Charlie Harper (born David Charles Perez, 25 May 1944) is a British singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band
UK Subs
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...
. Harper is reportedly a nephew of actor
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years.
His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...
.
Biography
Charlie Harper was born in London but moved to the Sussex countryside when he was eight years old. Harper attended a "radical secondary school" where he was the Chairman of the Young Farmer's Club. He left school at the age of 15 to start a hairdressing apprenticeship. Following the apprenticeship, Harper began busking, playing the guitar and harmonica. In 1970, Harper got married and began working as a hairdresser at his sister-in-law's shop.
A former
hairdresser
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...
, he was already a veteran of the London
R&B scene at the time of the UK Subs being formed in 1976. His first band in 1964 was named Charlie Harper Free Press Band. Prior to performing as the UK Subs, he was the frontman and founder of The Marauders who were a pub rock band. After seeing a couple of punk rock shows at
The Roxy
Roxy, Roxey, and Roxie may refer to:
People
* Roxy (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Places in the United States
* Roxie, Mississippi, a town
* Roxie, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Music
* Roxy ...
, the band changed their name to the Subversives and started playing punk rock. The name was eventually shortened to the U.K. Subs.
In 1980 his
solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Comics
* ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series
* Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
release "Barmy London Army" spent one week at #68 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
He has also recorded with his side project The Urban Dogs and released a solo album entitled ''Stolen Property'' and a second solo single "Freaked". As well as singing he also plays the harmonica and bass, he played rhythm guitar on the UK Subs album ''Diminished Responsibility''. He still typically performs between 150 and 200 gigs per year with the UK Subs.
Cult heroes: UK Subs' Charlie Harper is less a punk than a heroic old soldier
- The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
Discography
Solo
Albums
* ''Stolen Property'' (1981), Flicknife
Singles
* "Barmy London Army"/"Talk Is Cheap" (1980), Gem
* "Freaked"/"Jo" (1981), Ramkup - UK Indie no. 17[Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, , pp. 109, 243]
with UK Subs
''see U.K. Subs discography''
with The Urban Dogs
Albums
* ''Urban Dogs'' (1983), Fall Out - UK Indie no. 18
Singles
* "New Barbarians" (1982), Fall Out - UK Indie no. 15
with Charlie's Harbour Rats
* "Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms" single (2012), Punkerama
with
Captain Sensible
Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Captain Sensible co-founded the punk rock band the Damned, originally playing bass before switching to guitar. H ...
* ''Too Much Reality'' EP (2013), Time and Matter
Compilations
* ''New Barbarians: The Best Of Charlie Harper And The Urban Dogs'' (1999), Captain Oi!
Recorded tributes
* "Charlie Harper" - a track by The Bus Station Loonies
The Bus Station Loonies are a British cabaret punk band from Plymouth, England. They have been described as a cross between Splodgenessabounds and Crass. Original Loonies Tony Popkids (drums) and Chris "Felcher" Wheelchair (real name Chris W ...
appeared on their "Bare Faced Hypocrisy Sells Records" EP on the Ruptured Ambitions label
A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...
in 1998. A different version was on their 1999 ''Mad Frank's Zonal Disco'' album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
.
*Charlie Harper a song recorded and written by Demob. Unreleased to date. A live version on YouTube.
*"Uncle Charlie" is a tribute song by Anti-Nowhere League
Anti-Nowhere League are an English punk rock band, formed in 1979 by lead singer Animal (Nick Culmer), guitarist Magoo (Chris Exall), Bones (Tony Shaw) on drums and Chris Elvy on bass.
Career Early days
The band first played at the 1980 Cha ...
from their LP The Cage.
References
External links
* UK Subs biographyat AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
Official UK Subs website
UK Subs Online Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Charlie
1944 births
Living people
English male singers
Singers from London
People from Hackney Central
English punk rock singers
English people of Mexican descent