Subway Sect were one of the first British punk bands. Although their commercial success was limited by the small amount of recorded material they released, they have been credited as highly influential on the Postcard Records scene and the

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

genre which followed.

Career

Early days

The core of the band was singer-songwriter, Vic Godard, plus assorted

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

fans, who congregated around early gigs by the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

until

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provo ...

suggested they form their own band. Subway Sect were among the performers at the

100 Club Punk Festival The 100 Club Punk Special (sometimes referred to as the 100 Club Punk Festival) was a two-day event held at the 100 Club venue in Oxford Street, London, England on 20 and 21 September 1976. The gig showcased eight punk rock bands, most of which ...

on Monday, 21 September 1976 – sharing the bill with

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. Q (maga ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...

and the Sex Pistols. The first line-up of Godard on vocals, Paul Packham on drums, Paul Myers on bass and Rob Symmons on guitar lasted for four gigs before Mark Laff replaced Packham. Laff himself then left for fellow punk group

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s ...

after the White Riot tour. A third drummer, Bob Ward, was recruited, and it is this line-up that can be heard on the band's first

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

session and also on the single "Nobody's Scared". This was the first and only release on Braik Records, a label owned by Bernie Rhodes, who managed both Subway Sect and

. Rhodes subsequently supervised the

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

of their debut album at

Gooseberry Studios Gooseberry Sound Studios, also known as just Gooseberry Studios, were recording studios at 19 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, London, located in a cellar underneath a dental practice. The studio was owned by Peter Houghton and was known in its earl ...

in London, with Clash sound man and producer Mickey Foote at the production helm. At that time the band toured extensively with The Clash and others. However, just as their first album was ready for release, for reasons that remain obscure, Rhodes sacked all the band (except Godard) and Subway Sect mark 1 ceased to exist. The album was never released, although a single from the sessions "Ambition" was remixed and released on

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pu ...

, with the B-side "Different Story (Rock and Roll Even)" also taken from the same sessions. "Ambition" was ranked at No. 15 among the top "Tracks of the Year" for 1978 by '' NME''. A further track "Parallel Lines" was released as a track on the '' C81'' cassette produced by '' NME'' magazine. Since then, some monitor copies of tracks from the lost album have come to light on various Subway Sect compilations, including a Motion Records' ''20 Odd Years''

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

anthology, and a CD and CD/EP set ''We Oppose All Rock And Roll'' on Overground Records. Any copies of the actual album tapes appear to no longer exist. As a result of 1977 appearances at

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club in London, live recordings were made of Subway Sect performances by

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

, the club's disc jockey. Subway Sect appears in Letts' '' Punk Rock Movie'' (1978).

Middle years

Godard reformed the band and as 'Vic Godard and Subway Sect' finally released their debut album ''What's the Matter, Boy?'' in 1980, following a period of shifting group personnel. The album features many songs written during the previous incarnation of the band, but performed with radically altered arrangements. By this time, Godard had become increasingly influenced by early

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

, and the "first wave" of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

(

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

session era

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

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etc.). This was just before the rockabilly revival, and the album was ignored as being '

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the " nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

'. Ignoring this, Godard then went further back in time, teaming up with guitarist Rob Marche, keyboardist Dave Collard, bassist Chris Bostock and drummer Sean McLusky with subsequent releases (inc. ''Songs for Sale'' – credited to Vic Godard ''and The Subway Sect''), showing the influence of the "

rat pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...

" (

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, Frank Sinatra), and 1940s

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, many years before these sounds became fashionable again. Faced by dwindling sales and following a solo album (''T.R.O.U.B.L.E.'') backed by Working Week, Godard left the music business and became a postman. In 1982, former Subway Sect members – Rob Marche, Dave Collard, Chris Bostock and Sean McLusky – teamed up with American singer Dig Wayne and formed the band

Jo Boxers JoBoxers are a British new wave group formed in 1982, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig ...

Revival

In the 1990s a slow Godard revival began. Backed by the re-release of his work on CD and numerous compilation albums, Godard returned to recording, initially under his own name. In 2002, a CD was issued credited purely to Subway Sect, thus reviving the name, if not the original band. Named ''Sansend'', it was a sample and beats heavy collection of new songs, and it was followed three years later by Motion's ''Singles Anthology'', which collected single A and B sides. Original Subway Sect guitarist and bass player, Rob Symmons and Paul Myers resurfaced as The Fallen Leaves in 2004, although Myers has since quit the band. Rob Symmons still performs and records with the band. In 2007, a new Subway Sect (featuring on some recordings original members Mark Laff and Paul Myers, as well as former

drummer Paul Cook) released ''1978 Now'', a re-make of the original 1978 album as, Godard indicated, it had originally sounded. In 2011, Myers rejoined Vic Godard and Subway Sect permanently; his first official gig back was at Nambucca in London on 28 October 2011. Further vintage material was recorded in 2012 – again with Paul Cook on drums – and released in 2014 as ''1979 Now''. As of 2019, the current Subway Sect line-up of Godard and Johnny Britton with a returned Chris Bostock and Sean McLusky has a new album ''Moments Like These'' due for release in 2020, produced by Mick Jones and previewed by single "How High The Walls" out on 25 December that year.

Selected discography

Albums

*''What's the Matter Boy?'' (1980), Oddball/MCA (as ''Vic Godard and Subway Sect'') *''Songs For Sale'' (1982), London *''The End of the Surrey People'' (1993), Postcard *''Sansend'' (2002), Motion *''1978 Now'' (2007), Overground *''Long Term side Effect'' (2009) Rough Trade *''We Come As Aliens'' (2010), Overground *''1979 Now'' (2014), AED *''Moments Like These'' (2020), GNU

Compilations

*''A Retrospective (1977–1981)'' (1984), Rough Trade (as ''Vic Godard and the Subway Sect'') *''We Oppose All Rock 'n' Roll (1976–1980)'' (1996), Overground *''Twenty Odd Years – The Story Of'' (1999), Motion (as ''Vic Godard and the Subway Sect'') *''Singles Anthology'' (2005), Motion (''as Vic Godard and Subway Sect'') *''Live and Rare, Vol 1'' (2011), Gnu Inc *''30 Odd Years'' (2014), Gnu Inc

Singles

* "Nobody's Scared" b/w "Don't Split It" (1978), Braik * "Ambition" b/w "A Different Story" (1978), Rough Trade * "Split Up the Money" b/w "Out of Touch" (1980), Oddball/MCA (as ''Vic Godard and Subway Sect'') * "Stamp of a Vamp" (1981), Club Left (as ''Vic Godard and The Subway Sect'') * "Hey Now (I'm in Love)" b/w "Just in Time", "Mr Bennett" (1981), London (as ''Vic Godard and The Subway Sect'') *''Ambition'' EP (1996), Overground * "Find Out All The Time" b/w "Dead Dreamy" (2016), GNU * "How High The Walls" (2019), GNU

References

Sources

External links

Vic Godard and the Subway Sect official Homepage - Info, Live dates, DiscographyMotion Records site inc. Vic Godard homepageSubway Sect biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sect, The Subway English punk rock groups English post-punk music groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1982 Musical groups reestablished in 2002