It’s a great testimony to the draw of the UK Subs that they can still muster a fair crowd, albeit it in the arse end of nowhere. Bedford Esquires is a regular gig venue housed in the upstairs of an old brick building in the town centre. I get there just before the first band hit the stage. The Tendons are a local outfit that have been on and off the scene for nigh over 15 years. Fronted by tattooed mainman John they offer up a bruising set of street punk ditties with titles such as 'Lifes Shit', 'Trendy Wanker' and 'Fish Fanny'. I did once hear that John composed most of the lyrics in his works toilet. I can only assume that there was no paper in the cubicle, as judging by the lyrical content of their songs, more shit was dripping out of the end of his pen than his arsehole. First time round, they are mildly amusing , but after that they are like one of them annoying little dogs that keeps snapping at your ankles. At first you try and politely push them away with your foot but after a while you just want to boot the fucking thing into orbit. Bands like this either have to be a) very good or b) very funny. The Tendons are neither and after 45 minutes of songs about female genitals, dildos, tits and slags…well it all gets a bit tedious. The music is tight, meaty and well delivered but the songs are lame and don’t offer anything up new.

The Tendons

If Iggy Pop is the godfather of punk then Charlie Harper must be the favourite Uncle. Over the years I have seen the UK Subs about 20 times and I have found that the strength of the band very much relies on the bands ever changing line up. Tonight the line up is Charlie Harper, Alvin Gibbs, Jet on guitar and Jamie on drums. Charlie Harper leaps up on stage with a big smile on his face. I spoke to him earlier and he seemed in good spirits. They go straight into it and deliver us all the favourites such as 'Stranglehold', 'Endangered Species', 'Teenage', etc. Standing in front of Alvin Gibbs bass monitor, I could hear what a difference he made and the whole wall of sound coming off the stage was pure UK Subs at their best. Jet the Japanese guitarist, posed, postured and pouted with his mad bouffant ice cream cone hairstyle. He may be not to be Nicky Garratt but he's the best guitarist the Subs have had in years. The crowd of ageing punks and rockers responds and soon the front of the stage is full of fist clenching drunks singing along to 'Born a rocker Die A Rocker'. The floor is covered in beer and bodies and Charlie is in his element. Of course we get 'Warhead' but today without the handclaps. Also thankfully Charlie had forgotten to bring his harmonica. The subs play for over an hour and come back for an encore which included 'CID' and 'Disease'. Charlie defying his advancing years was jumping around like a teenager. UK Subs have been the mainstay over the years of the punk scene and tonight we were saw them at their best.

UK Subs

There was a nasty internet rumour circulating last year that Charlie Harper had died (When infact it was a cartoonist called Charles Harper) but on tonights performance, lets hope that never happens. The band will also be featuring all original members when they appear at this years Rebellion Punk Festival, I can't wait !

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Review and photos by Justin Openshaw June 2008