Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By The Subways, BMG 2020.
The Subways are another band, like Supergrass, that are defined by one track.
The Subways formed in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England in the early 2000s taking their name from the local subway underpass that they’d hang around when they were young.
Initially they were a covers band playing Nirvana, Green Day and punk songs under the name Mustardseed, then Platypus, before settling on The Subways.
The band consists of Guitarist/vocalist and songwriter Billy Lunn (Morgan), bassist/vocalist Charlotte Cooper, and drummer Josh Morgan (Billy’s brother).
Their big break came with the release of their 2005 debut album Young For Eternity that contained the single Oh Yeah which reached number 21 on the UK singles chart.
It was another single however that really hit the mark.
Rock & Roll Queen charted well in the UK, throughout Europe and reached number 29 in the US singles charts and along with the other singles Oh Yeah, With You, and No Goodbyes they catapulted Young For Eternity to number 15 on the US Album Charts.
Rock & Roll Queen is the only song of theirs that I’d heard prior to writing this review but they are not a one-hit wonder.
They’ve released four studio albums, 19 EPs, and 14 singles.
However Young For Eternity is by far their most commercially successful release.
The Subways have tremendous stage presence, a large fan base, and they regularly pack out gigs on the festival circuit.
There is a full concert on YouTube that’s worth watching.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the release of Rock & Roll Queen the band recorded a new lockdown version of the song from their respective homes in Hertfordshire (Billy), France (Josh) and Sheffield (Charlotte) with Billy singing the third verse of the song in 20 different languages.
This may seem a little strange but it’s become a custom while touring for Billy to sing a verse in the language of the country they’re in, much to the delight of the fans.
Therefore, there are 20 different releases of the song depending on the third verse language.
It’s certainly an unusual marketing ploy but I imagine it will be very successful.
By the way, 15 years on, the song is still great and worth celebrating.
