UK Subs, Cheap ‘n’ Nasty concerts

Cheap ‘n’ Nasty bass/vocals Terry opening for UK Subs in Venlo

1980.10.11 In Ons Huis in Blerick, near Venlo, a concert by the U.K. Subs. The Bureau Pinkpop organisers refuse to pay for a support band.

Then Charlie Harper, singer of the UK Subs, steps in. He pays for petrol to get from the western Netherlands to Venlo. First with Terry’s tiny red FIAT from Delft to Zwijndrecht, next with Terry’s brother’s car to Venlo. Almost nobody in Venlo knows that Cheap ‘n’ Nasty will play, except the Venlo PIN fanzine subscriber Karin and a pen pal of Terry, who travelled from Helmond to Venlo especially to see them. Despite this, an encore has to be played. A large audience, surely more than a thousand. Among them, Venlo teenagers who decide to start a band; it became Pandemonium.

The UK Subs after the concert: ‘Come back to play with us anytime!’

This was for us the first show with Kees on guitar.

Cheap ‘n’ Nasty, Kees in Venlo. Drummer Maarten on the left

On 21 March 1981, Cheap ‘n’ Nasty played again with the UK Subs, in the Effenaar in Eindhoven.

UK Subs and Cheap ‘n’ Nasty in Eindhoven, poster

Then, the Cheap ‘n’ Nasty Covergirl EP was in the pipeline to being released on our own Smashstick Plastics label. UK Subs bass player Alvin Gibbs wanted to buy the first copy. And, indeed, the first copy was mailed to Alvin in England.