Charlie Harper, the founder and lead vocalist of the UK Subs, had a musical background in R&B and pub rock before being influenced by punk bands like The Damned to shift his focus towards the genre.
The UK Subs, formed in 1977, were a key part of the London punk scene at The Roxy, with Harper's distinctive Cockney vocals being a defining feature of the band's sound. The lineup included Nicky Garratt on guitar, Paul Slack on bass, and a succession of drummers.
Although the band adopted punk stylings, their music was heavily influenced by R&B, with a fast-paced approach that drew comparisons to bands like Sham 69 and The Angelic Upstarts. However, the UK Subs lacked the skinhead following that these bands enjoyed.
Throughout the late 1970s, the UK Subs released several singles that made it into the lower reaches of the Top 30, including "Stranglehold", "Tomorrow's Girls", a cover of The Zombies' "She's Not There", and "Warhead". Their first two studio albums, "Another Kind of Blues" and "Brand New Age", also charted in the lower reaches of the album charts.
In 1983, Nicky Garratt, Alvin Gibbs, and Kim Wylie left the band, leaving Charlie Harper to rebuild the lineup. Garratt would go on to rejoin the band on several occasions over the next 25 years, while Harper continued to tour and record with an ever-changing lineup.
The UK Subs are notable for their ambitious project to record an album for every letter of the alphabet, which they achieved with the release of "Yellow Leader" in 2015.
