Subway Sect
| Subway Sect | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Punk rock |
| founding | 1976 |
| resolution | 1978 |
| Founding members | |
singing |
Vic Godard (Victor John Napper) |
guitar |
Rob Miller (Robert Symmons) |
bass |
Paul Myers |
Drums |
Paul Smith (Paul Packham) |
| Later members | |
Drums (1977)
|
Mark Laff (Mark Laffoley) |
Percussion (1977-78)
|
Robert Ward |
Subway Sect was the punk band of the singer and songwriter Vic Godard, which existed from 1976 to 1978. Godard then used the name for various of his solo releases.
Band history
Subway Sect were one of the very first punk bands and were founded by four school friends from South West London in the summer of 1976 at the suggestion of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren .
Godard and Symmons, Velvet Underground and Jonathan Richman fans interested in Northern soul and pub rock , attended an Eddie & the Hot Rods concert at London's Marquee Club on February 12, 1976 , but were more intrigued by the unknown opening act called Sex Pistols whose performances they followed in the following months.
The two then founded their own punk band with two other school friends in the summer of 1976 and asked Malcolm McLaren whether they could play at the 100 Club in London as part of the upcoming "Punk Special" festival . McLaren agreed, got them a rehearsal room, Subway Sect wrote five songs and actually had their first gig on September 20, 1976.
Clash manager Bernard Rhodes signed the band on the same evening, and the band spent the next few months with intensive rehearsals and a few concerts. After an appearance in the opening act for The Clash on March 11, 1977, drummer Paul Packham left the band and took a job in a brewery. He was replaced by Mark Laff, and at the end of April 1977 three performances took place in France.
From May 1st to May 30th, 1977 Subway Sect took part as the opening act for The Clash's "White Riot" tour across Great Britain and gained some followers, especially in Scotland and Northern England. Don Letts filmed the band for his documentary "The Punk Rock Movie " . After the end of the tour, drummer Mark Laff got out again and became a member of Generation X , Subway Sect then paused for three months.
In September 1977 Wolfgang Büld filmed the band for his documentary "Punk in London" with the new drummer Bob Ward. On October 17, 1977 Subway Sect recorded four songs for the broadcast of BBC radio DJ John Peel .
In early 1978, Subway Sect began recording their first album at Gooseberry Sound Studios in London. The album was produced by manager Bernard Rhodes and Mickey Foote, the producer of the first Clash album . The sessions were interrupted in February 1978 for a few appearances in Paris and in March 1978 for a UK tour. To promote the tour, Rhodes released two songs from the John Peel radio session as the first Subway Sect single, much to the disappointment of the band, who felt that the five-month-old songs were no longer representative.
After finishing the studio recordings, another tour of England followed in June 1978.
In the summer of 1978 Vic Godard broke up the band.
As almost the sole author of all Subway Sect songs, Godard was increasingly disappointed in the musical abilities of the band members, as they could not implement his ideas satisfactorily. He therefore accepted Bernard Rhodes' proposal to take him under contract as a solo artist and also to hire him as a songwriter for a fixed salary.
Band founder and guitarist Robert Symmons left the music industry and now works as a librarian. In 2004 he returned with a new band, The Fallen Leaves .
Paul Myers also retired from the industry and became a lifeguard in an outdoor swimming pool. From 1980 to 1982 he was bass player in Steve Jones and Paul Cook's band The Professionals . Today he works in a drug counseling center .
Bob Ward was employed by Godard until December 1978, nothing is known about his further activities.
The Subway Sect studio album was never released as the original tapes disappeared. Vic Godard re-recorded the album with his new band in spring 2007 and released it under the title "1978 Now" . Bassist Paul Myers and drummer Mark Laff acted as guest musicians.
Vic Godard's solo activities (1978 to 1986)
Without knowing that the band had broken up, the Buzzcocks made Subway Sect in the summer of 1978 an offer to support them on their six-week tour of Great Britain as a support act. Condition is a new Subway Sect single in time for the start of the tour.
Godard and Rhodes were caught off guard, but accepted and quickly put together a backing band from guest musicians.
Two songs from the discarded album recordings appeared in a revised form in September 1978 as a second single, which sold 20,000 copies and was "single of the week" in several music magazines.
The Buzzcocks tour began on September 27, 1978 and ended on November 12, 1978, followed by another BBC radio session for John Peel on November 29, 1978, and a final year-end concert on December 28, 1978 with The Fall . Then the backing band was disbanded and the guest musicians dismissed.
With new session musicians, Godard recorded his first solo album "What's The Matter Boy?" In May and June 1979 . which appeared a year later. Godard released some Northern Soul and Swing records and ended his collaboration with Bernard Rhodes in 1983. His last solo album, "TROUBLE" , was released in 1986, over two years after it was recorded.
In 1986 Vic Godard became a postman and he still does this today.
Vic Godard's solo activities (1991 to date)
At the end of the 1980s, Vic Godard took drug cessation therapy for his longstanding heroin addiction. The death of Johnny Thunders in 1991 led him to resume his songwriting activities, and with the help of Edwyn Collins and Paul Cook a new studio album was released in 1993. After another break of several years, Godard has been publishing new material on a regular basis since 1998.
In 2002 he worked with the Scottish writer Irvine Welsh on his musical "Blackpool" .
Discography
Singles
- Nobody's Scared / Don't Split It (Braik Records, March 1978)
- Ambition / A Different Story ( Rough Trade Records , September 1978)
- Ambition; A Different Story; Chain Smoking (album version ); Ambition (album version) (Overground Records, April 1996)
Compilations
- A Retrospective (1977-81) ( Rough Trade Records , October 1984)
- We Oppose All Rock + Roll (Overground Records, October 1996)
- Twenty Odd Years - The Story Of Vic Godard & The Subway Sect (Motion Records, October 1999)
- Singles Anthology (Motion Records, March 2005)
Vic Godard solo albums
- What's the Matter Boy? ( MCA Records , June 1980) (as Vic Godard & Subway Sect )
- Songs For Sale ( London Records , May 1982) (as Vic Godard & The Subway Sect )
- TROUBLE ( Rough Trade Records , April 1986) (as Vic Godard )
- The End Of The Surrey People ( Postcard Records , June 1993) (as Vic Godard )
- Long Term Side-Effect (Tugboat Records, November 1998) (as Vic Godard )
- Sansend (Motion Records, September 2002) (as Subway Sect )
- 1978 Now (Motion Records, November 2007) (as Subway Sect )