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Mr Angry

Vic Godard & Subway Sect

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Hiya.

If you recognise this band you are possibly older than me, but my band The Jelly Fiends are supporting Vic Godard and Subway Sect on Friday March 29 (Good Friday) at The Water Rats, Kings Cross, London.

If you don''t know the name, this band made their debut at the famous 100 Club Punk Festival in 1976, playing with Siouxsie & The Banshees, The

Clash and The Sex Pistols. They were managed by Bernie Rhodes who also managed The Clash & The Specials. They also went on tour with The Clash on their White Riot tour in 1977.

Vic disappeared from the music scene for a while but reappeared in the 1990s, working with Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice) and Paul Cook (Sex Pistols). Paul Cook is his current drummer.

Tickets for this gig are available through ticket sites on the internet but if you''re interested in going and give me your name in advance you can get a couple of quid off the entry price. Also the more people we get to see us the better chance of getting more gigs in future.

Thanks.

P.S. I''m not sure if this post breaches the Code of Conduct but if it does, then I apologise.

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Good luck with the gig Mr Angry.

I remember Subway Sect, saw them at West Runton, supporting someone, I''m not sure who. Not one of the front runners of punk but under-rated and a bit cult.

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Thanks Wings, I''ve been searching on the net and I think that gig was in May 1977 and they were supporting the Clash. The Clash are probably my favourite band of all time, manged to see them twice but I would have loved to have seen them in 1977.

Vic is definitely a cult hero, he became a postman and think he might still be, sounds like a great British eccentric!

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I''m assuming that you are of a similar sound to the headline act?!

I live up the road from Kings X so might pop up if I can.

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To be honest Herman, I''ve never heard any of their music! I imagined that they would be quite punky but I have absolutely no idea. We used to be a bit punky but we''ve mellowed a bit, we''re probably more indie-some people say it sounds like going back to the late 80s. There''s a few videos on Youtube but the sound quality isn''t great!

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Well after youtubing Vic it turns out I haven''t heard his music either. Knew his name and sure he''d played on 6 but nothing ringed a bell.

Liking your stuff as well and depending on work commitments might toddle along.

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I''m surprised you hadn''t come across him before as you seem to have a wide-ranging music taste. Can''t believe you like our stuff as well though! It would be great if you could make it, I can''t wait to share the stage with someone who spent so much time on the road with Joe Strummer!

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[quote user="Mr Angry"] I can''t wait to share the stage with someone who spent so much time on the road with Joe Strummer![/quote]Should be interesting and I''m sure there are stories to be told but I don''t think Vic & SS were particularly close to Joe or any of the Clash but I''d put that mostly down to Bernies confrontational methods ie the Clash turned up for rehearsal and found SS using their facilities. I know Clash crew members Robin Crocker and Johnny Green certainly might have given them a bit of a hard time.... [;)]  IIRC SS played in Norwich supporting Altered Images or Bauhaus in the early 80''s but it might have been somewhere else time plays tricks. Never really looked upon SS as a Punk band apart from the earliest days, I think the story goes that unbeknown to the band Bernie had secured a significant advance from a record company which promptly "disappeared", an album was made on the cheap to satisfy the record co then Bernie sacked the band excluding Vic in early ''78 thus negating the requirement for further recordings. Vic was retained and I think went on to perform with Black Arabs (another Bernie Rhodes outfit who possibly played as backing band on the SS album) for the Pistols film GR&RS probably with ex Clash drummer Terry Chimes (Tory Crimes) on drums, and some other well known contemporaries but the exact lineup to this day seems a guarded secret.SS reformed circa 1980 and actually went into a sort of Northern Soul/Atlantic Swing crossover kind of genre, pretty sure they had a residency as house band at one of the more famous London Clubs, they toured quite extensively but always as I remember as support band they never quite accumulated enough of a following to make it on their own. Some of the bands they toured with apart from back in the Anarchy tour days were Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bauhaus, Altered Images, The Damned, Stiv Bators & The Dead Boys, John Cale.To this day none of the band knows what happened to the money from the record company...Have a great gig.ps. Cookies daughter (very talented singer) and Joe Strummers stepdaughter can be found performing with The Alabama Three these days.

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Sounds like you know quite a lot about that era Zak, I''ve read a few of the Clash books and Bernie sounds like a loose cannon! Seems like he was always trying to outdo Malcolm McLaren and it was the bands that suffered-always seems to be the way, thankfully we''ve never made any money!

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A fair bit mate I was just too young to have experienced the first wave other than indirectly but life can be strange and over the years I''ve got to meet quite a number of those involved and remained friends with several and on terms with many more whose names adorned my teenage record collection. Like you The Clash were my favourite band, I''ve been lucky enough to meet and get to know almost everybody involved with them,  just never got to meet Bernie Rhodes .Bernie was a case that''s for sure he earned grudging respect and good money from the bands he managed iirc The Clash were on a wage of about £30 a week in the ''70''s at a time when they commanded a fee of £2500-£5000 + cut of bar for a gig, they supplemented this by doing guerilla gigs for cash without Bernies approbation. He played his part but it always seemed to be more about Bernie than the bands who he held as commodities, without him it would probably never have happened and tbh he did play more of a part than Malcolm but Bernie would tell it that he invented the scene whereas the truth is more that Bernie propagated the scene.The money in music is dreadful you need a song in a film or advert to make any else you''re basically stuck with gigging for cash. Even then I''ve known Artists get a six figure fee for a performance then haggle over a £10 meal allowance payment for their band members who pocketed industry standard payments of £106 each for the show....... so if your names not on the credits you''ll not even make much from gigging.

If you haven''t read them yet I recommend "A Riot of our Own" by Johnny Green, "Passion is a Fashion" by Pat Gilbert and Chris Salewics''s ** biography of Joe Strummer.** Chris''s son is in a band called "Savage Nomads" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHIi_T2vFH4

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Saw them in an early reincarnation in or around 1982, supporting Altered Images at the UEA. If I remember correctly they had gone for a cheesy, ironic sub-cabaret sort of look. I don''t think it came off. Ms Grogan, however was just gorgeous and it is one of my eternal regrets that when I asked her to sign my fag packet, I didn''t have the courage to ask her out for a drink at the same time.

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Thanks Dpit I thought it was Altered Images at the UEA but wasn''t sure ''til you confirmed that gig "had happened", tough luck with Ms G she was and remains right up there with Blondie, Kate Bush and Fay Fife as top totty of the era.

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Thanks Zak, I''ve read those I think, currently reading one about the recording of London Calling, called Route 19 Revisited by Marcus Gray. As for Clare Grogan dpit, she was cute but Bananarama were the ones for me from that time. Had a bit of the punk ''couldn''t give a toss'' attitude and for a Sex Pistols link-up, Paul Cook produced their first single.

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Sorry guys, can''t contribute on the music side of things, but Clare Grogan? PHWOAR!

No 1 for me was Keren Woodward though..............

oh jeez, I''ve started dribbling again

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Herman, we''re on at 9 pm, they''re very strict on timings at the Water Rats, we''re doing a 30 minute set. It would be great if you could make it but no worries if you can''t.

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My hangover is your fault!!

Cheers for that,enjoyable night out. I see what you mean about strict timings.

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Yeah, I''ve not been up long, it''s been a lomg time since I''ve been on the Lowenbrau!

We thought that was one of our best gigs, I really appreciate you coming along. We''re trying to get a gig at the Bull & Gate in Kentish Town before it closes so I will let you know if we manage it.

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This is a terrible admission to make but I''m pretty sure I was at The Clash gig at West Runton (25th May 1977). But I can''t bloody remember anything about them.

I distinctly remember stencilling a white shirt with the legend "Yarmouth''s Burning" among other things in preparation for a gig. If it was this one or not I can''t remember.

I remember seeing both The Slits and Subway Sect at West Runton, the only time I can see them playing there, is as part of the White Riot tour, also with The Buzzcocks as support, who I can''t remember either.

Punk gigs at West Runton were a bit chaotic, but surely you''d think I''d remember if I saw The Clash live or not.

My kudos is well out of the window.

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