I’ve said it before, but any day of the week’s When Saturday Comes if you’re catching The Undertones live. And these days it’s far more likely to be the case anyway, most of their live outings involving weekend jaunts up and down the country or on the Continent.
In this case my Love Parade Date Night arrived on the back of the band’s Friday night return to Cardiff’s Tramshed, Derry’s Finest Five having headed across the Severn estuary and made for South Devon to play a tidy venue in front of a sell-out crowd. The impressive Exeter Phoenix, tucked behind Queen Street, started life as a university building in 1909, surviving (just about) two world wars and even seeing service as a military hospital (with more about that history here), finally becoming a live venue in 1999… the year The Undertones had their own ‘from the ashes’ moment.
And there on Gandy Street I found brothers Damian and John O’Neill on fine form on the wings, playing a blinder while Billy Doherty and Mickey Bradley set a no-nonsense pace. I got the impression that Billy mischievously sped things up from time to time to keep them on their (heavy) mettle, but all of them remained resolutely in step to keep up a blistering tempo, with no hint of offside flags from errant linesmen, the clarity in those guitars (kudos to those mixing the sound) somewhat special.
It would all still crumble, of course, if Paul McLoone wasn’t up to the task, his antecedent Feargal Sharkey having set the bar extremely high. But while the ’Tones lead singer continues to act the maverick young frontman (younger than the others, anyway), finding plenty of opportunities for showboating, he remains on point, far more than just half of a double-act of ready wit and sharp banter alongside Mickey that always provides something to savour.
I think we’re beyond setlists now, right? There will always be songs we feel deserve outings that are missed out, but packing it all into an hour and a half or so means something must give, and the material they deliver – around 30-plus songs, perfectly executed, irrespective of that downplaying/understating of their own abilities and talents, and isn’t that attitude a breath of fresh air compared to some out there? – always impresses and has the power to take us back to our respective youths. Furthermore, I feel we’re seeing far younger converts in the crowd these days, many of whom probably first came along primarily to laugh/marvel (delete where applicable) at their old folks’ dancing or just to indulge their obsession… but stuck around, soon catching on.
Talking of youths, at one point Paul and Mickey latched on to a couple of lads out front, telling them they looked like they were in a band… and if they weren’t, they should be. As Mickey put it, gesturing towards himself and his bass guitar, ‘How hard can it be?’ Having ascertained they did in fact play, they asked the lads their band name, and while I couldn’t quite hear the response, I like to think they were, as it sounded, The Undecided – a grand name for a possible future support act.
Content-wise, we got a fairly typical array of hits and more, the band striding through cuts from all six LPs over two incarnations, with more than a smattering of the added extras we love. And the finest moment for me? ‘You’re Welcome’, positively awe-inspiring. Some 44 years beyond Positive Touch, I reckon I can truly hear what I’m guessing John initially wanted to convey there.
I won’t be the only one who’s heard ‘Teenage Kicks’ much too much for it to affect me the same way, but I’ve not tired of the other tracks from that EP, two of which featured on the night, that early material and belters like ‘Male Model’ perfect tributes to David Johansen, the last of the original New York Dolls, lost to the world in late February. Add that to the fact that no original Ramones remain among us, and this year alone we’ve also lost Pere Ubu’s David Thomas, Blondie’s Clem Burke, The Damned’s Brian James, and The Jam’s Rick Buckler, and I’m all the more thankful for what we still have… and The Undertones’ retention of their punk rock energy.
On that note, when the main set ended, Billy was the last to slip away. I’m not convinced he wasn’t heading the Wrong Way to get backstage – a Spinal Tap moment – but as he reached centre stage, he clutched his fist to that thankfully rewired heart in appreciation of the love crowd on a sell-out West Country evening. It was a poignant occasion too, the band with a heartfelt dedication to lost Devonian fan Roger Hawke, his family there to mark the occasion in his memory. And it was the first Undertones show I’ve been to where I wouldn’t get to swap notes after the event with Vinny Cunningham, the Derry City super-fan, Undertones diehard, dedicated family man and talented film-maker behind so much of the band’s recorded screen product since the 1999 rebirth.
I reckon in the 20 times I’ve caught The Undertones live across 44 years (16 of those involving the Mk. II lineup in the last quarter-century), I hear something fresh on each occasion. And as long as that’s the case, I’ll keep on attending, quality nights always guaranteed from these stalwart geniuses of punk rock pop.
What also jumps out at me (increasingly so) about the 21st Century ’Tones is their sonic nod to the UK glam scene that was always part of the band’s DNA, songs like ‘Hard Luck’ and ‘Top Twenty’ great examples aired on the night. Then, similarly, there’s that in-built love of the Sixties US underground, as heard on ‘The Love Parade’ and ‘When Saturday Comes’. And above all else there’s that ear and heart for perfect pop, with ‘Tearproof’, ‘Wednesday Week’ and simple wee tunes like ‘Really Really’ among this night’s prime examples.
They’ve never stood still, later era additions like ‘Thrill Me’ and ‘Dig Yourself Deep’ arguably now as essential as ‘Hypnotised’, ‘You Got My Number (Why Don’t You Use It!)’ and ‘Get Over You’. But the edginess remains, and while I’m not sure if it was just the heat getting to those guitars, I could hear (admittedly unexpected) echoes of the drone of early That Petrol Emotion live highlight ‘V2’ on ‘I Know a Girl’, of all songs. Maybe that’s just my aural wiring, mind.
Talking of heat, ‘Here Comes the Summer’ was suitably special on an evening when I reckon the fish were jumping in the Exe and a few wired locals in the park by the castle were certainly high. In fact, you could almost taste the hot bods in the throng, my tired dancing feet at least fireproof as I headed down the steps an hour or so later, back towards my car across town.
The five of them soon returned, a three-number send-off ending rather inevitably with ‘My Perfect Cousin’, that punk pop classic having started its three-week UK Top Twenty tenure 45 years ago this week, yet still as fresh as ever all these years on… just like the band.
A post-match pint in the bar followed with members of the fellow faithful – in this case the Taunton Twosome, one of whom was already fired up about the next date, with Sunday another Bath night for band and fans alike. I’d be back in West Cornwall by then though, and while I never take the possibility of further sightings for granted, I’m already looking forward to my next jolly boys and girls Undertones outing.
With extra thanks to Graham Perowne for the photographs. You’ll find plenty more of Papa Smurf’s splendid live music work via Facebook and Instagram.
For related past interviews, features, live reviews and what have you on this website, just click on the band members’ names higher up or type ‘Undertones’ into the search engine on the right towards the top of this page and listen as the cogs driving the inner doings Sigh and Explode.
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