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Young For Eternity - The Subways 18/10/05 Bristol Carling Academy
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“I live my life walking down this street
I meet the faces of the people I see…”

As Billy Lunn, guitarist and singer for the band at the fore of the British punk revival, rips into the opening lyrics of ‘With You’ a smile comes across his face as the entire audience drown him out, singing his lyrics. This is a testament, not only to the incredible furore that The Subways have created since showcasing at Glastonbury last year, but also to Lunn’s simple punk lyrics and catchy pop guitar hooks.

The phenomenon that is The Subways cannot be truly appreciated without first looking at the origins of the band. Hailing from the typically suburban landscape of Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, Billy Lunn and his brother Josh Morgan, first began tinkering with music at the prepubescent age of 12. That Christmas Josh had been given a drum kit. As an ADHD sufferer, his parents thought it a good idea to help relieve some of his energy. Billy’s dad first taught him how to play an E chord on guitar around the same time.

The pair’s lives focussed totally on music. They messed around a lot of the time, learning songs by the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam; though the concept of writing their own material wouldn’t occur to them for a few years yet. The brothers were soon joined at their home by Billy’s long time friend Charlotte Cooper. The trio were from then on inseparable. At the age of 15 Billy had entered himself to play in a battle of the bands competition. His plan was to play Nirvana’s ‘Lithium’. One week before the show he thought “Why have one person on stage, when I can have more?” so he brought his closest friends together, Josh on drumming duties, and Charlotte… she would play bass. Billy taught her how to play in one week and The Subways were born.

With an average age of just over 19, The Subways are young, very young. And this is possibly why they are attractive to so many. Spotted at Glastonbury by the likes of Zane Lowe and Michael Eavis, they were pulled from performing in front of a 400 strong crowd to put on a show for over 5,000. From there they have skyrocketed in popularity; riding the crest of a wave that is still growing and at this very moment travelling over the Atlantic to hit the US.

There is something innately beautiful about a gig at which everyone knows the words to every song. It speaks volumes about a group of fans merely giving thanks to The Subways for just doing what they do and doing it so bloody well. And it is what they do which is so important.
After kicking off the show with their latest chart offering ‘Oh Yeah’, the band move into the title track of their album ‘Young for Eternity’, a thunderous 3 minute rampage that’s pure rock and roll driven by the band’s youthful exuberance. This is followed by ‘City Pavement’, the epitome of what the band is - a racy pop punk trio with the sweet sense of rebellious teens doing what they love.

The great attraction for most in today’s musical climate is that far from seeking to be seen as intelligent emotional creatures like the majority of new music, The Subways are out there, writing simple songs with simple meanings. And the best part of it is that they know it and embrace it. They declare themselves as playing pop/punk music and they are right. It is their simplicity that attracts people to them; there is no pretentious image of an emotive angst ridden group, unlike the majority of ‘alternative music’ around at the moment. Billy Lunn is not trying to write intricate, poignant songs, but rather is just enjoying making music with his friends.

And of course The Subways are all about friends too. The band is a strange entanglement of relationships. As we know the drummer and singer are brothers (their surnames differ because Billy took on his mother’s maiden name, possibly some kind of family feud), all three of them are friends, and bassist and guitarist are due to be married. This cacophony of relationships only helps to fuel interest in the band.

Working through their impressive debut album “Young for Eternity”, the band continue to impress the crowd with the incredible quality with which they play. The Subways grew up on the live circuit and it shows, where the album lacks in raw energy the live show makes up for in leaps and bounds. Lunn’s raw, honest voice has a new dimension to it, brought about by the audience themselves. You see the audience are excited to see The Subways, and The Subways are – in their childlike enthusiasm – excited to see the audience. The two play off each other, working the other into a frenzied mass. Lunn himself epitomises the connection between band and spectator by launching himself into the crowd mid song. This is no pre-planned action though, the bouncers have no idea and nor do his band mates. Retrieved and thoroughly satisfied, a beaming Billy Lunn returns to the stage to seamlessly continue the set.
As the show fast approaches its end (the album itself is a mere 37 minutes long) the band show no sign of any fatigue that might have inflicted older bands, and neither do the crowd. They have enjoyed a ruthless rendition of The Subway’s album and the near perfection bordering the total chaos with which the band play has led to an awesome gig. To finish the band come back for an encore, playing the soon to be released single “No Goodbyes”, and then “Rock & Roll Queen”, a tribute written by Billy, for Mary. With lines like

“You are the sun,
You are the only one,
My heart, is blue,
My heart is blue for you”

The song is far from subtle, and as The Subway’s ending tune of the night it’s a clear middle finger, proudly stuck up to the tragic art-punk ‘rock n’ roll bands’ they juxtapose so well.

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(album review)
Catchy pop-punk hit after pop-punk hit! The Subways debut album “Young For Eternity” is a dirty hybrid of punk, rock and soul with Lunn’s powerful howls counterbalanced by the sassy backing vocals of Cooper. Think Arctic Monkeys but with lyrics your regular pop-princess can actually sing along too. The album is filled with little gems (little being the right word, 12 tracks and only 37 minutes between them) that pass on the trio’s abundant energy. It pays to be young and if this album sells like it should, Youth will payout for The Subways.
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Description
Young For Eternity - The Subways 18/10/05 Bristol Carling Academy
---------------------------------------------------
“I live my life walking down this street
I meet the faces of the people I see…”

As Billy Lunn, guitarist and singer for the band at the fore of the British punk revival, rips into the opening lyrics of ‘With You’ a smile comes across his face as the entire audience drown him out, singing his lyrics. This is a testament, not only to the incredible furore that The Subways have created since showcasing at Glastonbury last year, but also to Lunn’s simple punk lyrics and catchy pop guitar hooks.

The phenomenon that is The Subways cannot be truly appreciated without first looking at the origins of the band. Hailing from the typically suburban landscape of Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, Billy Lunn and his brother Josh Morgan, first began tinkering with music at the prepubescent age of 12. That Christmas Josh had been given a drum kit. As an ADHD sufferer, his parents thought it a good idea to help relieve some of his energy. Billy’s dad first taught him how to play an E chord on guitar around the same time.

The pair’s lives focussed totally on music. They messed around a lot of the time, learning songs by the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam; though the concept of writing their own material wouldn’t occur to them for a few years yet. The brothers were soon joined at their home by Billy’s long time friend Charlotte Cooper. The trio were from then on inseparable. At the age of 15 Billy had entered himself to play in a battle of the bands competition. His plan was to play Nirvana’s ‘Lithium’. One week before the show he thought “Why have one person on stage, when I can have more?” so he brought his closest friends together, Josh on drumming duties, and Charlotte… she would play bass. Billy taught her how to play in one week and The Subways were born.

With an average age of just over 19, The Subways are young, very young. And this is possibly why they are attractive to so many. Spotted at Glastonbury by the likes of Zane Lowe and Michael Eavis, they were pulled from performing in front of a 400 strong crowd to put on a show for over 5,000. From there they have skyrocketed in popularity; riding the crest of a wave that is still growing and at this very moment travelling over the Atlantic to hit the US.

There is something innately beautiful about a gig at which everyone knows the words to every song. It speaks volumes about a group of fans merely giving thanks to The Subways for just doing what they do and doing it so bloody well. And it is what they do which is so important.
After kicking off the show with their latest chart offering ‘Oh Yeah’, the band move into the title track of their album ‘Young for Eternity’, a thunderous 3 minute rampage that’s pure rock and roll driven by the band’s youthful exuberance. This is followed by ‘City Pavement’, the epitome of what the band is - a racy pop punk trio with the sweet sense of rebellious teens doing what they love.

The great attraction for most in today’s musical climate is that far from seeking to be seen as intelligent emotional creatures like the majority of new music, The Subways are out there, writing simple songs with simple meanings. And the best part of it is that they know it and embrace it. They declare themselves as playing pop/punk music and they are right. It is their simplicity that attracts people to them; there is no pretentious image of an emotive angst ridden group, unlike the majority of ‘alternative music’ around at the moment. Billy Lunn is not trying to write intricate, poignant songs, but rather is just enjoying making music with his friends.

And of course The Subways are all about friends too. The band is a strange entanglement of relationships. As we know the drummer and singer are brothers (their surnames differ because Billy took on his mother’s maiden name, possibly some kind of family feud), all three of them are friends, and bassist and guitarist are due to be married. This cacophony of relationships only helps to fuel interest in the band.

Working through their impressive debut album “Young for Eternity”, the band continue to impress the crowd with the incredible quality with which they play. The Subways grew up on the live circuit and it shows, where the album lacks in raw energy the live show makes up for in leaps and bounds. Lunn’s raw, honest voice has a new dimension to it, brought about by the audience themselves. You see the audience are excited to see The Subways, and The Subways are – in their childlike enthusiasm – excited to see the audience. The two play off each other, working the other into a frenzied mass. Lunn himself epitomises the connection between band and spectator by launching himself into the crowd mid song. This is no pre-planned action though, the bouncers have no idea and nor do his band mates. Retrieved and thoroughly satisfied, a beaming Billy Lunn returns to the stage to seamlessly continue the set.
As the show fast approaches its end (the album itself is a mere 37 minutes long) the band show no sign of any fatigue that might have inflicted older bands, and neither do the crowd. They have enjoyed a ruthless rendition of The Subway’s album and the near perfection bordering the total chaos with which the band play has led to an awesome gig. To finish the band come back for an encore, playing the soon to be released single “No Goodbyes”, and then “Rock & Roll Queen”, a tribute written by Billy, for Mary. With lines like

“You are the sun,
You are the only one,
My heart, is blue,
My heart is blue for you”

The song is far from subtle, and as The Subway’s ending tune of the night it’s a clear middle finger, proudly stuck up to the tragic art-punk ‘rock n’ roll bands’ they juxtapose so well.

------------------------------------------------------
(album review)
Catchy pop-punk hit after pop-punk hit! The Subways debut album “Young For Eternity” is a dirty hybrid of punk, rock and soul with Lunn’s powerful howls counterbalanced by the sassy backing vocals of Cooper. Think Arctic Monkeys but with lyrics your regular pop-princess can actually sing along too. The album is filled with little gems (little being the right word, 12 tracks and only 37 minutes between them) that pass on the trio’s abundant energy. It pays to be young and if this album sells like it should, Youth will payout for The Subways.
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