U.K. Subs at Sub89 Reading, Friday January 10th 2025

Just before Xmas, the U.K. Subs announced that guitarist Steve Straughan was to leave the band after nine succesful years due to upcoming surgery, of course, we wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully, he'll be able to continue with Hi-Fi Spitfires in the very near future. Somewhat selfishly after reading the news I got a bit concerned as we had tickets for the Subs gig at Sub89 in Reading and I wasn't sure if the show would be going ahead. But, at short notice in stepped Abe Inglis, guitarist with Criminal Mind and any trepidation we felt of how such a late replacement would cope was soon put to rest as he put in a hugely impressive performance considering his first show with the band was only the night before at the 100 Club. I suppose I needn't have worried, as after the show I overheard frontman Charlie Harper talking to a fan about the latest line-up change, "I'm a football fan" he said "...and no matter who is in starting line-up, you still support the team and that's what it's like with the Subs". It was an amusing analogy and I had to smile as the band who have probably had more members pass through their ranks than The Fall and The Blue Aeroplanes put together have only gone and done it again. 

 

 

I asked Abe how many rehearsals he'd had before the 100 Club show and he said "none, the gig was it!" He told me he'd been a fan and friends with the band for some time now and knew most of the songs, although he had to check recent YouTube videos as often the live versions were different to the original recordings. He admitted to a brief attack of the nerves when he went to smash the opening chord to first number "Rockers" at the 100 Club, "I just looked down at my hands and suddenly realised I'm playing in the U.K.  Subs". When he hit that very same chord at Sub89 in Reading as the atomic explosion of intro music "World War" faded, nerves were certainly something that Abe didn't seem to be troubled by, in fact his supremely confident display was mightily impressive throughout the show. I don't think anyone would have guessed it was only his second ever gig with the band, he fitted in perfectly, not just with his playing but it was a superb visual performance too, reminding me of Mick Jones of The Clash. Funnily enough, he also reminded me of former Subs bassist Paul Slack from back in their heyday of Top of The Pops!

 

 

Of course, current bassist Alvin Gibbs is still one of the coolest bass players around and you can see why he fitted in so well with Iggy Pop's band in those great days around his "Instinct" tour. Clad all in black with a low slung black Fender bass, his meaty John Entwistle riffing during "Down on The Farm" and "You Don't Belong" in particular were a delight. Drummer Stefan also impressed and I loved the quick fire drum beat in the middle of "Endangered Species", very cool. The legend that is Charlie Harper continues to amaze, it's almost impossible to believe he celebrated his 80th birthday last year, he looks and sounds fantastic. The iconic and charismatic Punk Rock rabble-rouser is on fine form, leading us all in a singalong of "Warhead" and I feel 16 years old again, punching the air and humming along to the bassline that hundreds of young bass players (myself included) taught themselves to play back in the day. 

 

 

Talking of Subs basslines, the classic "Tomorrow's Girls" has always been one of my favourites, and of course it got an outing tonight. In fact, the riff was used in "Throw It To The Universe" by Swedish Psych Rockers, The Soundtrack of Our Lives. In our Retrosonic Podcast with frontman Ebbot Lundberg, he told me that they incorporated the riff into a track on their final album as an homage to the band as they actually formed their legendary pre-TSOOL band Union Carbide Productions after meeting at a Subs gig in Gothenburg back in 1981. It was a nice and heartfelt touch, paying such a tribute to one of their influences. Some personal highlights of the Subs' Reading show for me included "Barbie's Dead", "Limo Life", "Emotional Blackmail" and of course the classic "Stranglehold" but there was something for everyone in a brilliantly paced set-list. The appreciative and good-natured Reading crowd were treated to a triumph of a show that proved exactly why live music can be so very special and life-affirming. Long may the Subs continue to do what they do best. 

Check out our review here on Alvin's latest fantastic book "Diminished Responsibility - My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Vol. 3" (published by Time & Matter) and the good news is that I hope to be speaking to Alvin about the book in our next Retrosonic Podcast, so please subscribe to make sure you don't miss out on further news. Charlie's memoirs are also completed and discussions with publishers will be taking place once he gets back from the "Tokyo Rock 'n' Swindle" JP Subs show in Japan. This looks like a great event organized by the wonderfully named Punk/vintage store More Tea Vicar and also features Gaye (Advert) Black, Tenpole Tudor and various other Japanese bands and DJ's.

You can subscribe to our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here for free to see more videos from the U.K. Subs Reading Sub89 show and loads more original live videos too...

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Favourite Books of 2024

 

Here's a selection of twelve of our favourite books published this year, please click on the highlighted links throughout the feature below for more information.

1. "Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence" by Will Hodgkinson

Jarvis Cocker interviews Author Will Hodgkinson and Lawrence (Felt, Denim, Go-Kart Mozart, Mozart Estate about the book at Foyles, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

2. "Too Much Too Young: The 2 Tone Records Story" by Daniel Rachel

Author Daniel Rachel (centre) with Pauline Black of The Selecter and Bedders of Madness at the book launch event, South Bank Centre London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

3. "A Taste of Ink, The Prisoners Sentenced By Their Fans" Edited by Elinor Crockford, Jeremy Stride, Thomas Buch & Michael Langer

Editors Jeremy Stride, Elinor Crockford, Michael Langer and Thomas Buch with their book before The Prioners reunion show at The Roundhouse - Photo by Retro Man Blog. You can check out a review of the gig and see more information on the book at our Retro Man Blog feature here.

4. "Forever Changes: The Authorised Biography of Arthur Lee and Love" by John Einarson

You can see our review with photos and videos of the Love Revisited with Johnny Echols "Forever Changes" gig at Shepherds Bush Empire here. Photo by Retro Man Blog

5. "Diminished Responsibility: My Life As a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories, Vol. 3" by Alvin Gibbs

Check out our review of "Diminished Responsibility Vol. 3 at Retro Man Blog here.

6. "In The Jingle Jangle Jungle: Keeping Time with The Brian Jonestown Massacre" by Joel Gion

7. "Sixteen Again: How Pete Shelley and Buzzcocks Changed Manchester Music (and Me)" by Paul Hanley

8. "Under A Rock: A Memoir" by Chris Stein of Blondie

9. "Folklore Rising: An Artist's Journey Through The British Ritual Year" by Ben Edge

Ben Edge at the screening of his documentary "Frontline Folklore" at the Garden Cinema, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

10. "1967 - How I Got There and Why I Never Left" by Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn performing during the Q&A to promote "1967" at Foyles in London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

11. "Road Eyes 20:20 Vision, Photo Tales with The Clash & The Mescaleros" by Barry 'Scratchy Sounds' Myers

You can hear our Retrosonic Podcast special with Scratchy discussing the book and his time with The Clash and Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros below...

Retrosonic Podcast · DJ Scratchy Sounds: Photo Tales with The Clash & Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros

12. "Days In Europa" by Richard Jobson of The Skids

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.

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.

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.

Retrosonic Podcast Lockdown Lowdown Episode 16 with Gaye (Advert) Black

For the latest episode of our Lockdown Lowdown Podcast series we welcome former bassist with The Adverts, Gaye Black into the virtual Retrosonic studio to discuss her life in Music and Art. In this thoroughly entertaining episode, Gaye takes us on a musical journey from growing up in a small town in north Devon and discovering music for the first time to buying her first record. We then discover what lured her into Rock 'n' Roll and what inspired her to play the bass. There are tales of her experiences of moving to London, being right at the heart of the early Punk Rock explosion and of course her time with The Adverts. This leads onto the bands and the characters she met and toured with along the way such as Iggy Pop, Lemmy and The Damned. We also cover her DJ'ing and the inspirations on her own Art as well as curating Art Exhibitions and working on the artwork for record covers by U.K. Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs. The episode is sound-tracked by Gaye's personal selection of her favourite songs from The Adverts and some of Gaye's most inspirational musical moments including Black Sabbath, Rolling Stones, The Stranglers, The Damned, The Beatles, Mayhem, Motorhead, The Phobics, Mayhem, Turbonegro, Cyanide Pills, The Men Who Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Iggy Pop, The Stooges, A Place To Bury Strangers, U.K. Subs and the Fireball XL5 Theme...! So, crank up the volume, sit back and enjoy!

Retrosonic Podcast · Gaye (Advert) Black of The Adverts

Track-listing (click on the highlighted band name for further information)

The Beatles "She Loves You"

Don Spencer "Theme From Fireball XL5"

The Rolling Stones "19th Nervous Breakdown"

Black Sabbath "Paranoid"

The Adverts "Gary Gilmore's Eyes"

The Stranglers "Walk On By"

The Adverts "One Chord Wonders"

The Adverts "Bored Teenagers"

Motorhead "Motorhead"

The Damned "Neat Neat Neat"

Iggy Pop "Lust For Life"

Iggy Pop "Tonight"

The Adverts "Love Songs"

The Adverts "Great British Mistake"

Mayhem "Freezing Moon"

Turbonegro "Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)"

The Phobics "When You're Dead"

Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy"

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing "Victoria's Secret"

Iggy & The Stooges "Search & Destroy"

Cyanide Pills "Suicide Bomber"

A Place To Bury Strangers "I Know I'll See You"

U.K. Subs "Warhead"

With many thanks to Gaye. For further information on Gaye's Artwork please check out her official Gaye Black Art web-site here. Retrosonic theme tune by Adam Donovan. Podcover photos and artwork by Minna Waring (top left), Retro Man Blog & Gaye Black. You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Soundcloud, Spotify or Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 

Correction from Gaye: "I meant the Marquee, not the 100 Club when I was talking about The Stranglers!" (22mins:23secs)

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

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