Somerset Coal Canal

Interview with Johnny Thunders from December 1980's Zigzag

Subway Sect Zigzag no 83 - May 1978

The Fallen Leaves - 'punk rock for gentlemen'

The Fallen Leaves Bristol Thunderbolt May 4^th

I have always been a fan of the early Subway Sect. This goes back a long time when the single Nobody’s Scared came out and we saw them on the White Riot Tour and heard their Peel session. We were most disappointed when we saw them supporting the Buzzcocks and they had all been sacked apart from Vic Godard. The subsequent LP What’s the Matter Boy was critically lauded but I didn’t like it – it wasn’t the Subway Sect that I fell in love with. So when Dave offered us a lift to see the Fallen Leaves (Rob Symmons’  former guitar-slinger in the Subway Sect’s newish band) we jumped at the chance. We weren’t disappointed. The thrashy trebly guitar sound was there and it was great to behold in an intimate venue. He’s obviously influenced a whole raft of guitarists including me. He is a missing jigsaw piece of punk history. The whole band are good – they all work really well together. Check out the Fallen Leaves – they’re on Spotify and still gigging – a class act.