It’s not everyday that a senior citizen decides to form a brand new band instead of putting up his feet in front of the telly, but that’s exactly what famed UK Subs frontman, Charlie Harper has done. Ladies and gentlemen we give you…Derik & The Disasters.
Vocalist Charlie got together with some close chums and formed the new punk rock outfit. His co-conspirator is none other than guitarist (and now vocalist) Del Strangefish aka Del Greening of Peter And The Test Tube Babies, Flesh For Lulu and The Del Strangefish Inexperience fame, and together they successfully acquired the services of renowned bassist Victoria Smith who is known for her work in The Ramonas as well as Cockwomble.
Completing the lineup is drummer Marley Perez who just happens to be Charlie’s grandson! Together they headed off to Brighton Road recording studios in October 2025 and put their heads down and seriously got to work. So much so, that out of nothing they had miraculously come up with four songs within the first six-hour session, these being ‘Deadlines’, ‘Divide’, ‘Cyber War’, and ‘Lost’.
The sessions then moved to engineer and fellow Cockwomble Ali Gavin’s tiny back-garden studio located in the depths of deepest darkest Mid Sussex, and an album’s worth of material started taking shape, with Ali even at times jumping behind the drumkit in order to assist.
The final end result culminated with the arrival of 14 songs that tap into both Charlie and Del’s musical legacies whilst creating a sound that is unique and vibrant, with lyrics that don’t shy away from tackling the many issues facing the world today. This is punk rock in 2026 folks!
The 14 tunes are called ‘Divide’, ‘Lost’, ‘Clickbait’, ‘New Palestine’, ‘Used And Abused’, ‘Deadlines’, ‘Parasite’, ‘The Disasters’, ‘L.G.B.T.’, ‘The Takeover’, ‘Squirrel’, ‘Scars’, ‘Cyber War’, and ‘Strait Of Hormuz’. These were sent to the Damaged Goods label, and they dutifully released the self-titled Derik & The Disasters album on 30th October on pink and yellow vinyl variations, as well as on CD and download. Find your copy HERE. Their ‘New Palestine’ single (from the album) can be heard HERE and the 7” green vinyl record can be purchased HERE.
One of the reasons why Derik & The Disasters were formed was because Charlie and Del will be unable to fly soon, so they simply wanted a vehicle through which they could simply play live in this country. They want to keep it at grassroots level, but will play a festival or two if invited.
So what better way to open up their live performance account by playing their first ever live gig for local fans! This will be happening in Brighton at The Pipeline on Thursday 3rd December as a celebration of the venue becoming the tenth one to join the community ownership movement. Support on the night will come from Grail Guard. It’s a free entry event with first come first serve, so get down early! The gig is listed as running from 7:30pm to 11:00pm
The following night, Friday 4th December, will see Derik & The Disasters performing live at Vive Le Rock‘s Annual X-Mess Bash! The bill will also feature from Helsinki Lovers Left Alive, Desperate Measures and Continental Lovers, as well as Vive Le Rock DJ’s and a raffle. This will be taking place at The Water Rats which is found at 328 Grays Inn Road, King’s Cross, London, WC1X 8BZ.
Tickets for the Vive Le X-Mess are on sale and can be purchased HERE.
www.instagram.com/derikandthedisasters
