The After-Party After The Party From Hell", Episode 43 "Kiss Me I'm Vaccinated", Episode 44 "Sonic Love" and Episode 45 "Waking Up The Band". I hope you find something you like from this wonderful selection! For our LPs of 2021 please check here.

 

1. The Courettes "R.I.N.G.O." (Damaged Goods)

 2. Channel Three "This Is London/Small Flat By The Sea" (Static Wax)

3. Jamie Perrett "Masquerade of Love"

4. Ian Kay "Clown/Love Wasn't Built In A Year" (Antifaz)

5. Sounds Incarcerated & Tapioca Tundra "Split Single" (Spinout Nuggets)

6. Gatuplan "Punkhjärta"

7. Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants "State of Grace" (Time & Matter)

8.  Stupidity "Waking Up The Band" (Red on Red)

9.  Suzi Moon "Call The Shots"

10. April March & Olivia Jean "Palladium" (Third Man)

 

11. Graham Day "Memphis Train" (Spinout Nuggets)

12. The Sound Station "Down To The City"

13. The Jack Cades "Infectious Covers E.P."

14. Los Pepes "Want You Back" (Black Wax)

15. Killer Kin "Sonic Love"

16. Spizzenergi "Valentine's Day" (Holy Dotage)

17. Monkey & Friends "Sharkbite"

18. The Hannah Barberas "Party From Hell" (Spinout Nuggets)

19. The Shadracks "Pray" (Damaged Goods)

20. Auntie Vegetable - Chives From Hell (Spinout Nuggets)

 

You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Mixcloud, Apple Podcasts and Soundcloud. Our favourite Compilations, Reissues and Books of 2021 are coming soon.

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 43 "Kiss Me, I'm Vaccinated"

Welcome to Episode 43 of Retrosonic Podcast "Kiss Me, I'm Vaccinated" which is another non-retro show featuring 20 superb brand new International Garage Rock 'n' Soul, Punk, Indie, Psych and Power Pop releases from France, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK. Listen in and celebrate the creative talents and spirit of some of our favourite musicians, record companies and artists who are producing such great music in these difficult times. We kick off with the Garage Rock 'super-group' The Sanitizers, who provide us with this episode's title track and we spotlight Time & Matter Recordings with two new U.K. Subs related singles from Charlie Harper and Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants. There's The Limiñanas and their collaboration with the DJ and Producer Laurent Garnier and we play new releases from Jamie Perrett, Ian Kay and his former Missing Souls bandmate Elsa Capella. Then we have Mike Whittaker from The Baron Four's new project Paper Lips and some scorching Garage Punk Rock from The Jackets, Stupidity, Seeds of 77, The Routes, The Fadeaways and Las Aspiradoras. There's some classic Power Pop from Smiley's Friends and The Speedways and The Galileo 7's lockdown alter-ego Sounds Incarcerated offer up their take on a Punk Rock classic. Then there are new releases from two of our favourite labels - firstly Damaged Goods provide us with another immense wall of sound from The Courettes and there's a track from the highly rated Keeley's new EP which is out via Dimple Discs Records. We close the show with The Stranglers latest single, a beautiful and moving tribute to Dave Greenfield. I really hope you like this stunning collection of new music and I would kindly recommend clicking on the highlighted links below for more information on how you can buy the featured records and support these wonderful Bands, Artists and Record labels. Turn up the volume, sit back and enjoy!

 

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 43 "Kiss Me, I'm Vaccinated"

Track-listing (please click on the highlighted links below for more info...)

The Sanitizers "Kiss Me, I'm Vaccinated"

Jamie Perrett "Masquerade of Love"

The Limiñanas & Laurent Garnier "Saul"

The Jackets "Steam Queen"

Ian Kay "Love Wasn't Built In A Year"

Elsa Capella "Good Woman"

Paper Lips "Up And Down"

The Courettes "Hop The Twig" (Damaged Goods Records)

Stupidity "Stupid Like Me" (featuring Keith Streng of The Fleshtones)

Las Aspiradoras "Chicoperro" (Hotel Records)

The Routes "Mesmerised"

The Fadeaways "Bad Dreams"

Seeds of 77 "Thief of Love" (Sounds of The Suburbs Records)

Smiley's Friends "Women Are From Venus"

The Speedways "Starry Eyes"

Charlie Harper And The Sub Machine "Post War Punks" (Time & Matter Records)

Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants "State of Grace" (Time & Matter Records)

Keeley "The Glitter And The Glue" (Dimple Discs Records)

Sounds Incarcerated "Gary Gilmore's Eyes"

The Stranglers "And If You Should See Dave..."

Retrosonic Podcast is available to listen/download from Soundcloud or you can subscribe and stream at Spotify and iTunes/Apple Podcasts - all for free! This episode's cover star Amy K-B.

Alvin Gibbs "Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories" (Tome & Metre Publishing)

Diminished Responsibility cover

This excellent new book from U.K. Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs "Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories" (the first from those good folks at Time & Matter) works on all levels – whether it be as an evocative autobiography, travelogue and tour diary or a thoughtful take on the various machinations of the music industry over the years. Take your pick, Alvin has all bas(s)es superbly covered within these fast-turning pages. Starting off with a foreword by Henry Rollins, we are soon plunged into Alvin’s earliest childhood memories and his first love, surprisingly not music but football, both as a handy player and then as a passionate supporter of his local team Crystal Palace. He soon gets hooked by the music bug though and inspired by Glam Rock he forms various bands with school friends and ends up striking up an unlikely friendship with Guy Stevens, the inspired, if somewhat erratic, producer of Mott The Hoople and The Clash’s “London Calling”. Alvin then gets sucked into the burgeoning London Punk scene, seeing early bands in legendary venues like the Roxy but it’s experiencing the Ramones play at the Croydon Greyhound that really seals the deal and he joins Cambridge based Punks The Users. He then lands playing bass for Brian James who had just left The Damned to form his own band, The Brains, later to become The Hellions and there are some hilarious tales of Brian’s less than benevolent handling of the tour expenses. Alvin then recalls his audition with the U.K. Subs which would be the first encounter of an on-off relationship that endures to this very day and, as we are about to discover, would go on to provide so many experiences that he will soon be publishing Volume 2 of these memoirs.

Alvin Gibbs onstage with the U.K. Subs - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Alvin’s recollections are shot through with a conscience which may be one reason why he re-wrote his (initially rather discreet) first book about touring with Iggy Pop. He mentions that he struggled against expected social conventions of the time such as pressure from family versus becoming an all-out Rock ’n’ Roll monster. But therein lies the charm of the story. For example, this paradox leads him to get married at an early age because he felt it was the right thing to do but it only causes him sleepless nights, in more ways than one, when he can’t stop himself from succumbing to the pleasures of being on tour. It’s these frank, soul searching elements that elevate the book to another level and prevents it being much more than just another lurid Rock ’n’ Roll memoir. Don’t get me wrong, there are enough amusing, sometimes eye-opening vignettes of on-the-road bad behaviour, particularly when the Anti-Nowhere League and Hanoi Rocks are also involved. But despite his honest recollections of these wild adventures, Alvin comes across as a likeable and thoughtful person who manages to find the time to discover the joys of foreign travel amongst the hectic tour schedules and after-show carousing. For example, his vivid portrayal of New York and his evident passion for places as diverse as Florence in Italy and Austin in Texas are really evocative and you can understand why he now resides in France, seemingly someone totally at ease with different cultures thanks, I’m sure to his globe-trotting experiences as a touring musician. It’s not all seen through rose-tinted glasses though as is evident in the hair-raising encounters with right wing factions in Germany, a sobering visit to the Dachau concentration camp and even run-ins with Rednecks and Hell’s Angels in the States, which he compares to the movie Easy Rider. 

Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants "Ghost Train"

However, it’s in his description of the U.K. Subs ground-breaking but ultimately ill-fated tour of Poland in 1983 where his writing really hits its stride. The Subs were the first Punk band to play there and they experienced not only their largest crowds and biggest venues but the intense, claustrophobic atmosphere of life behind the Iron Curtain as the Solidarity movement gained momentum. But let’s rewind a bit and I’ll let you in on a selection of other goodies that you will encounter as we accompany Alvin on his literary tour bus. There are encounters with John Lydon, Billy Idol and Arturo Vega in New York, there’s The Cramps, The Police and Thin Lizzy and some less than pleasant experiences with Adam Ant and Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden. There’s loads of interesting snippets of information and gossip for U.K. Subs fans and various vignettes that could come straight from the movies “Almost Famous” and “Spinal Tap”, from death defying air journeys to Drummer Steve Roberts spectacular ego-driven meltdown. There are backstage punch-ups and the reasons for original rhythm section Paul Slack and Pete Davies leaving the band. We discover the secret behind the ‘live’ album “Crash Course” and how their stint at Jacobs studio in rural Farnham inspired the Guns n’ Roses favourite “Down on The Farm”. We learn how the Subs’ press photos for “Keep On Running” caused a furore amongst the Hardcore Year Zero Punk fraternity and find out how the band got scrubbed from Top of The Pops. It’s all here and more…! 

Alvin Gibbs onstage with the U.K. Subs - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Obviously, Alvin opens up on the relationships with his various band-mates but I was a bit surprised that guitarist Nicky Garratt remains an elusive figure throughout the book. Nicky, it seems generally preferred to do his own thing on tour, not partaking in the usual on the road chaos around him, and in fact even gets labelled a Boy Scout at one point. However, it’s not until the very last chapter where Alvin explains the unexpected twist regarding the band’s split in 1983 that he expands on the importance of Garratt’s role. Admitting that Garratt played a major part in bringing Charlie’s somewhat sketchy ideas for songs to life and how he tried his best in the studio to rescue the disappointing “Diminished Responsibility” LP, not forgetting his incendiary live performances. Yes, the way the band ended here comes as a bit of a surprise, not what I was expecting at all and I won’t go into the details here, you’ll just have to buy yourself a copy to find out! The book is the first to be published by Time & Matter Recordings new publishing wing Tome & Metre and can be ordered directly from here. Keep an eye on their site for news on the forthcoming Volume 2.

You can hear my colleague Paul Slattery's favourite Subs track and a song from Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants in Retrosonic Podcast Episode 32 (see below). Paul photographed the U.K. Subs for various single and album covers such as "Stranglehold" and "Original Punks, Original Hits".

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 32 "Is It On - Is It Off"

Useful links - Please click on the highlighted links below for further information

Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants - Facebook page

Time & Matter Recordings - Official web-site

Time & Matter Recordings - Facebook page

Alvin Gibbs - Some Weird Sin: On Tour With Iggy Pop

U.K. Subs - Official web-site

Retrosonic Podcast - with Leigh Heggarty from the Disobedient Servants & Ruts DC
Retro Man Blog - Alvin Gibbs archive features

Retrosonic Podcast Lockdown Lowdown Episode 2 with Leigh Heggarty from Ruts DC

Leigh Heggarty at The 100 Club - Photo by Terry Heggarty

In the second episode of our Lockdown Lowdown series, we welcome Ruts DC guitarist Leigh Heggarty into the virtual Retrosonic Podcast studio. Leigh talks us through some of his most memorable musical moments from hearing The Beatles for the first time to gigs and records that made an impact on him and his guitar playing, right through to the present day touring and recording with Ruts DC. Along the way we learn about his encounters with Henry Rollins, Wayne Kramer, The Stranglers, Alvin Gibbs, Wilko Johnson and of course Paul Fox, Segs and Dave Ruffy of The Ruts/Ruts DC. There's also a look back on the now legendary but hugely emotional benefit show for Paul Fox, his last with The Ruts, which featured Henry Rollins on lead vocals and many special guests including The Damned, Misty In Roots, U.K. Subs, Tom Robinson and many more. This hugely enjoyable trip down memory lane is soundtracked by some of Leigh's favourite tunes from The Beatles, Marc Bolan & T-Rex, The Who, Rory Gallagher, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. Feelgood, The Stranglers and The Flamin' Groovies and of course The Ruts. There's also a pick of Leigh's own work with The Price, Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants and of course, Ruts DC.

Full Tracklisting:

Ruts DC "Music Must Destroy"

The Beatles "Ticket To Ride"

Marc Bolan & T-Rex "Metal Guru"

The Who "I Can See For Miles"

Rory Gallagher "Tatoo'd Lady"

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band "Candy's Room"

Dr. Feelgood "Roxette"

The Who "Won't Get Fooled Again"

The Price "So What About Love"

The Ruts "West One (Shine On Me)"

Ruts DC "Mirror Smashed"

Ruts DC "Psychic Attack"

The Stranglers "Hanging Around"

Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants "Ghost Train"

The Flamin' Groovies "Shake Some Action"

Ruts DC are keeping busy during the lockdown, broadcasting regular Ruts TV episodes, details of which can be found at their official Facebook page here. They are now taking orders for a new live album "40 Years of The Crack" recorded throughout the 2019 "Crack 40" tour and expertly mixed in the USA by Lee Groves. This very limited edition release will be available with unique double gatefold packaging containing two beautiful clear vinyl platters from 5th June 2020. Each gatefold sleeve will be lovingly signed by Segs, Ruffy and Leigh and will include a full download code sent to you personally on the morning of release while you await delivery of your package. You can order the album and keep up to date on all Ruts related news at their official web-site here. As discussed in the episode, you can also check out Leigh's excellent Blog/Tour Diary "Leigh's Mad World of Guitars" here. Info on Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedients Servants releases can be found at the Time & Matter web-site here and you can check out our features on the band in our Blog archive too.

Podcover photo by Terry Heggarty. Subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for FREE at iTunes or at our Soundcloud site/archive here. This episode can also be downloaded or streamed below.

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 2: Leigh Heggarty of Ruts D

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 38: Get Sa-Ni-Ti-Zin' - with The Parkinsons, BMX Bandits, Elephant Stone, Autoramas, Shack etc.

Photo (and mask) by Maki

In Episode 38 of Retrosonic Podcast, Steve from Retro Man Blog plays some great brand new and recent releases from the worlds of Garage Rock, Punk, Indie, Psych and Power Pop to help ease the Lockdown Blues. In this episode there's a look back at some of the gigs we did manage to attend so far this year and there are songs from Jah Wobble (featuring Keith Levene & Richard Dudanski from Public Image Ltd, Mark Stewart from The Pop Group and Youth from Killing Joke), Shack as Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band played this rare Shack song at Earth in Hackney, The Parkinsons, The Past Tense and Elephant Stone. Then there's more brand new releases from The Jack Cades, Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants, The Sanitizers, Martin Savage & The Jiggerz, The Veras, Palooka 5, The In-Fuzzed, Groovy Uncle and Goodbye Victory Road. There's a look back at our last proper night out at the Poor Cow bar in Tokyo before the Lockdown and a track from the owner's old band, Japanese Punk legends Teengenerate. Then, inspired by the superb "Teenage Superstars" documentary there's a couple of classics from BMX Bandits and The Shop Assistants. Finally, as it should have been our favourite event of the year, Hipsville-A-Go-Go down in Margate, there's one of the best bands we've seen at the Weekender over the years, Brazil's Autoramas. Anyway, here's the full track-listing, please click on the highlighted links below for more information on the relevant band, artist, record company, promoter etc.

THE SANITIZERS - "Sa-Ni-Ti-Zin' "

MARTIN SAVAGE & THE JIGGERZ - "This Broken Heart"

ALVIN GIBBS & THE DISOBEDIENT SERVANTS - "History"

AUTORAMAS - "Homem-Cliche" 

THE PARKINSONS - "Heavy Metal"
JAH WOBBLE - "A Very British Coup"

ELEPHANT STONE - "Darker Time, Darker Space/The Court and Jury/Land of Dead"

SHACK - "Up"

THE IN-FUZZED - "Motor City Baby"

TEENGENERATE - "Dressed In Black"

THE STRIPES - "Tell Me Your Name"

THE PAST TENSE - "She's Got The Time"

GOODBYE VICTORY ROAD - "Grandad's Miscellaneous Military Memorabilia"

GROOVY UNCLE - "God on a Bike"

PALOOKA 5 - "Ultramarine"

THE VERAS - "I'm Not Afraid"

THE JACK CADES - "Dead Star"

THE SHOP ASSISTANTS - "Safety Net"

BMX BANDITS - "E102"

Please kindly support the bands! This Episode's cover star Eric Baconstrip. Photo (and mask) by Maki. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS licence. Thanks to Amy K-B, Lee Grimshaw at Spinout Nuggets, Mark Chadderton at Time & Matter, Michel Moimême at Wattsville, Daniel Taylor, Pat McVicar and Eric Baconstrip. You can subscribe to Retrosonic on iTunes or listen/download directly from our Soundcloud archive, all episodes still available.

Alvin Gibbs - U.K. Subs Bassist to Release New Autobiography "Diminished Responsibility" & "History" E.P. with The Disobedient Servants

Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants

Time & Matter Recordings have announced their brand new venture "Tome & Metre Publishing" with news of the forthcoming release of the first-of-two-volumes of U.K. Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs memoirs entitled "Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Vol. 1". In the book's foreward Henry Rollins writes "Alvin puts his experiences across with energy and excellent detail, cheerful, hilarious and armed with insight, you are immediately pulled in by this book’s contents. A mark of not only a great story teller, but of one who has truly lived in full and continues to do so". The book's tentative release date is July 1st, with pre-orders available sometime in May or June so please keep an eye on the T&M web-site here for further announcements. To help T&M with the funding of this new project, they are offering fans the chance to have their name printed in the book for only £5.00, for which your full name will be featured, alongside your town or city and your country, in what will be the world’s first ever book about your favourite band – the U.K. Subs. Please be aware that this payment doesn’t buy you a physical copy of the book, but when it goes to pre-order later this year (retailing at £15.00) you will have played your part in a bit of U.K. Subs book publishing history.

"Diminished Responsibility" book cover

"History" EP Cover by Gaye Black

Talking of History - Time & Matter will be releasing a fabulous new four song E.P. by Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants entitled "History". The record is limited to 500 hand numbered copies and comes as a double 7" Black & White vinyl single in a gatefold cover designed by Gaye Black, formerly Gaye Advert, the iconic bassist with The Adverts, now a succesful artist. The four new songs "Bad About You", "History", "If Only" and "Pavlovian" continue with the high standard set by the Disobedient Servants' excellent debut album. Alvin is backed by his Subs bandmate, drummer Jamie Oliver and Ruts DC guitarist Leigh Heggarty. The release date for the "History" EP is 30th June and it's now available to pre-order from the Time & Matter web-site here. Alvin has punctuated his stints with the U.K. Subs with spells in Urban Dogs, Cheap And Nasty and of course in one of Iggy Pop's most celebrated backing line-ups around the release of the "Instinct" album. I will never forget a superb show at the Brixton Academy on the "Instinct" tour in 1988, Iggy was in a back-to-basics mood after the commercial success of "Blah Blah Blah" and had assembled a suitably rocking line-up including Alvin and Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy. In fact, you can read all about Alvin's experiences of working with Iggy in his thoroughly entertaining book "Neighbourhood Threat: On Tour with Iggy Pop". You can also read our review of Alvin's excellent debut album with The Disobedient Servants in the Blog archive here. 

Alvin Gibbs - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants "Your Disobedient Servant" - Debut Solo LP From U.K. Subs & Iggy Pop Bassist

Alvin Gibbs, the current U.K. Subs & former Iggy Pop bassist is due to release his debut solo album "Your Disobedient Servant" on the excellent Time & Matter Recordings label at the end of January. It will be released on limited edition red and white splatter coloured vinyl packaged with a double-sided full colour insert along with a CD of the album and a download code that you can redeem via Bandcamp. Throughout the album Alvin handles lead and backing vocals, bass and rhythm guitar and has assembled an impressive star-studded band, entitled The Disobedient Servants, to back him up. There are some legendary names from the worlds of Punk, Trash and Alternative Rock including Brian James from The Damned and Lords of The New Church, Leigh Heggarty from Ruts DC, James Stevenson from Chelsea and Generation X and Alvin's U.K. Subs colleague Jamie Oliver on drums and percussion. The good thing is that despite the many special guests, "Your Disobedient Servant" still retains a cohesive sound that feels like it's a been produced by a 'real' band. This is mainly down to Alvin's impressive vocals that hold everything together along with a great powerful production. It's also a varied album that runs through some of the musical styles that Alvin has been involved with over the years from sleazy Glam-tinged Rock'n'Roll to a full-on Punk Rock and fans of the U.K. Subs, Hanoi Rocks and Iggy Pop in particular are going to love this record.

Alvin on stage with U.K. Subs - Photo by Paul Slattery

Lyrically, the album could be seen as a soundtrack to Alvin's candid autobiography "Some Weird Sin: On Tour With Iggy Pop", in particular the revised edition which replaced the earlier, and slightly more restrained "Neighbourhood Threat". The book is packed full of often brutally honest confessional tales of a Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle on the road with Iggy Pop when he was touring the world to promote the back to basics album "Instinct". I was lucky enough to see a couple of the shows on this tour and it was definitely one of the best line-ups that Iggy had assembled. His band also included Andy McCoy from Hanoi Rocks on guitar and Paul Garisto from The Psychedelic Furs on drums and they were absolutely mind-blowing gigs. "Your Disobedient Servant" opens with the short sharp shock of "Arterial Pressure" a crunching 2 minute tribute to Joey Ramone and the scene is set for the thoroughly satisfactory listen that is to follow. The album includes both sides of the recent limited edition 7" Single "Ghost Train" & "Clumsy Fingers" which had cover artwork designed by another legendary Punk bassist, Gaye Black from The Adverts. "Ghost Train" features Leigh Heggarty from Ruts DC on guitars and has Alvin in great voice, booming out an impressive Iggy style baritone. The flip-side "Clumsy Fingers" is an absolute belter of a song, rocket fuelled by Brian James from The Damned and Lords of The New Church. It recalls the tale of an 'amorous duel' and starts off with a great drum beat before a killer bass riff comes in. You can hear "Clumsy Fingers" in Episode 32 of our Retrosonic Podcast where my colleague Paul Slattery chats about his time photographing the U.K. Subs for various weekly music papers such as Sounds. Some of his photos were used on the back cover of the "Warhead" 7" single and the front of the compilation "Original Punks Original Hits".

Alvin Gibbs - Photo by Aleksander Korobczuk

"Dumb" is another highlight, driven along on an irresistible hand-clap rhythm and a great guitar motif. "Camden Town Gigolo" featuring the guitar talents of James Stevenson from Chelsea and Generation X, slows the pace a bit and is built around a circular bass riff as it tells the tale of a fading Rock'n'Roll casualty coming to terms with the ageing process. "Back to Mayhem" with Steve Crittall from The Godfathers on lead and rhythm guitars is a full-on Hardcore Punk rush that will certainly appeal to fans of the current U.K. Subs line-up. Here, Alvin admits that he struggles with dealing with the come-down following a long period of life on the road and having to face reality, he craves the excitement and danger. "When life is good, confidence high, I need a dose of chaos, some poison with the wine, back to mayhem, I’m in too straight a place, comfort is a curse". The brooding "Polemic" is one of my favourites on the album with slide guitar by Leigh Heggarty from Ruts DC, it chronicles the impact of seeing his very first live bands in the Seventies and how they "conditioned my ambition and set me free, it’s the blood that fuels my guitar". "I’m Not Crying Now" features Barrington Francis from The Saints on lead and rhythm guitar and it's a candid vignette of a relationship that turns sour when one person finds out the other is maybe not quite as famous and wealthy as was hoped. "Deep As Our Skin" closes the album in some style, it's a classic slice of sleazy New York Dolls Rock 'n' Roll courtsey of Mick Rossi from Slaughter & The Dogs that aptly soundtracks the songs subject matter of a raucous night in CBGB's and Manhattan.

Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants will be playing some shows in 2019, including this year’s Rebellion Festival in Blackpool and other dates are being announced now. Check out the official U.K. Subs web-site for further details. The album can be ordered from Time & Matter Recordings or downloaded at the Bandcamp site. Alvin's superb book "Some Weird Sin" can be ordered here. With thanks to Mark and Rob at Time & Matter, please check out their excellent and official U.K. Subs web-site and archive here.