Review: The Undertones, Glasgow Garage 24th Sept

THE UNDERTONES THE GARAGE, GLASGOW, 24TH SEPT. 2005

Well, this was something I thought for a long time I'd never see...The Undertones!

Just seeing the name conjures up all those classic songs that take you whirling back in time to those oh-so-glorious schooldays! To finally get to see them live was always gonna be a treat!

Getting past the Garage security was it’s useful fun pastime, and it was up the stairs to see just HOW OLD the crowd was gonna be! Yes, they were old! Yes they looked like it was a Robbie Williams gig! Yes this is what I have to look forward to!

Just time to get a beer, and on came Mssrs. Bradley, O’Neill and O’Neill, with "new guys" Paul McLoone (replacing Feargal Sharkey) and (I think) Davey Whiteside (filling in for Billy Doherty who apparently fell off his bike! A Chopper maybe?!).

A rather under-whelming response greeted them as they walked on for some reason, and it was straight into the first of many classics of the evening, that fine, fine first album opener, "Family Entertainment". The crowd had obviously wakened up, and it was greeted with as rapturous a response as it deserved. The word "classic" is often over-used (me included) but with the Undertones it’s the only word that can be used to describe so many of their songs. "Jimmy Jimmy" (which still reminds me of playing football at primary school, hearing it coming out one of the Big School windows!), "True Confessions", "Here Comes The Summer", "Wednesday Week", "My Perfect Cousin", "You’ve Got My Number" and of course "Teenage Kicks" (which surprisingly wasn’t held out ‘til the end, but came up about half way through).

The absolute highlight was "Get Over You" - a total fucking gem of a song. And this is only the tip of the "classics" iceberg, believe me! Now, few bands can get away with replacing their lead singer, and Feargal Sharkey has such a recognisable voice it always seemed a bit dubious. But the fact that the ‘Tones never really jumped on the sad "punk-reunion-cash-in" type thing, and that Paul McLoone actually fits in really well makes The Undertones one of the few that seem to have got away with it. Some of my gig-going accomplices reckoned he was a bit too Robbie Williams in his stage-presence (thankfully I wouldn’t fucking know!) but for me, he did a great job. Maybe if he’d worn a parka everyone woulda been content.

Due to the usual Garage curfew, there wasn’t much messing around encore-wise. A couple of surprises in the shape That Petrol Emotion’s "It’s A Good Thing" (the O’Neill’s band after the original Undertones split) and the Sonics’ classic (that word again!) "Have Love Will Travel". And who woulda thought it, the night ended with the best song ever written about sweets..."Mars Bars". "I never eat my dinner, I push away the plate, you can see I’m getting thinner, because I just can’t wait, to get a MARS BAR!". Ha, what more can be said after that?!

Okay, okay, they shoulda done "When Saturday Comes" (and I think would’ve if it wasn’t for the disco-dancing-motherfucker curfew). Ah well, ye can’t have it all!

So, almost 30 years after they formed, The Undertones still deliver the goods, and received the warm welcome a band of their genius should. Pop-punk pretenders of today should listen and weep. THIS is how it’s done!

Dave Gin Goblin (http://www.gingoblins.com/)

The Undertones - biography

The Undertones emerged from Derry in Northern Ireland in the whole Punk / ‘New Wave’ boom of ’77 / ’78. They had actually formed in 1975 – the time-honoured five mates who played cover versions in youth clubs. The line up featured the talented O’Neill brothers – John and Damian on guitars, Michael Bradley on bass, Billy Doherty the drums, and on vocals Feargal Sharkey. Like countless others, Punk Rock fired their imagination, and gave shape and direction to their material. A love of Garage bands as heard on the seminal Lenny Kaye compilation ‘Nuggets’ helped formulate their predilection for songs with strong chorus hooks, keeping songs short, economical and dynamic. It wasn’t until 1978 that their pop fizz bombs were finally preserved on vinyl, with the classic debut single ‘Teenage Kicks’, released originally on the Good Vibrations label. The song so enamoured influential Radio One deejay John Peel that he announced it to be his ‘favourite record of all time’, and played the single incessantly. "Teenage Kicks" has subsequently come to be considered one of the best rock songs of all time. The Undertones shared a musical commonality with The Ramones in the USA and The Buzzcocks in England, wherein their songs were distilled to an addictive core, but still finding time for lyrical invention and musical flair.

Signing to The Ramones label, Sire, the bands eponymous debut album and its follow-up, ‘Hypnotised’, showed that ‘Teenage Kicks’ was no mere fluke. On ‘Hypnotised’, the band even spoofed label mates Talking Heads second album, ‘More Songs About Buildings and Food’ with the song ‘More Songs about Chocolate and Girls’, showing that there was a knowing wit at work amongst the addictive choruses and chunky riffing. The band earned a reputation as a ‘singles’ act par excellence, with cracking 45s such as ‘Here Comes The Summer’, ‘You’ve Got My Number (Why Don’t You Use It)’, and ‘My Perfect Cousin’. Subsequent albums, such as ‘Positive Touch’ and ‘The Sin of Pride’ showed a band with an increasing mastery of studio technique, and a greater feel for song arrangement and structure. Sadly, internal tensions within the band reached breaking point, with the result, that singer Feargal Sharkey departed, to pursue a solo career, and the O’Neill brothers formed the highly regarded and popular That Petrol Emotion.

However, in 1999, The Undertones reconvened to play some shows in Derry, without Sharkey, his role being taken by Paul McLoone whose electric onstage presence more than make's up for Sharkey’s absence. It was like the band never split; they were rapturously received. The old classics were as fresh and their live performances as exhilarating as in 1979 with the new songs receiving a positive reaction from audiences and critics alike. They are now playing selective shows around the globe, attracting old fans, and many younger fans intrigued to have an opportunity to see one of the major influences on the new wave of pop/punk bands such as Sum41, The Hives and Green Day etc. As well as performing live the Undertones have also recorded and released an album of new material , "Get what you need" plus a "best of" , both albums were released in the autumn of 2003 and received unanimous critical acclaim.

A DVD , "The story of the undertones", was released 2004.