Subhumans have been one of my favourite bands for a very long time and finally I got the interview with Dick and his Subhumans. 36 years after I first saw them in Borås and now we write february 2020.

You have done a new album with Subhumans, long time ago, what was the reason it took so long?

-Our drummer Trotsky lives in Germany [and the rest of us don't] , so we rarely get together to create new songs, like about once or twice a year. By last year we had nearly enough songs for an album, so we did a UK tour with some dates kept empty to make up more songs, and record them, then mix them after the tour.

Is there any difference how angry you are today if you compare with how angry you were when you was younger?

-Youthful anger doesn't trace itself too far back into reasons why, it's raw and fired up. Later on the angry youth has worked out why, and where it comes from, who or what causes it- with this knowledge anger becomes more controlled and focussed  into creative responses. It also has to work with other emotive states that are no longer in its shadow, like fear, confusion, hopelessness- these negatives need anger to lift them up into reactions and turn them outwards.

Is there many things in England to be angry about? Many rascists?  What´s your opinion about the Brexit-thing?

-This country is fucked. Brexit has divided everyone into leavers or remainers, and opened the mental gateway to the lowest darkest sides of 'Englishness': racism, intolerance, stubbornness, nationalism, antagonistic xenophobia and self-hate. Brought to us by the Conservatives who failed to persuade us to Remain and then persuaded us to Leave in the name of democracy and the 'will of the people' [it went 52%-48% for Leave], backed by the largely right-wing press who demonised immigrants, mocked any experts who pointed out the economic/social/medical/security/travel problems if we left, called judges who made similar legal arguments against leaving 'traitors', and fully backed Boris Johnson the [newly unelected] leader of the Conservatives, with his continual lies and incompetence and massive ego, while stamping on anything said or done by the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, which in contrast to the empty slogan of 'Get Brexit Done', was generally sound socialist ideas based on taxing the rich and helping people out of the poverty caused by ten years of Conservative austerity....People are also divided into Do or Don't know/care/think about politics, generally, and the uncritical masses were wrongly led to believe Brexit was the right thing to do, for simplistic reasons that spoke of patriotism and 'taking back control', which opened the door to the extreme 'patriots' of the far right to stir up a lot of misinformed racism that still lingers from the days of Empire and colonisation. Johnson is now in power with a large majority, and political opposition has a lot of voice, but little else. Brexit hasn't been 'Done' at all, and the next year of agreeing deals with the EU will be just the start of years of chaos and depression, and probable break-up of the UK. Meanwhile, everyone is pissed off [even the Leavers!], except for the rich and powerful, who will continue to profit from our economic subjugation and scattered resistance. 

If you haven't guessed, I voted remain. I like the idea of not being part of a 'United States of Europe', in terms of a multi-national singular governing body, but if the alternative was to be 100% controlled by the Conservatives? Fuck that!

Is there much difference between of making Music and lyrics with Subhumans if you compare with your other Groups Citizen Fish and Culture Shock?

-Apart from the geographic problem the Subhumans have, not much difference at all, most bands likely do the same, start with whatever musical ideas there are flying about, fit some lyrics to a regular verse/chorus structure using those ideas, and then dump it or drive it!

Have it been many fights about the name Subhumans, I mean with the canadian band and so on, which band was first?

-The Canadian Subs were first, starting in 78 i think, when we first heard about them it was 1981 and Canada was like another planet, and having the same name wasn't a problem- and they'd split up anyway by then. Decades later, they reformed, and did once ask us to always add 'from the UK' to our flyers if we played in Canada or the USA...but that's it, no actual fights[!]

Which are the members today in the Group? Tell me a Little about every one?

-Same members since 1983, me sing, Trotsky drum Bruce guitar and Phil on bass. In a sense, that's all anyone needs to know about us, right? But ok here's a few vague facts: 2 of us have children, 3 of us are married, none of us have beards, 2 of us have dogs, three of us own a piano and all of us have brothers.

I saw you back in 1984 in Borås and what do you think is the biggest difference of playing live nowadays if you compare with then?

-The crowd has got older! the average age is probably now about 36, and it used to be 19....ok at some gigs it is still the YOOF raging away, but generally time shifts us all back a bit from the front to the bar area- there's more catching up with people to do! Also there's way less violence at gigs, the assholes grew up or gave up trying to ruin it for everyone

Which are the song everyone shous about and they want to hear? And which is the songs which is most fun to play(except the new ones)?

-No- Mickey Mouse- and Religious Wars. most fun? dunno, I'm more a fan of excitement, and a solid bash at Reason For Existence always leaves me with more adrenalin than I started with.

Is there any new and old good Groups in England right now?

Yes. Autonomads. Anything TV Smith does. Atterkop. 

Favourite Swedish Groups?

-Asta Kask, and Union Carbide Productions 

Five records you must have in the tourbus?

-[tourbus?!] 5 best albums for me would be the Cardiacs Greatest Hits, Rezillos first album, Mothermania by the Mothers of Invention, North of the River Thames by Dub Syndicate and hahaha our new album!

Is it important to get out physcial stuff of your records? 

-You mean the artwork the lyrics and the feel of a record, absolutely! 

Which of your recordsd have been the most expensive on ebay and so on?

-My first band the Mental released an EP that i saw on EBay for £500 once. I hope it didn't sell. 

When you sold as much record back in the 80s and 90s I presume, how much could a record sell then?

-Yes, back before downloads....Day the Country Died LP reached 100,000[!] the other LPs about 40-80,000 over the years [that includes CDs and tapes]

Are you still buying records? Which was the lastest one?

-A first album 'Rhythms from the Sink' by the Co Operators, a collective of punk souls playing very good dub reggae, self-released on Waggle Dance Records

Can you see yourself in 25 years do the same thing as you do today(I´m 56 and I  don´t know how old you are but I Think you´re somewhere there)? What can stop you do it?

-Well I'm [click click] 59 in two weeks time, 59 +  25 = 84?! ha! old age punk in a care home half deaf half amnesiac putting the world to rights! but still on a stage? Fingers crossed I see sense and stop before a heart attack! 

How do you see on punk today if you compare when you first came into punk?

-The difference between being part of something new as it starts, and discovering something new years after it started, is all in the perception afforded by hindsight, and its easy to think that it was more exciting in '79 than it is now- but that excitement came with the threat of violence by or against punks, which has now largely vanished, and the present-day feeling of punk 'family' wasn't around then, so....which is better? Neither. Punk evolves AND keeps it roots.

Which was the Group/song/thing which took you into punk once upon a time?

-The Adverts 'Bored teenagers' being played on the radio one Saturday afternoon, here was a song that i could relate to, where all the 'fast bits' were stuck together [no slow bits!]- i'll have some more of this, please!

What is the most shocking a Young guy can do do shock their parents today? When we were Young it was enough with a safety pin on your jacket?

-Refuse to use any machines before the age of 13 

What do you Think about Rebellion? Is it like seeing the old family?

-It is exactly like that, it´s so easy to miss all the bands you want to see cos time chatting goes really fast! 

I like beer and make my own beer, do you drink beer? If you do which is your favorite sort? You don´t have any thoughts of doing a Subhumans-beer? Is it Ok if I sometime use one of your picture for an own beer(i don´t sell them or so)?

-I drink whisky or rum, when i did drink beer then a good pilsner did it for me. iIdunno how much money or time it takes to create a new beer, but I doubt I have enough of either! But go ahead with a subhumanic brew! 

Which are the futureplans for Subhumans in the near future?

-Keep doing gigs and try to get the next album out faster than the last one! 

For yourself?

-Finish this interview, sorry it took this long! It´s the cursed email swamp! 

Wisdomword?

-Onwards. be happy, get angry 

Some question you want to have, please ask it and answer it?

-Do i get time to think about this?

No 

Something more things to add?

-FOUR has 4 letters in it. ONE POINT THREE has 13 letters in it. There are no others.[are there?] 

Thank you for your patience!

Dick