Vic Goddard - vocals
Robert Simmons - guitar
Tony Blackplait - guitar
Paul Myers - bass
Paul Packham - drums

Recordings

official recordings
Ambition/Different Story (singel)
(Rough Trade RT-007, 1978, 7' )
Nobody`s Scared/Don`t Split It (singel)
(Braik BRS-01, 1978, 7' )
Ambition/Different Story/Chain Smoking/Ambition (singel)
(Overground OVER-45, 1996, CD 7' )
Sansend
(Motion PACECD011, September 30, 2002, CD )

Contact information

Subway Sect mrgt8@yahoo.com

We oppose all rock`n`roll as going down the chute We oppose the rock`n`roll That`s held you down for so long you can`t refuse. ...melodies immersed in a beautiful monotonous dirge. They were different - a sign that punk could be a lot more than the fast sonic assaults of the Pistols, the Damned and the Clash. Mark P - `And God Created Punk` Subway Sect were without doubt one of the finest punk bands of the era but you`ll never know because they released just two singles over a 2 year period and one John Peel Radio session. Vic Goddard and guitarist Rob Simmons started out playing the blues at college in South London before busking in tube stations as makeshift rehearsal venues. Hence their name supposedly after a Hammersmith Subway (they were nearly called the Numb Hearts). Like many others their outlook changed after seeing the Pistols at the Marquee. They loved the image if not the music. "I thought the Pistols were the end of rock`n`roll ..but...they weren`t. Nor were the Clash...We never used ordinary guitars, a Gibson or a Strat: we used Fender Mustangs because they have a trebly, scratchy sound. We became quite purist. Our guitarist refused to allow any macho, rock`n`roll attitude on stage." England`s Dreaming P419 "They (Pistols etc) just want to revitalize rock`n`roll whereas we just wanna get rid of it." Zigzag. The band originally comprised Vic Goddard on Vocals, Robert Simmons and Tony Blackplait on Guitar, Paul Myers on Bass, Paul Packham on Drums. Having been forced to rehearse for 12 hours a day for a week by Malcolm McClaren at Manos in Chelsea they were ready to gig. Their first appearance was the 100 Club Punk Festival with The Clash, Pistols and Damned, to name but a few, on 20.9.76 appearing in stark black as opposed to the sartorial punk finery of the main protagonists.

Early participants in the punk purge they had no overt controversy for the nationals, weeklies or fans to pick on so steadily evolved with no fuss transforming into a fuller, more coherent sound. How would you describe their sound? At their best a heady mix of the Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and Magazine. Subway Sect were THE true punk band. Non conformists to rock and non conformists to punk. They baffled, confused and passed through the times. Scratchy sound compared to the that heavy metal tinged assault of Sex Pistols and followers but as groovy and catchy as any of their sonic heroes. Clash manager Bernie Rhodes appreciative of Subway Sect`s angles of subversion took them under wing with a resultantly strained relationship. Their evolution however was not matched by any record releases. They lost their first drummer and got Mark Laff. They lost him to Generation X and lost impetus before gaining Robert Ward. Scratchy sounds and drab image, made audiences and critics unsure what to make of them: Subway Sect: What do you think of our songs -what do the audiences think of us? Steve Walsh: I dunno - they usually seem a bit confused - well I`ve not seen many people pogoing to you but that`s good...Zigzag "Subway Sect nauseated me. Visually they`re about as entertaining as a fly paper; musically they are as much fun as sitting inside a cement mixer with cotton wool in your mouth." Jane Suck - Music Machine Review. Sounds 1978 Lyrics full of muddy images of alienation, reflected the denseness of their sound. Songs like Nobody`s Scared and Eastern European blurred into one. Subway Sect was a unique experience. Mark P Their songs were about `subjects, ideas and theories` Zigzag quote. I don`t write any words you get in rock songs...I like those words - that seem out of place in a rock song. Vic Goddard Where did it all go wrong? Naive idealism in punk ..They though punk would change music..."We wanted to change the reasons for playing rock music. We didn`t want it to be rock for rocks sake. we wanted it to be a medium for ideas rather than a release from boredom" and the belief they could short circuit the rock`n`roll circus refusing to dress like punks: "Onstage their very normalcy of dress and uncompromising rejection of establishment rock techniques provoke reactions of, at first, alienation then stimulation." Jon Savage. Sounds 78." We used to dye all our clothes grey in those days..in a big bath. We liked the colour." England Dreaming P219 As their two singles bombed and lack of publicity and impetus. The band folded in late 78 before Ambition was even released. While Ambition may have sold 20,000 copies and enabled the band to be paid a weekly wage of £15 for a year it didn`t stop Bernie Rhodes sacking the whole band and retaining Vic Goddard as a songwriter. It was he who rejected a first album by them and released their first single 6 months after it was recorded. Its almost as if he managed them the exact opposite to The Clash. My personal opinion is that Bernie Rhodes screwed up Subway Sect. We`ve said it before here on this site countless times. The audience need the artist and the artist needs the audience or it ain`t rock`n`roll. For all your fine words and theories you won`t get an audience if people don`t notice you and that, sorry to say, is showbiz. Without publicity you are nothing. Subway Sect deliberately didn`t take that path and what did they have to show for it in the end? Bugger all! They wanted nothing to do with rock`n`roll yet by their very nature were part of it and the machine and they struggled to come to terms with it. As an ideas band surely more actual record releases would have been better? In the end what did they convey to the audience?

Subway Sect – Discography It is a major tragedy that no Subway Sect recordings exist from their 77-78 period other than Nobody`s Scared. Without doubt an album from these boys would have been as groundbreaking as The Scream or Unknown Pleasures (only a couple of years earlier) and would have guaranteed them status in the history of rock for ever as groundbreakers and innovators. Sadly all that remains from this superb band is two very different singles. Bernie Rhodes explained about his label Braik Records in the NME 25.3.78. "It will deal only in extremes. The scene is getting predictable." The first single is Nobody`s Scared. Upcoming are tracks by a Pakistani blues band and an all girl group of "teenage prostitutes". Yeah right Bernie. First and only release was Subway Sect of a single 6 months old. As for the rest what you can say? Touch of the McClarens there. Nobody`s Scared / Don`t Split It (1978 Braik Records) A fine single that is not standard punk fare.... a sort of white noise with melody (predating Jesus & Mary Chain`s sonic antics) and some heaveeeee lyrics. Recorded 6 months prior to release (October 77) the band had already moved on. On Don`t Split It Vic wails `Don`t wanna sing rock`n`roll` over a primal VU /Jonathan Richman riff and harmonica. Click to hear audio clip of `Nobody`s Scared` Ambition / A Different Story (Rough Trade 1978) So what did our dysfunctional punk heroes come up with their second single? Well to start with by the time of the release only Vic Goddard remained as the rest had been sacked/left. The single ?A curiously poppy toon featuring the usual impenetrable lyric of a musicians angst complete with electronic beeps , 60`s keyboard and sound effects courtesy of an arcade games machine! I keep thinking of Van Halen`s Jump for some reason. According to Mojo ( October 2001) Vic Godard hated the keyboard riff and on bootlegs the song can be found stripped of it. With or without its a cracking song. Great cover version by The Jesus And Mary Chain on the back of the 12" of Never Understand. The Album That Never Was "You`ve recorded an album which is coming out soon. Are you happier with it than the 45...?" Vic: "I hope its going to be...one of my favourite albums of all time, but I know that Television`s first album is better" Sounds interview by John Savage 1.7.78 Somebody please find those mixes and release the f***ing album!!Likely songs: Chain Smoking Birth & Death De-Railed Sense The Ambition You Stand Back Rock & Roll Even I, Change Parallel Lines Staying (Out Of Touch) Inbalance Eastern Europe The Exit Of No Return Forgotten Weakness Enclave The Idiot Of All One excellent John Peel session broadcast 24.10.77 Chain Smoking Parallel Lines I Don`t Split It Nobody`s Scared Brief Appearance on Don Lett`s Punk Rock Movie singing Birth & Death.