Ian Glasper — Silence Is No Reaction: Forty Years of Subhumans (
Along with Crass and Conflict, Subhumans is one of the key/influential bands of the late ’70s/ early 80’s Anarcho-punk movement. The band’s sound blended anger and punchiness, with touches of subtle humour- their song craft offered up moments of both rapidity, melody, and darts of moodiness- all wrapped up in a haphazard charm. Silence Is No Reaction: Forty Years of Subhumans is a truly huge six hundred-plus page tome- beginning before the band formed, charting their first/initial break-up in 1985, their brief reunions in the ’90s, and the band fully getting back together in early 2004.
The book is a slightly oversized A5 paperback running at six hundred and forty pages. It brings together highly readable texts, which are a mix of in-depth interviews with band members past & present, friends & peers- with passioned write-ups about the band's output, key gigs, etc. Also included are a huge selection of band photos, original lyrics, flyers, etc.
Subhumans were formed in Warminster, Wiltshire. With its first line-up bringing together Dick Lucas-lead vocals. Bruce Treasure – guitar & backing vocals. Grant Jackson – bass, and Andy Gale – drums. The band’s initially run between the years 1980 & 1985. They released four studio albums- The Day the Country Died (1983), From The Cradle To The Grave (1983), Worlds Apart (1985), and 29:29 Split Vision (1986). As well as six EP’s Demolition War (1981), Reasons for Existence (1982), Religious Wars (1982), Evolution (1983), Time Flies... but Aeroplanes Crash (1983), and Rats (1984).
Silence Is No Reaction: Forty Years of Subhumans was written by British journalist/ writer Ian Glasper- who started off writing for the likes of Record Collector and Terrorizer magazines in the late '80s/ early ’90s. He went on to pen several definitive books on the punk genre like- Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984, The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980–1984, Trapped in a Scene: UK Hardcore 1985-89. He is also a Ube Subhumans fan.
The book unfolds roughly year-by-year format, moving from 1979, just before the band formed to 2021 & beyond. One of the key figures interviewed throughout the book is lead vocalist/ lyric writer Dick Lucas- and he has a truly wonderful memory, which is helped by his keeping of diaries though-out the band's existence. Though of course, we get input from all the other present & past members too, to fill out/ balance the book. This is of course mixed in with Glasper's assessment of each one of the band's Eps, albums, and key events/ points in the band's career.
It truly is one of the most thorough & in-depth books I’ve read on a band- as it moves from just before the Subhumans became a band/ what key figures were up to beforehand, all through charting their key & important gigs & tours of the 80’s, through to the recording of their EP’s & LPs. With the first three hundred- and forty pages cover in depth the band's first run, break-up/aftermath.
Then the remainder of the book’s chapters cover a selection of years from 1986 to 1997, 1998 to 2001, 2002 to 2005, 2011 to 2016, and 2021 and beyond. Cover important points in the member's lives, as well of course the band getting back together for one-off shows, before in 2004 becoming a fully active touring band again.
The whole book is written as you'd expect in a down-to-earth, no-nonsense, and readable manner, with a good selection of different voices brought into the text for a wholly balanced overview of the band's forty-year ( save for a few years off) existences.
Silence Is No Reaction: Forty Years of Subhumans of course will appeal to fans of the band/ general Anarcho-punk. But I can equally see it appealing to those who have any interest in the late 70s/ early 80s in the UK underground music scene.