[4][3] The band consisted of founder Charlie Harper, guitarist Nicky Garratt, bassist Paul Slack, and a drummer who went under the name Rory Lyons.

In 1979, Julien Temple wrote and directed a short film Punk Can Take It, a parody of wartime documentaries, that consisted mainly of U.K. Subs playing live on stage.

[7] In June 1980, Davies and Slack left the band and were replaced with bassist Alvin Gibbs and drummer Steve Roberts.

[11] Following the recording of the album, Steve Roberts was fired at the end of 1981 and the Subs used both Mal Aisling and John Towe as replacements.

[12] In July 1982, they became the first Western band to perform in Poland since the imposition of martial law, and the suppression of the trade union Solidarity.

In recent years, the band's work has been critical of British politician Nick Clegg, with the 2013 song "Coalition Government Blues" describing the Liberal Democrats' leader as "liking his perks".

To celebrate 40 years since its release, Demon Records issued a special edition copy of Another Kind of Blues in a box set of two 10" coloured vinyl on 13 April 2019.

[19] Crash Course and Diminished Responsibility have also been reissued and Cleopatra Records has released an expanded version of Endangered Species.

In September 2021, to celebrate 40 years since the band's concert at Gossips, the official live cassette of the show was rereleased on CD and Download as Danger: The Chaos Tape via Cherry Red.

On 17 October 2021, Alvin Gibbs announced on Facebook that "Charlie Harper, Steve Straughan and I have decided Jamie Oliver will no longer continue as drummer for the UK Subs" over "his post seemingly celebrating the tragic and abhorrent death of Conservative MP, David Amess".

[20] Anti-Pasti drummer, Kevin Nixon, agreed to temporarily take over the role vacated by Oliver, enabling the band to meet live commitments in France in October 2021.

In what was advertised as the U.K. Subs' final album, Reverse Engineering - a studio record of new material - was released on 1 July 2022.

[21][22] On 20 August 2022, the band played what was billed as their "last ever" show on the island of Ireland, performing at Voodoo in Belfast.

At the time, the band announced that, although they intended to continue to release EPs and singles, Ziezo would be their last full album.

On 1 July 2022, Cleopatra Records released the Subs' latest studio album, Reverse Engineering.

They retained limited elements of rhythm and blues due to Harper's previous years as an R&B singer.

[28] Music writer Colin Larkin described the band as specialising in "shambolic sub-three-minute bursts of alcohol-driven rock ‘n’ roll".