The astounding debut album that established the Subhumans as a genuine force to be reckoned with, ‘The Day The Country Died’ captured both the band’s serious anarcho punk ideology and their irreverent sense of humour. It was apparent from the off that here was a band that could not only stimulate your brain but also put a big shit-eating grin on your face as you jumped about to them. And the now-iconic artwork by Nick Lant – probably his most recognisable piece of work for the band - has adorned countless thousands of jackets and T-shirts since. Recorded over just four days during the heady summer of 1982, and released six months later in January 1983, when it quickly climbed to No. 3 in the UK’s Independent Charts, this exhilarating collection of songs has endured for four decades, the band still regularly kicking their live set off with the opening track, ‘All Gone Dead’.
As a staple of the punk scene, ALL of the Subhumans records are still in high demand, and this long overdue repress of this album couldn’t be coming at a better time. Subhumans are one of the most influential bands from the UK Anarcho-Punk scene of the 80's, filed right alongside Crass and Conflict, and just as relevant today as they were during the darkest days of Thatcher's Britain. Take your choice in how to label them – Punk, UK82, Crusty, etc. – therein lies the attraction and consequent reason for their popularity, the band epitomizes non-conformity and connects with people in many different scenes. This album is an essential piece of history in the world of punk that Subhumans helped create.
The album was remastered from the original tapes by James Bragg (Cock Sparrer, Bar Stool Preachers).