The U.K. Subs at The Empire, Shepherd’s Bush, London, UK on 25 May 2024
Well, that was arguably the best 80th birthday party that I’ve ever been to. 🙂
Last night in London, Charlie Harper and his cohorts from the U.K. Subs gave us an evening that will be hard to better to celebrate his 80th birthday.
Before the gig, I bumped into Charlie and Yuko outside the venue as I arrived in Shepherd’s Bush. He was already signing posters and records for a small number of fans who were waiting outside, despite this being a very special day for him. What a trooper and a true gent who always has time for his fans.
The Ramonas once again opened the festivities and put in a solid performance as they had in Bristol the previous evening. Next up were the Anti-Nowhere League, with former Subs drummer Jamie Oliver banging the skins. They did well in warming up the crowd for the Subs, but at the end of the day, this was Charlie’s evening and everyone was waiting for him to appear. If I’m not mistaken, singer Animal lives in the same part of the country as Charlie (South coast), and they seem to be mates. Animal has always had good things to say about Charlie. But then again, I’ve never heard a bad word said about him. ANWL’s version of ‘Streets Of London’ always gets me humming along, and ‘So What’ always raises a schoolboy snigger. Charlie did appear briefly, running across the stage during the ANWL set, much to the audience’s delight.
As the Subs hit the stage, it was clear that the audience was well up for celebrating Charlie’s 80th birthday with him, especially since the gig landed on the actual day itself. So, much respect and appreciation shown for the doyen of the punk rock scene in the UK. I first saw the Subs at Poole Arts Centre in September 1979, where me and my mate were chased by a group of bikers after the gig who took exception to my bondage trousers. One of the hasards of being a punk rocker in the late 70s.
One of the ways I get a feeling for how the audience is reacting at a Subs gig is by how well ‘Warhead’ goes. Tonight was a great one, with the crowd enthusiastically singing along as Charlie did his a Capella bit.
Towards the end of the set, Yuko, the Ramonas and a few others appeared on stage with a birthday cake and we all joined in singing Happy Birthday to the legend that is Mr Charlie Harper. More 80th birthday celebrations in store of the next couple of weeks in Europe, including 2 nights at SO36 in Berlin.
A quick word about security who I thought did a really good job without being over-the-top. I was down at the barrier for the gig and there was one dickhead who was making a nuisance of himself. The security made it known that they were keeping an eye on him, as he was disturbing a young girl who was close by. Well done.
