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Review: The Undertones at Whitley Bay Playhouse

Derry’s favourite punk boys are now men, and some thirty years later, it seems their songs are still among some of the best pop has ever heard. Opening this year’s Mouth of the Tyne Festival, The Undertones are unfamiliar with the seated audience arrangement at Whitley Bay Playhouse. That said, they never were one of the confrontational punk acts. Fans will remember them for their ill fitting parkas, turn-ups over Dr Martens and gawky stage presence. Nevertheless, The Undertones 1979 eponymous album was packed with sweet, buzzsaw guitar sounds, and the unmistakable warble of singer, Feargal Sharkey.

Now without Sharkey, the band don’t quite match that magical teenage dynamic of the late 70s. Stand-in Paul McLoone certainly sounds the part, but veers into some embarrassing preening; really hamming up the “from the waist up” shenanigans. I’m not convinced it fits with the down-at-heel charm.

Nevertheless, the performance is great. Tunes such as ‘Male Model’, ‘Family Entertainment’ and ‘Get Over You’ marry punk’s ferocious urgency with bright 60s pop sounds and meaner glam stomps.

Everyone is on their feet for Teenage Kicks, of course, which surprisingly makes an appearance well before the encore. An enthusiastic 12-year-old lad at the front is treated to drummer Billy Doherty’s sticks as bassist Michael Bradley jokes about the band getting the metro home.

The Undertones are a gentle reminder of a very pure and simple sound that’s lost little of its impact 30 years on.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .