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 genre which followed.

Career

Early days

The core of the band was singer-songwriter, Vic Godard, plus assorted soul fans, who congregated around early gigs by the Sex Pistols until Malcolm McLaren suggested they form their own band.

Subway Sect were among the performers at the 100 Club Punk Festival on Monday, 21 September 1976 – sharing the bill with Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash 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 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 session and also on the single "Nobody's Scared". The album was never released, although a single from the sessions "Ambition" was remixed and released on Rough Trade Records, 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 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 The Roxy club in London, live recordings were made of Subway Sect performances by Don Letts, 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. 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

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
  • "Caught In Midstream" b/w "You Bring Out The Demon In Me" (2013) UK Physical Singles #57
  • "Find Out All The Time" b/w "Dead Dreamy" (2016), GNU
  • "How High The Walls" (2019), GNU

See also

  • "Is Vic There?"
  • List of punk bands from the United Kingdom
  • List of Peel Sessions
  • List of 1970s punk rock musicians

References

Sources

  • Vic Godard and the Subway Sect official Homepage – Info, Live dates, Discography
  • Motion Records site inc. Vic Godard homepage
  • Subway Sect biography