Charlie: No, no. Canada wasn’t booked on the tour but we were kind of hoping to do Canada later on this summer.
Oh really?
Charlie: We kind of don’t know yet if we can but we’re hoping.
Yeah. I saw you guys in Vancouver I think, Were you there in ’91 or so?
Charlie: Maybe even later, oh no no that’s probably the last time...
At Club Soda because that was my favorite show of all time.
Charlie: Yeah, that was probably the last time we were there. I remember it was a really, really good show.
I remember everyone in the pit went on to the stage with you, that was pretty cool. Everyone was singing I forget CID or something but yeah it was pretty cool. How about a brief history because I for one don’t know that much about when you started and stuff, When did it like start? What got you into punk, basically...
Charlie: <laugh> We got signed... We were going around town
with a bunch of win people and we went down to this lesbian club called
Shagarama and it was real, real good fun and guys could get in there if
they looked gay and we looked really, really gay because we were all dressed
up like Bowie freaks and that’s how kind of the punk fashion started, I
suppose. So, we could get in this lesbian club called Shagaramas and we
kind of went down there pretty regularly like every Friday or when we could.
They had live bands every Friday anyway and that kind of changed into the
Roxy where they had live bands almost every night. I was kind of playing
in a you know we didn’t call them punk bands though they were called pub
bands because we know against everyone was playing their own material and
it just developed. We were the Subs at the time, not the UK Subs the Subs
and we discovered there was a band called the Subs in Scotland so we changed
it to UK Subs. By the time Nicky came in to the band the UK Subs got started
and I put down to play at the Roxy cause I kind of new everyone there and
we kind of got to be the house band at one time in everytime someone flunked
out they called the UK Subs in they knew we could get a good crowd so we
started to be the house band. Everything came to a head and Sex Pistols
were touring America, Crass were in Europe, Siouxie was touring Great Britain
and everyone was out of London and everyone came to London and everyone
saw the UK Subs as almost the first punk band. So many hundreds of people
came to me and said ‘Oh, you were the first punk we ever saw.’ Because
they came to London and we just happened to be at the right place at the
right time.
What year was that?
Charlie: That was ’77 when we came into London, yeah...
Do you ever feel humbled by the fact that you’ve influenced so many people through your music?
Charlie: Not so much as I have tonight. That girl from The Fastbacks was here... I can’t think of her name now. That’s pretty funny, I’ve been talking to her all night. Not Jill. What’s her name, you must know her name.. Girl from The Fastbacks. Anyway, The Fastbacks have done a whole single of UK Subs songs on it and I said I’d love to meet these guys and we did, they were here tonight and it was just quite wonderful. But, the thing is they weren’t just like any versions of UK Subs they were really, really good versions and we really went, Wow, those are fucking brilliant!
It must be weird when someone is doing your own songs...
Charlie: After Guns and Roses doing one of our songs we kind-of take it quite easily now. <laugh>
What happens with that, do you guys get any royalties or anything?
Charlie: Yeah, we did get alot of royalties but we had a big court case going against our own publishers because we knew they were going to take the money and run. So we got this court case going and that money actually paid for us getting out of the publishing deal. Say for instance well this is not true, we got 30,000 sterling and then we had to pay the court case costs 27,000 sterling so we got a grand each from that little bit of money but then because we won the court case and everything and then another company took over our publishing company. We’ve been getting our money what was due to us, before we weren’t getting any money what was due to us.
I guess a band like that they’re out for the money themselves...
Charlie: No, no no... It was nothing to due with Guns n’ Roses they were letting the money go, they have to. It’s nothing to due with Guns n’ Roses, our own publishing company we had to take to court.
Oh, I see. Though, Punk can be both serious and fun what’s the most important aspect?
Charlie: Well, it’s a double edged sword isn’t it. You gotta be quite serious and try to be professional about it and we really pride ourselves that we can be professional and like when our truck broke down we thought that does it... Come on Nicky you know we’ve always made the gig. Just when we were planning what to do on the road side in the middle of nowhere a cop came along and I got a nice cop song now <laugh> or insanely horrible cop song cause I have to write a good one <chuckle>. Anyway, so a cop came along within about five minutes and took the guys to the nearest breakers yard, tow-truck yard and within a half an hour a tow truck came and then we drove to the town where that was from which was towards here and then took all our gear out of one truck and put it into another... The fun side should be when we go on the stage really it shouldn’t be too serious but because I was gonna like... But, today I kind of picked up on every little kind of serious thing and it wasn’t so much fun and it should of been fun today it was a great audience it should of been much fun and then we had our drummer really became very, very sick and I told Nicky on the way up that he was very sick and he didn’t realize he was so sick, he didn’t realize himself that he was so sick actually.
The flu going around or something?
Charlie: Not just flu but... The bass player from Anti-Flag and the rhythm guitarist from Anti-Flag have both became really, really seriously ill like bronchitis and everything all the symptoms you get with the flu but they could get more. They could be in danger of getting Pneumonia or something like that and that’s what we were frightened of getting. Yeah, there is a serious side and of course there is a fun side and I try and keep the fun side up and the serious side down as much as I can on the road. If anyone is miserable like why are you miserable <laugh> you are out here in Wyoming you shouldn’t be miserable.
What is your most memorable show you played? You’ve played alot but there must be one or two that stick out...
Charlie’s friend: That one with Poison Idea and Broken Bones, right?
Charlie: Oh yeah most definitely. Terry of Broken Bones done a back flip into the audience and the audience moved out of the way and he fell on his head. Yeah, I’ll never forget that.
Charlie’s Friend: Yeah. you and Gerry went out when...was playing and crushed about twelve people.
Charlie: Yeah, yeah that’s right. That was it, because they were trying to get out of the way of you and they perfected it when Tez came up. It happened tonight that one girl she kind of done a body bomb dive when you dive at the side of the swimming pool and your butt hits the water and it splashes.... They got out of the way and she went right through them, that was really frightening.
Are you able to support yourselves through the band or do you have day jobs as well?
Charlie: The band don’t usually have day jobs, no. I run the merchandise side of things in Europe so that’s kind of a full time job but that has something to do with the band I suppose so it’s not really what we call a 9-5. No, if you play with the Subs you don’t really have time to get a day job, you’re kind of always on the road.
What are you guys going to be doing now, what’s your future?
Charlie: We’re off to Portland to have some fun aren’t we?
Charlie’s friend: That’s right.
Charlie: <laugh> Have some real fun in a real pub. No, I’ll tell you what. What’s this club called, The Rock Candy? Great little venue, yeah. Get some proper full back speakers and you’ll be okay. The people here are brilliant you know kids, punkers everything... Brilliant. And, I’ve got a secret what I said happy, they were drinking this stuff...
Charlie’s friend: What is that?
Charlie: Apple Corn (liquor).
Charlie’s friend: Oh yeah, that’s good stuff.
Charlie: All the kids are on apple corn.
What are the future plans for the UK Subs?
Charlie: Going home. Soon as we go home we got to do some tree festivals in Europe and then we gotta do another six week tour of Great Britain.
Charlie’s friend: Six weeks in the UK?
Charlie: Yeah, because we’ve done six weeks here. It’s really funny because we’ve done six weeks in the US and now we gotta go back to do six weeks in little UK, yeah.
Any young bands that you like right now that you’ve heard, recently?
<Nicky comes in.>
Charlie: Of course uhm, I think it was my kind-of suggestion although I think Nicky probably had it in the back of his mind.
Nicky: What’s up?
Charlie: You played me the tape from Anti-Flag and then I think I said to you get these guys on tour with us. I was quite knocked out by their CD.
Nicky: Yeah, well they were the best band on my label at the time so we just went for it.
Charlie: Yeah it’s really good because they’re a great little band and they’re really brilliant live, we never get sick of seeing them so yeah they are going to be a good band. Back home there are alot of good young bands around. There’s a band that is just on their first CD called Pain who are very, very good and then there’s called Citizen Fish. There are alot of good little bands actually in England now coming up. But you know England is a bit like a do-it-yourself little cottage industry and they don’t want anything to do with the media, they don’t want anything to do with record companies like all rich record companies anyway. It’s complete do-it-yourself selling your records in the back of the bus. It really is like that in Europe now and making vinyl.
Vinyl. You don’t like CD’s?
Charlie: No, I got nothing against CD’s it’s all cause I don’t have a record player now. Well, I rarely had a record player, but... I collected CDs for about four years before I had a CD player and so I had about two hundred CDs by the time I got a CD player. See we’re very poor in England we don’t have all these things like VCR’s and all that kind of thing. But, we do stand by any release should by on all formats tapes and... I really get...coming in and saying oh we don’t make any money out of tapes or records but luckily they are still putting vinyl out.
It’s expensive to press vinyl though isn’t it? Because, there are less pressing plants then there was in the past...
Charlie: I don’t know and I don’t care as long as I do it.
I’m just saying, it’s harder to do now then in was in the past.
Charie: It’s like a small promotion kind of thing and it’s hard to sell. I don’t know how long we’ll continue it but we’re definitely going to continue it for as long as we can.
Any last words for the readers?
Charlie: Yes, follow your little alternative world and don’t give up on it because whatever you want to do you can do it, you’ll be good at it in time just stick by it and things will happen. Don’t give up on us, you’re the future. We’re the past, you’re the future.