The Land of the Free… Unless You Play Bass
TL;DR (Too Loud; Didn’t Rock)
UK Subs’ punk rebellion meets US immigration: 3 bandmates detained, deported, and denied wine—Trump-era chaos with pot noodles and no sleep.
It’s not every day that a septuagenarian punk gets deported for, well, punking. But in March 2025, Los Angeles International Airport became the setting for the least glamorous tour stop in UK Subs history—complete with cold floors, confiscated passports, and the sort of culinary offerings that would make Gregg’s pasty look like haute cuisine.
Bassist Alvin Gibbs, guitarist Marc Carrey, and drummer Stefan Häublein found themselves abruptly upgraded to the “deported guest experience,” locked in what was kindly described as a “very cold holding pen” with all the charm of a Soviet-era bus station. Meanwhile, frontman Charlie Harper breezed through immigration like the world’s least suspicious pensioner, oblivious to the chaos unfolding behind him.
Visa Schmisa and the Mysterious “Other Issue”
According to immigration officials—those famed arbiters of musical taste—Gibbs and co. had the wrong visa. Naturally, but that wasn’t all. There was also an “undisclosed issue,” which is the sort of vague bureaucratic threat you’d expect to hear in a dystopian novel or, indeed, at any American airport post-2016.
Now, Gibbs, ever the punk, couldn’t help but wonder aloud if perhaps his “less than flattering” remarks about a particular orange president had anything to do with his sudden status as persona non grata. Was it the punk ethos that did it? Or had the Department of Homeland Security developed a new policy titled “No Mohawks Beyond This Point”?
A Festival Without the Band, a Gig Without the Musicians
Back in LA, Harper soldiered on at the Punk Invasion festival, performing with a patchwork of fill-in musicians. It was like a tribute band to a band that wasn’t dead yet. The UK Subs became the UK Substitutes. Still, the show went on, which is more than can be said for the bandmates locked up with pot noodles and fluorescent lighting.
The Flight of Shame – Tea, No Sympathy, and Definitely No Booze
After 25 hours of detainment, the deported trio were packed off back to Britain like unwanted Amazon parcels. United Airlines denied Gibbs a sniff of alcohol, quoting company policy for “escorted passengers,” apparently. One assumes that includes suspected terrorists, exiled punks, and anyone who once rhymed “Trump” with “swamp.”
No Country for Old Punks
Upon returning, Gibbs expressed a strange blend of bewilderment and pride. “Kind of proud to be thrown out of America at 67,” he declared, like a punk rock pensioner collecting deportation badges. It’s not exactly Woodstock, but being ejected by Uncle Sam for alleged political insolence might be the most on-brand moment in UK Subs’ four-decade history.
Reality Check
Three members of UK Subs—Alvin Gibbs, Marc Carrey, and Stefan Häublein—were detained and deported from LAX in March 2025. The official reasons were visa issues and an undisclosed concern. Gibbs speculated that his past criticism of Donald Trump might have played a role. The band missed their LA performance, though vocalist Charlie Harper performed with substitute musicians. Gibbs was denied alcohol on his flight home and later posted about the incident on Facebook.
The Dream That Definitely Happened—perhaps
The following account is entirely imaginary. We have no way of knowing if this dream ever took place, but if it did, it would be a great dream—maybe the best dream…
So these guys—foreign guys, okay? British or something, one of them might have been Scottish, who knows—they land at MY airport, and they think they’re going to play music. Loud, angry, weird music, not even good music. And I said, “No thank you.” We don’t need more noise. We’ve got Kid Rock, we’re all set. So I told Border Patrol, “Put them in the coldest room we have. Give them tea, they’ll love that, they’re British!” And one of them tried to get wine on the flight home. Not on my watch! Total losers. America wins again.