Citizen Fish on myspace | Subhumans/Citizen Fish official | Subhumans unofficial
SUBHUMANS OFFICIAL MYSPACE COMING SOON - DETAILS WILL FOLLOW
(videos below, if you can't see them, click)
Citizen Fish on myspace | Subhumans/Citizen Fish official | Subhumans unofficial
Subhumans are an anarcho-punk band formed in the Trowbridge area of Wiltshire, UK in 1980. Dick Lucas joined later in the year, having formerly been in local band The Mental. Other members had been in the Stupid Humans.
The band released a demo in 1981 which was heard by members of the band Flux of Pink Indians after being sent to them by Graham Burnett of New Crimes fanzine, who were so impressed that they offered the Subhumans a chance to put out a record on their newly formed Spiderleg label. Shortly afterwards the Subhumans began to release material on their own Bluurg Records label.
The Day the Country Died was the first LP by the punk rock band Subhumans. The album was recorded in five days in June 1982 and released in 1983 on Spiderleg Records. It was later released on Bluurg, the band's own record label.
The Day The Country Died was heavily influenced by the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. The most obvious sign of such an influence is the song "Big Brother" — Big Brother is the dictatorial political leader figure in Orwell's novel. The song revolves around how "Big Brother is watching you", and when Dick Lucas sings "there's a TV in my front room and it's screwing up my head", it's a reference to the telescreen which, in the novel, monitored citizens constantly. Like the novel, this album has dystopian overtones.
The album also describes a world ravaged by war, most likely nuclear war, which is suggested by track titles like "Dying World" and "All Gone Dead". The latter contains lyrics like "so long to the world, that's what they said, it's 1984 and it's all gone dead", which must be seen as another reference to Nineteen Eighty-Four.
In 1998, the Subhumans reformed and embarked on a US Tour. They returned and toured the US in both 2005 & 2006
The Subhumans occasionally reform for live performances, including at least two major tours of North America in the 21st Century, (Live in a Dive is a product of the first) and they continue to command a strong following.
Citizen Fish on myspace | Subhumans/Citizen Fish official | Subhumans unofficial
SUBHUMANS OFFICIAL MYSPACE COMING SOON - DETAILS WILL FOLLOW
After Subhumans split up, Lucas formed the bands Culture Shock and Citizen Fish . Craig O'Hara, author of The Philosophy of Punk: More Than Noise, writes: "For a decade Citizen Fish has been touring the world: turning gatherings, benefits, and social gigs into an international never-ending weekend. These four dudes from the UK, Dick (vocals, motormouth, idealist, one set of clothes for each tour), Phil (guitar, facial hair, soccer, model for BEAR magazine), Jasper (bass, sweaters, cigarettes, ladies man) and Trotsky (drums, one time proprietor of a worm farm, possibly the only member of the band who can drive a van or bench his weight) have created a blend of punk, ska, and straight up rock'n'roll that appeals to the sing-a-long music fans and even the "muso" musician types that typically dismiss punks as not being able to play their instruments. But it's not so much the fact that these dudes are the most talented musicians in England, it's what they say and how they say it. In a fun loving, all inclusive way, Citizen Fish (and their previous outfits Culture Shock and the legendary Subhumans) have brought working class radical politics to generations of questioning minds. Leaving aside the typical screaming rants of boring political punk bands, the Fish offer a hopeful, danceable alternative."
THE CLUTTON BROTHERS
Two men, "Jack" and "Frank" , probably old enough to be your dad, locked themselves in a garden shed sometime in the early '90s, only to emerge in 2003 with 'the kind of thing teenagers used to do on cassette circa 1982 when they'd been suspended from school' (Andy Martin of Unit). Throughout their debut 2003 CD release, 'Spring Collection', a number of references are made to a sheds and suffering, however it has been asserted by critics of the genre that "the whole 'thing' was 'some neo-retric assumptive reversal curve gone wrong". To be more [or less] precise, the songs are a mixup of punk ska reggae sonic noise spoken word and slunge, some are instrumental, some spontaneous, some worked out in fine detail. What's SLUNGE? Slunge is what you get when the neo-retric assumptive reversal curve has gone wrong. Both CDs [Spring Collection -2003- and Turned Out Nice Again-2005] can be found on Bluurg Records via heading to www.citizenfish.com
THE T4 PROJECT | MYSPACE
In 2003, Trotsky began work on The T4 Project ,a Story-Based Concept Album', recorded across 7 studios and two continents, merging 12 top-musicians and a 40 person choir. The Concept Album took over 2.5 years to complete and was independently produced by an unknown writer with a full-time day job. The T4 Project contains 10 original songs and 8 pseudo commercial interludes that burst with social and political commentary, plus full-color comic book artwork that follows along with the story-line. Members of 'THE T4 PROJECT' Punk Rock concept album were Bad Religion, Buzzcocks, Circle Jerks, Glass & Ashes, Morrissey/The Damned, Naked Agression, Nina Hagen/The Screamers, Pennywise, Porno for Pyros, Strung Out, and Subhumans. THE T4 PROJECT was an exclusive internet release and not available on Vinyl or Compact Disc.
