By Jesse Davidson
“Fortune favors the bold”.
It’s an age old saying that stretches back as old as time and can be taken a variety of ways. For those who live and breathe the music they play, it means throwing out people’s expectations of what you “should” do and not wasting time to pursue your passion. Charlie Harper is a man who has been living a life of just that. He needs little introduction but we’re going to give him one anyway. Dubbed by many as the “Godfather of UK Punk”, Charlie Harper has been the lead singer and driving force behind the UK Subs since the band formed in late 1976. For over 35 years, they have been unrelentingly touring and spreading punk rock around the world. On January 27th, 2015, the UK Subs released Yellow Leader on Captain OI! Records. This stays concurrent with their goal of releasing an album for every letter of the alphabet beginning with A and soon to be ending with Z.
We were honored to have talked with him.
JD: Hey Charlie, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. How are you doing?
CH: Hi Jesse. The jetlag has gone and we feel fine. Hope you all are doing good too
JD: I really enjoyed watching the UK Subs live and in person. How did you guys enjoy your first time playing in Lancaster?
CH: The Moose Lodge was very basic but a great place to play. We don’t mind going back to basics at all and all the workers at the Moose were wonderful. The food was surprisingly wonderful too. We didn’t know that half the crowd ran outside to watch an argument. We thought they were thirsty and were going to their ice-boxes for beers. There was one girl who kept dancing through the whole show and she kept us going.
JD: What I’ve always admired about punk music is that at it’s best, it’s a community of people that really put everything they have into the music to keep it alive. You are a great example this ethos that people live by. Are you able to get a glimpse of this when you visit various towns on tour?
CH: That is the very reason that we are still able to tour. There are enough people that care. You’re so right in that it is a whole lot more than just the music. It is a global community.
JD: I know you must get this question often but can you share with us any bizarre or funny touring stories from gigging in America?
CH: The funny thing is, sitting here at the keys, it’s hard to recall. I just did a interview for a daily here (the Sunday Star) and they wanted all the dirt. I think you can still get it online.
The things we think are funny really aren’t funny at all, like throwing someone out the van for drinking and throwing up. But, they would stick their thumb out and get a ride in a Trans Am and beat us to the show.
I was shopping at a truck stop and the van left without me. While I was looking for the van, a truck stopped and as we went down the freeway, I saw the van going over the bridge to go back for me. I was at the show two hours before them and they wasted that time looking for me.
We always get friends and fans following us across states. They are old enough to drive but not to drink and we knew that our Hollywood show was a bar only show. We were on this tour with The Exploited and normally we would be first on but this promoter wanted Wattie (Buchan of The Exploited) on first. I knew he would start a fight, so I told all the kids to wait at the back door, when the fight starts I will open the door but the fight started sooner than I had thought. As I opened the back door and let everyone in, the bouncers were there with Wattie and the band to throw them out. The kids were thrown out with The Exploited. They saw the funny side but it took them a few years.
We played a gay biker bar in San Francisco (a different line up from today). Our Drummer Rab had a nickname for everyone. We had a roadie called Julian. Rab thought that sounded gay, so he named him ‘Gayboy’. The band playing with us had a very young bass player and Rab called him ‘Rent Boy’. We had got to the show early and there were still some bikers in the bar. We were drinking and playing pool and someone would shout, “Hey Rent Boy! Get the beers in!” Or at the pool table, “Gayboy! Its your shot”. We got some funny looks from the patrons. They must of thought, ‘These English kids are weird’.
JD: How did you make the transition from owning a hair salon to becoming a full time singer?
CH: I just gave it to the other stylist (Pauline) and went on the “Farewell to the Roxy” tour. It was just a rented room at the back of a boutique. I never did look back and I was so happy!
JD: Did running a hair salon provide you with any business knowledge that has helped you in music?
CH: The short answer is no. I started out by being signed to the Roxy Sessions over for a case of beer.
JD: In The Guardian’s Cult Heroes segment in February 2015, you said that when punk came along, you were accepted. In what ways were you more accepted than being involved with R&B or other forms of music previously?
CH: The whole punk ethos is the stripped down. No thrills, accessible art and music, no snobbery and no experts. They have always been wrong.
Lets start with honesty. Something that is true. No pretense. Lets return the music to the people where it belongs. There was a old cliché which said “The street is not the gallery and the gallery is not the street” We need to turn that on its head. The street is the gallery and the gallery is the street. But until punk came along, I was always a square peg in a round hole. I had found my niche as they say.
JD: Many people today feel that music in general has become stagnant and want something like the punk movement of the late 70’s to shake things up. What are your thoughts on this?
CH: This is what happened in ‘76 / ’77. We looked around and found that we were surrounded by shit. The only way out was to make our own music or anti-music, anti-style, anti authority and religion. As the man said to Marlon Brando, “What are you rebelling about ” Marlon answers, “What have you got?” (The Wild One, 1953)
In short, we wanted to change everything. A young person with a brain will look around and find that the world is bogus. The rest are indoctrinated from birth and will remain slaves to the various systems.
Photo by TINA KORHONEN/ www.tina-k.com © 2011
JD: How has your writing process and perspective on music changed over the years? Or do you feel it’s stayed the same?
CH: I just take it song by song. They kind of write themselves. But if the song is too sweet, I make the subject matter harder as in “Bitter and Twisted” But I just like to find chord changes that sound exciting. Then simplify passages for a verse or chorus. My trick is to have an intro, verse, bridge, chorus, and guitar break. So, by the time the next verse comes around, a minute or two have passed without the music being repeated.
JD: Do you have any advice for young musicians looking to start and lead their own bands?
CH: I really do have enough advice to fill a book. First, a band is a shared endeavour but it almost always comes down to one or two members conducting things. The main thing is to stick at it and don’t think that you will make the big time. Just love to play as good as you can.
Like all things in life, its what you put into it. Work hard and you will be rewarded, I promise.
JD: Is there anything musically you haven’t done yet, either with the UK Subs or solo, that you want to try in the near future?
CH: Very good question…I’m not into adding a symphonic orchestra but I’ve always said that one day I will tour with a keyboard to play all our songs that include a keyboard. I am playing more solo gigs and one day I would like to play guitar in a group set up. That’s if I’m not totally deaf by that time.
A big thanks to Charlie Harper and the UK Subs for being a really cool bunch of people.
If you would like to check out Yellow Leader or info on the UK Subs check out http://www.uksubs.co.uk and http://www.uksubstimeandmatter.net/
