When The UK Subs gatecrashed the charts in 1979 with Stranglehold, few commentators thought their punk convictions would last until Christmas.
Thirty four years later, Charlie Harper’s determination to release an album for every letter of the alphabet is close to completion. Implosion 77 and Rabid are righteous blasts of speed-punk fury, while a rollicking Las Vegas Wedding is a boozy update of Party In Paris.
The highlight, though, is the anthemic Coalition Government Blues, where the 67-year-old Harper dismantles the current Parliamentary crop in between searing blasts of harmonica. It’s enough to make a younger generation of say-nothing musicians hang their heads in shame.
