The Subways live in London, September 2021 (Alessandro Gianferrara for Live4ever)
Young For Eternity, The Subways’ debut album, was a pulsating one of pop-rock anthems which, while not exactly taking the chart by storm back in 2005, certainly left an impression.
After winning the Glastonbury Unsigned competition in 2004, there was a certain degree of hype and consequent expectation placed on the trio to deliver the goods, which they were able to do with success, the singles featuring on Radio One and high-profile support slots with Foo Fighters.
Through changing winds – even in 2005 The Subways’ form of rock music was out of kilter with the art-pop of Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party etc – they maintained a loyal fanbase, as proved by the reception on this tour.
And lo, as bands are wont to do, this tour is to commemorate 15 (now 16, for reasons you are boringly familiar with) years of the debut album, it being played in full before a run of other tracks.
What’s striking about listening to the tracks is how kind the tides of time have been to them. Middle England’s response to The Vines and The Datsuns, the still-three piece (previous drummer Josh Morgan, Billy Lunn’s brother, having recently stood down to be replaced by Camille Phillips) are still full of the youthful vim and vigour they’ve always had. Bassist Charlotte Cooper hasn’t aged a day and is still the most rocking imp in town, while Lunn continually thanks the crowd, grateful for the opportunity.
Within two minutes they have the crowd singing along (for a break in I Want To Hear What You’ve Got To Say) and thereafter they don’t look back. Holiday is pure power propulsion and Rock & Roll Queen, which sits as track 3 on the album but gets a second airing as final song of the set later on, may have suffered from over-familiarity ten years ago (soundtracking numerous adverts and TV spots) but has been able to maintain a freshness, no doubt down to its universal themes.
This is true of the album as a whole; teenage trials and tribulations are universal, even if the crowd in attendance are either on the cusp or in the throes of middle-age.
Oh Yeah and the title-track in particular rock more powerfully now than they did in 2005, surely down to the trio’s hard-earned professionalism. In contrast, the ‘ballads’ such as No Goodbye and Strawberry Blonde recall a more earnest, simpler time, when the purity and power of emotions wasn’t drowned in cynicism.
Proving their devotion to their fans, the last segment of the set is made up of fan choices, which are a whistle-stop tour through their career post-2005. Seemingly off-the-cuff, Lunn decides not to play Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and, responding to a punter’s shout, the band instead launch into a faultless and raucous Girls & Boys.
Lunn is quite the crowd-pleasing raconteur too (‘thank you Brisvegas!’), with between song chat that at points acknowledges the arrogance of their youth and the journeys they have been on since.
Lunn is now a person entirely comfortable with himself, with a self-awareness that has to be applauded. Like Feeder, Ash and Stereophonics, The Subways will rarely get critical acclaim (or even acknowledgement) but will keep doing what they do.
Clearly happy just to still be doing what they love, and why wouldn’t they be?, with smiles everywhere you look, the gig is a welcome reminder that music should be about passion and enthusiasm.
