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POST-PUNK before punk, and a seminal influence on the likes of Joy Division and the Jesus and Mary Chain, until a few years ago all was quiet from enigmatic cult band the Subway Sect.
Now they’re touring again and recently supported the Sleaford Mods at Koko in London.
So, what happened?
The answer’s provided by Graham Bendel’s Derailed Sense, a documentary doomed to languish in development limbo for a number of years over legal wrangling, but which has just premiered at the East End Film Festival in London.
Directed by Graham Bendel of Billy Childish is Dead renown, the film charts the eccentric course of the band, from discovery by Malcolm MacLaren and early gigs with the Sex Pistols and the Slits, through frontman Vic Godard’s increasingly unpredictable musical trajectory from angular and existential punk and northern soul — with the band sporting tweed suits during the latter period — to finger-snapping lounge jazz.
The film features Irvine Welsh, Bobby Gillespie, Viv Albertine and Edwyn Collins, each paying talking-head tribute and recounting anecdotes of the band and Godard.
He comes across as a truly singular figure, bird-like and intense and still wearing his trademark grey jumper.
The highlights though are not his celebrity admirers but his colleagues now. Godard famously left the music industry and became a postman — which he remains to this day — and the early morning interviews with his current workmates are hilarious and affectionate. As a performer he was once known for tardiness and they pull no punches when it comes to Godard’s relaxed attitude to punctuality.
The resurgence of interest in the Subway Sect has been a long time coming and Derailed Sense is a fascinating if delayed peek into the history of this mysterious band.
But as one of his fellow posties says about Godard: “He’s worth the wait”.
- Derailed Sense will be screened at the BFI in London on August 14 as part of the Sonic Cinema festival, with guest DJs Andrew Weatherall and Andy Lewis playing post-screening, details: bfi.org.uk
Review by Jody Porter
