Those that remember buying the first UK Subs single, 1978’s CID, on the City imprint (which came on black, olive, red, green, blue, clear or orange vinyl), might find it disconcerting to note that the band are now in their 35th year. But what a great year it’s turning out to be: we’ve an unusually stable Subs line-up, a fine new album in Work In Progress, and plenty of touring, including a support slot on Motörhead’s annual concert hall tour of the UK in November.
On top of all that, here’s a beautifully presented double-disc set of all the band’s single A-sides, in a neat clamshell box with a 20-page booklet and even a UK Subs beer mat. The classics are here, of course: the aforementioned chugger CID; the stripped-back, gritty pop-punk of Stranglehold; Tomorrow’s Girls; Zombies cover She’s Not There; brooding reggae workout Warhead; the positively joyous Teenage; the playful Party In Paris; and glammy Keep On Running.
That was the last single to chart, but there’s plenty of gold in the later releases, culminating in 2008’s updating of Warhead.
