Punk legends UK SUBS will headline next month’s Anarchy Easter weekend at Blackpool’s Waterloo Music Bar

Led by punk pensioner, 77-year-old Charlie Harper, he said: “We love visiting Blackpool – The Waterloo is my favourite gig in England.

“The Waterloo promoter, Ian Fletcher, fought tooth and nail to keep The Waterloo alive after it was forced to close during the pandemic and now it is one of the best places to play in the country.

“Ian is an inspiration, and he should be incredibly proud of his efforts.”

Many people imagine their retirement years will be a more sedate and peaceful period but a thundering new single – Sensei – and an Easter Sunday headline shot at the Waterloo Music Bar on Waterloo Road, means the UK Subs remain as much in demand as ever on the punk circuit.

Charlie added: “I don’t stay out late now or jump up and down like a wild thing on stage as much as I used to.

“And I was content to be locked up during the pandemic. I needed a rest.

“But playing fast punk music helps me stay young.

“You can’t beat staying busy, though, and that is what I love because punk music is my life.

“Playing music is a physical and mental release that’s so good for you.

“I say to the band, ‘We’re the punk plumbers, and while there’s pipes to be fixed, we’ve got to do it.”

And Harper, who has survived two heart attacks, says he has no plans to retire.

“I’ll be 78 in May, but age is no barrier if you love what you do – it keeps me sharp.

“Maybe because of my age people expect me to be a tame animal these days, pottering about the garden pruning the plants, but wild animals are much more beautiful and far more interesting.

“Why would I want to retire when I love what I do every day of my life.”

The UK Subs scored four top 20 albums – including their debut smash Another Kind of Blues – and several top 40 singles: Stranglehold, Tomorrow’s Girls, She’s Not There and

Warhead.

“Warhead’s my favourite track, a protest song I wrote 40 years ago with a very strong anti-war sentiment.

“It is just as relevant today, though, as it ever was with what is going on in other parts of the world.”

Harper, who is a trained hairdresser, first started playing music in London’s R&B scene in the sixties.

He knew the Rolling Stones and was taught to play harmonica by Rod Stewart.

And Harper’s musical career mirrors all the ebbs and flows of British pop culture in the last 50 years.

“I was a street singer, a busker,” said Charlie.

“Rod Stewart was a busker at the same time, and Al Stewart.

“He shared the same patch as me on Tottenham Court Road – and sometimes the same songs.”

UK Subs, Anarchy Easter Weekend, The Waterloo Blackpool, April 15-17.

For more details about upcoming gigs and to buy tickets, visit https://www.waterloomusicbar.com/