Subhumans were a Canadian punk rock band formed in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, Canada in 1978.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 157 Known by

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

, punk rock nicknames, original members were known simply as "Useless" ( Gerry Hannah), "Dimwit" (Ken Montgomery), "Wimpy" ( Brian Roy Goble) and "Normal" (Mike Graham).

History

Dimwit quit the band shortly after their first 7" was released to join the Pointed Sticks, and was replaced by Koichi Imagawa, also known as Jim Imagawa, on drums. In 1981, Hannah left the band and gradually became involved with a small group of underground activists calling themselves ''Direct Action''. In the alternative media they were referred to as the ''Vancouver 5'', but in the mainstream press they were dubbed the ''

Squamish 5 The Squamish Five (sometimes referred to as the Vancouver Five) were a group of self-styled "urban guerrillas" active in Canada during the early 1980s. Their chosen name was Direct Action. The five were Ann Hansen, Brent Taylor, Juliet Caroline ...

''. The group, composed of ecologists and feminists, were responsible for a number of actions, including the 14 October 1982 bombing of the

Litton Industries Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr. During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. A ...

plant in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

which made guidance systems for

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhea ...

s. The Litton bombing hurt several plant workers and three police officers were also injured. While Hannah was not part of the Litton bombing, he supported it, and did take part in other actions, as well as planning to rob a Brinks truck to fund future actions. He was arrested on 20 January 1983, along with the four other members of Direct Action. Many benefits were arranged for the group by people such as

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

and Joey Shithead of D.O.A. to pay lawyers fees but, in the end, Hannah pleaded guilty to avoid years in prison. He received a 10-year sentence and was released after serving 5 years. During his time in prison, he began writing a column for the

fanzine A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share t ...

, ''

Maximum RocknRoll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily fea ...

'', which helped maintain his connection to the punk scene. A number of years after his release he was the subject of a documentary film made by B.C. filmmaker Glen Sanford, called ''Useless''. After Hannah left the band, the Subhumans re-formed with Ron Allan on bass. After Imagawa left the band, Dimwit was briefly back with the Subhumans before Randy Bowman joined in his place. With the line up of Wimpy Roy, Mike Graham, Ron Allan, and Randy Bowman, the Subhumans recorded the album ''No Wishes, No Prayers'' for Black Flag's

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equip ...

. The band split in April 1982. Brian Goble went on to join D.O.A. on bass and occasional lead vocals along with Dimwit on drums. Ron Allan and Mike Normal formed Shanghai Dog with Barry Taylor from The Young Canadians and Doug Andrew (later of Circus in Flames). Randy Bowman joined The Enigmas and later went on to join Vancouver band, The Scramblers, along with Ron Allan. Subhumans’ songs have been covered by many other bands, including D.O.A.,

NoMeansNo Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, a ...

, MDC, Overkill, Jingo de Lunch, and the Vancouver band Cub, and they are highly regarded within the punk community. A brief reunion saw the band tour western Canada in 1995. The lineup was Hannah and Goble, joined by Jon Williams on guitar and David "Salty" MacAnulty on drums. They released the album ''Pissed Off … With Good Reason'' the following year, a compilation of material previously released only on vinyl and previously unreleased recordings, including a live track & 4 demos recorded in 1981 and seven tracks recorded live in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

during the 1995 tour. In 2005, the Subhumans reunited with the following line-up: Gerry Hannah on bass, Jon Card (ex- Personality Crisis, SNFU and D.O.A.) on drums,

Wimpy Roy Brian Roy Goble, (January 4, 1957 – December 7, 2014), also known as Wimpy Roy or Brian "Sunny Boy Roy" Goble, was a Canadian singer and musician. He played bass and sang for several Vancouver punk bands. After starting with Stone Crazy, Brian t ...

on vocals and Mike Graham on guitar. They signed to

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

and

G7 Welcoming Committee Records G7 Welcoming Committee Records was a Canadian independent record label based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The label mostly released material by artists and speakers with a radical left-wing point of view. History G7 Welcoming Committee Records was ...

. A new album, ''New Dark Age Parade'', was released in September 2006. ''Death Was Too Kind'', a compilation of the band's early singles and EPs, was released in 2008. In 2010, the band released the album ''Same Thoughts, Different Day'', a re-recorded version of their 1980 album ''Incorrect Thoughts''. The band wanted to re-issue the original album, but were blocked by an American record company claiming ownership. Deciding it was likely less expensive than fighting a lengthy legal battle, the band chose to re-record the album, including "bonus songs" from the same era that had been unreleased. Although no formal break-up announcement was made, a string of shows in 2010 after the album's release proved to be the band's final performances. On December 7, 2014, lead singer Brian Goble died of a heart attack at the age of 57. The Subhumans were featured in the 2010 documentary film ''Bloodied but Unbowed'', directed by Susanne Tabata."Vancouver punk rock doc... now with Jello"
''Vancouver Courier'', Michael Kissinger, January 18, 2012

Discography

Singles, 7"s, EPs

*''Death to the Sickoids / Oh Canaduh'' 7" (1978) *''The Subhumans'' EP ( Quintessence Records, 1979) *''Firing Squad" / No Productivity'' 7" (Quintessence Records, 1980) *''Demo/EP Limited Edition'' EP (2005)

Albums

*''Incorrect Thoughts'' LP on (Friends Records, 1980) *''No Wishes, No Prayers'' LP on ( SST, 1983) *''New Dark Age Parade'' LP (

and

, 2006) *''Same Thoughts, Different Day'' CD/LP (Alternative Tentacles, 2010)

Anthologies

*''Pissed Off... with Good Reason'' CD (1996) *''Death Was Too Kind'' (

, 2008)

Compilations

*"Death to the Sickoids" and "Urban Guerilla" on ''Vancouver Complication'' (1979) *"Out of Line" and "Behind The Smile" on ''Vancouver Independence'', Friends Records (1980) *"Slave to My Dick" on ''

Let Them Eat Jellybeans! ''Let Them Eat Jellybeans!'', subtitled "17 Extracts From America's Darker Side", is a compilation album released by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles in 1981. It was one of the earliest compilations of underground music in the United States ...

'' (

, 1981) *"No Productivity" on ''Killed By Death #4'', Redrum Records (1989 *"Slave to My Dick" on ''Last Call: Vancouver Independent Music 1977-1988'' (Zulu Records, 1991) *"Firing Squad" on ''Faster & Louder: Hardcore Punk, Vol. 2'', (

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was original ...

, 1993)

Covered by

* Overkill covered “Fuck You” on the !!!Fuck You!!! EP (1987) * DOA covered "No Productivity" on the "Murder" LP (1990), and also covered "Behind the Smile" for the Terminal City Ricochet film soundtrack (1990). *Frank Frink Five "Slave to My Dick (Polka Version)" on "Van-Cover" compilation, Garbonzo Bean Productions, 1986 * MDC covered "The Big Picture" in their '' Smoke Signals'' LP (1986). *

covered "Oh Canaduh!" in a 1991 single. *Leamers covered "Oh Canaduh!" in the Magic, Yo! EP (2012).

References

External links

Subhumans
Official website
The Subhumans on New Music Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subhumans, The Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2005 Musical groups from Vancouver Canadian hardcore punk groups G7 Welcoming Committee Records artists Anarcho-punk groups Alternative Tentacles artists 1978 establishments in British Columbia 1983 disestablishments in Canada 2005 establishments in British Columbia Canadian garage rock groups