Founded by Steve Tupper and a then partner, Michael Fox in 1979,[1] it focused on that city's underground punk and industrial music scene.
Subterranean and fellow punk/alt/underground San Francisco label Alternative Tentacles both sprang forth from the DIY punk movement in 1979, and were quite successful on college and community radio stations in the US.
Like many small DIY labels, Steve Tupper noted that bands were chosen based on his musical tastes.
[2] Subterranean had a small storefront record shop on Valencia Street for about 4 years, from about 1984 to 1988.
[3] The label has released a number of important underground albums, most notably four LPs by the band Flipper.