Congratulations Jackie and David. 13 years today. Now all you need is those Northern dates to celebrate.

Great gig in Brighton last night. Large turn-out and the crowd were really up for it and enjoying it. Sorry I didn't see anyone after the gig but decided to dash for the 11.03 train back to London.

Great couple of gigs and Brighton was a lot more fun than me exercise bike. Good to see some regulars and irregulars and new faces. A recommended night out. Glad you caught your train Rick its a long way

Adrian yoou have to replace ' at ' with '@' in the email link, it an anitspam idea - any ioncovneiende for nto much gain

Yep, absolutely brilliant last night, everything you'd want from an Undertones gig.Full House, apparently just under 400 pre sales, and over 500 on the night.There was that buzz of expectation from the start(thats what we want)and 40/50 dancing at the front from the first minute('Jimmy Jimmy').Definately in my top 5 gigs since 2000, brilliant.

cant wait till thursday night to hear the crack about the gigstalk soon see ya

Just for the record I was not dancing i was being swept along by everyone else, they said meet you at the front and only Derek turned up !

Yes you were right in the thick of it CMoS, and that after I'd asked you to look after my bulky car keys as I thought you'd be towards the back.What do you mean only Derek turned up? Henry & Myself were there, although I must admit to taking a breather for atleast half the songs, it was hard work.

Glad the gigs went well, 500 sell out great news. Look forward to more details.

I was great to see a crowd of around 30 people buying t-shirts after the gig, one teenage girl looked absolutely chuffed and put hers on there and then.

The new stuff was well recieved again, particularly good on the night was 'touch' and, I hate to harp on about this, 'Everything but you' was as good as it could possibly be.Although I love 'Thrill me', 'Everything But You' has the edge on it live.Of course the downside is old classics now have to be left out, 'WSC' 'Tearproof' and 'You're Welcome' are good examples.There was only one encore, but Barry Stewart told me afterwards that the band WERE waiting just off stage to come back but the DJ started playing his own stuff.bugger.All in all, this was a classic Undertones gig, lets hope if there is some sort of UK tour later in the year/next year, the reception is equally as good.The roar from the crowd after most of the songs was 1979/82 all over again.

Glad to hear that Brighton went so well. Hopefully it will encourage the band to play more UK venues. Really looking forward to the Bray gig. Who is going?

Well what can I say! What a weekend. I'll be on a high for weeks. Malc doing review of Guilfest and Cliff hope you are doing the Brighton gig. Festival was surprisingly good. Did not see as many deck chairs as CMoS (probably not a good idea down the front as it could fold up with you in it in the mosh pit).

Anyway here’s my story. Got up at 5.30am to give me time to get there and put my tent up. Got there at 10am and had my tent up at 10.30 (unfortunately on an ant hill but more of that later). Went straight to the watering hole, helped them open up and got a free pint. GOOD START. Met up with Marty, and 2 other guys from Derry (I’m dreadful for remembering names). They were here with the new banner and were going to put it up on stage. Plenty of time yet. Time for another scoop(s!!)? At this rate I’ll not make it to see them.

Sun is shining, crowds expectant, sound is crystal if a bit quiet and everyone appears to be having a good time. Must be showing my age but kept thinking I could’ve brought my 7 year old daughter to see them here as there were loads of kids. Got backstage care of Marty (thanks) and helped put up the backdrop. Unfortunately, we were unable to put it on stage and were forced to put it on the front. Any way by the time they came on, it was taken down. Marty gave me one of the t-shirts he had and as I had a bag he put the rest in there to look after. Trusting a scouser! Don’t believe it.

Meet another fan called Phil who was oblivious to the whole .net scene. He is now aware.Crowd is ready down the front and away we go. Jimmy Jimmy. Crowd is a little timid at first, but by the end of the song 20 or 30 are in full swing the rest are tapping their feet on their deckchairs (only joking). Sound is crystal clear. Don’t ask me the set list, I was caught up in the atmosphere which was surprisingly good. Malc may have a better idea than me. Took a few photo’s but they are on film and you will have to wait until I finish the film. 6 or 7 people get thrown over the barrier by the crowd. They sound great. New songs go down really well. All too soon they have finished (40 mins).

Worked up a bit of a thirst so guess what! Met up with Malc and 2 other people (sorry guys, I am truly dreadful for names). Malc says he’s seen Stuart Pearce in the crowd, so I say (drink is getting the better of me here by now) I’d bet he’d like a t-shirt. N.B. the one Marty gave me and not thiers. Anyway, eventually find him and give him the shirt and chat about football (not the penalty though). Nice bloke. Try and find Marty and gang to give him the t-shirts and can’t so ask John to give him the shirts. Get invited back and duly pass over the shirts and have another drink (can’t refuse at this stage).

Go back out to the audience to see the Stranglers and chat to the guys. I thought it was the other way around Dave, and felt the Stranglers were subdued a bit (still good though), but by that stage who am I to be a critic. Madness on the other hand surprised me and definitely got the foot tapping. One thing is for sure, The Undertones should have been placed higher. Last orders! Get the drinks in for supplies for the tent and decide to retire. Little did I know I have camped right by a group who has hired a singer and guitarist for their evening entertainment. “Would you like a drink?” they say. “come and join us” Minutes later all 26 of us are singing Teenage Kicks at the top of our voices around the campfire (actually just a little light as we wer’nt allowed fires). This was followed by, Jimmy Jimmy, Get over you, you’ve got my number and several more of times of Teenage Kicks through the night

. 2.30am and I am the first to leave to go to my tent. It’s so hot I open the flap to let some air in. Unfortunately, I also let in the angry residents of the house I have wrecked when I put my tent on it. Ants. Hundreds of them. I spend the next half hour moving the tent and getting rid of the ones in the tent. Impossible job. Sleep. More follows tommorrow. If you want?

I'll leave a Brighton review to somebody else, my reviews are getting a bit stale and samey.There were plenty there from the websites..CMoS,Henry, Cactus,Rick,Pete The Lurker,Sean Watkins,Jon,Derek,ThompsonAA.

I'll tell you what, you meet some characters thru this website! Derek has the stamina of a 20 year old, he left Brighton at 11.30PM to drive home to Shrewsbury(4 hours?)and had to be at work at 8.30am.Henry CYCLED down from Sarf London, took him 5 hours, he appeared at the venue wearing an Undertones shirt and tight cycling lycra shorts..in Brighton of all places.And when I picked CMoS up from his home, I had to enter thru the garage where he is halfway thru building a life size Darlek, he never did explain why.

Derek, I can confirm that there were deck chairs at Guildford! CMoS was gutted when I told him that Atomic Kitten weren't headlining on Saturday, but the following day... I'm still baffled as to why The Undertones were so far down on the bill, but then it was a kind of on/off situation for a while... p'raps they missed a higher billing?

Oh yeah, interesting that JON was on keyboards rather than Damian.I think the song was 'Rough Escalater' but I'm not sure.The keyboard was removed halfway thru the next song to which MB commented they hadn't kept up the payments.Paul was excellent again.

Hugely enjoyable last night. Good to see so many from the website. I was a bit worried when I first saw the venue. I very nearly walked right past it - the only sign of action at 7pm was Paul and the band tucking in to fish and chips behind some black curtains ! I think it was probably an old slot machine arcade building.

Still the sound was great and the place was rocking and very hot - even with the side doors open, with view over the sea. Opened up with Jimmy Jimmy and the mix of old (nearly all first album plus a particularly memorable version of Wednesday Week) and new was perfect.

New songs included Peel session songs, Touch, Rough Escalator. Its the first time that I've really wanted to hear those as much as the others played, ie Get Over You, Family Entertainment, TK, Runaround, ... Great to see the reaction to the new stuff was just as good as the old and the mosh pit nver stoppedd rocking. Only disappointment was the single encore.All over too soon of course. Great stuff. Roll on the tour.

Thankyou George- yes a nice romantic weekend away in Amsterdam, Dublin or ....New York would be a great way to celebrate! Failing that, Newcastle would do!

...with David not George of course!!!!Blush!

Brighton deserves one of my infrequent postings. Last night I felt like I was 18 again (today I feel like I'm 78!) Great to see such a mix of young and not so young. From the moment the boys walked on stage untill the end I was in the thick of it, along with quite a few others. Great venue, great gig. Stand out song for me was Rough Escalator, but all the new songs sounded great. Shame it was so short. I presume as England is such a God fearing country that 11pm brings all enjoyment to an end. I recognised Donin and Cliff (I think). Great, just great. More please.

Glad all those who went had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Jealous as hell that I missed it. Have seen the band play Brighton once in 1983. One of the road crew was stripped naked and tied to a lamppost. Great to have so many people give an insight into the gigs. Glad I wasn't sharing accommodation with Derek! The idea of moshing with Stuart Pearce seems a bit intimidating.

Great reading the reviews, sound a couple of cracking gigs. Heres to more in the UK. On BBC 2 Mastermind tonight someones specilaist topic in 'Songs of the Smiths'. Wasnt it Mickey Bradleys brother that was on Mastermind ?

Yes and his specialism was the films of steve mcqueen and he had VERY shiney shoes on!!!

Match Report: Undertones vs. the Rest of the World at Brighton Concorde 2 Stadium.

With the stands pack to capacity, the crowd were well up for the Undertones first proper game in England for two years. Contrary to the rumours, the team came onto the pitch surprisingly early, leaving some supporters still drinking in the bar. In fact, I didn’t even have time to tie my bootlaces properly, which led to all sorts of problems as the match went on. Its formation was quickly established and appeared to be a modification of the recent formation which has seen John taking on more of a striking roll, rather than operating further back as a sweeper; quite clearly the team taking advantage of the local conditions and the relatively high and wide stage. Sven could lean something from these lads. That four-in-a-line attack would strike fear into any new pretenders to the title.

Damien on the right wing, making sure nothing gets past him with a series of excellent chords, riffs and moves, clearly drawing on his experience with several other teams over the past 20 years. Paul up front; he’s just getting better and better with every game. Defenders just can’t match the pace of this lad. Let’s hope he doesn’t fall for the lure of international stardom like the team’s previous striker.

On his left the master strategist John, guiding the play; you can tell the class of this player, even when he’s not on the ball himself, he’s leading the team through the playing of classic tunes, both old and new. No square balls here, this team is clearly moving forward whilst remembering the best of its past. A great mixture of songs, both old and new, continually wrong footing the opponents. Of greatest surprise was his absolutely unexpected change to keyboards for one song; I’ve never seen an opposing team so confused by such a cleaver dummy. It’s amazing what you can do with two fingers.

Mickey was on the left wing, filling this difficult position. His continue talking throughout the entire match, especially when discussing tactics with goalkeeper Billy, keeping the crowd well entertained. Well I think that’s what it was. His warning that it was snowing outside when he looked out of the window into the dark night was fortunately in error. Billy of course, (along with his trusty laptop) let nothing get passed him. No slip ups this time like the unfortunate incident when playing away in Hamburg, which saw Billy misreading the play and start to play the wrong track. He seems to have caught this habit from world class player John Peel, well know for playing the wrong balls at the wrong time at the wrong speed; Micky even appeared to be goading him at times to repeat the error.

This time Bill was rock solid, even taking the opportunity to demonstrate his more flamboyant skills during True Confessions near the end of the match, when the opponents were all but defeated. However, I can’t understand why he appeared to be instant messaging and writing e-mails for most of the match, the latter confirmed by Mickey during one exchange between the players.

The match itself? Well that’s probably the best performance I’ve seen the team pull together since its return to the top flight; the other Premier teams would be quaking with fear if the team had the backing it so rightly deserves. Even so, the release of the new album should hopefully see them well placed by the end of next season. Who knows, perhaps a place in the cup final at Top of the Pops can’t be ruled out entirely?

The team dominated the match from start to finish, the front line giving excellent support from below an adult sized stage, with a series of excellently choreographed dance moves and terrace chanting. These boys must have practiced those for days to get them so inch perfect. The match was rough at times, but despite a number of fouls and some boisterous pushing, it was carried out in excellent humour. There was some individual flair, but this was best considered an all round team performance, which would have graced any team in the country. On as number of occasions players came very close to ending up on the ground and would have done so if it weren’t for the shear number of operating in such a confined space.

I’d particularly like to thank the young woman who stamped on my foot in a way that wouldn’t have embarrassed a 20 stone skinhead. I’d also like to apologise to all the people I did the same thing to. There was a rumour that John Peel was actually in the crowd, but as I’m totally crap at recognising people and Cliff didn’t have his glasses, I can’t confirm this fact. There was a strong presence of undertones.net fans, which no doubt helped considerably in giving the impression to the locals that the Undertones have a gigantic, international following. All in all a first class performance that left me feeling a bit sick and with a swollen ankle that is really sore today.

Emotionally drained by the time the final whistle was blown by the referee (suspiciously early after only one encore), I was left to stare into space, desperately down as much water I could as quick as possible, sit on the pebbles on the beach freezing in the wind and have a couple of hours sleep in a B&B before getting a train at some unearthly hour of the morning to go straight into work. In other words, it was well worth it! Nice to meet people too and have the opportunity to demonstrate my total lack of social skills. Apparently my hat smells like a tramp! Too many gigs I guess. Must wash it sometime.

Phew!

Sorry Adrian, I thought I vaguely remembered when we all went white years ago you decided you didn’t want to follow the crowd but if you have a password that can’t be the case. How come you’re not in white if you have one anyway?? CMoS, Declan was asking about your email too, he thought it didn’t work and so never got his review on here. Will fill everyone in on Thurs if I get chance. Doesn’t putting NOSPAM in the middle of the address work the same way?

So, after all the ant-icipation it was no ant-iclimax, a f-ant-astic w/e of ant-ertainment and ant-mosphere. Haven’t a bloody clue what I’m talking about. Loved all the reviews. What you lack in social skills and headwear hygiene Cactus you make up for in novel roving reporting (and excellent musical taste). I must admit my mind is also turning more towards the new stuff when I think of looking forward to the next gig. ‘Thrill Me’ is such a pogo-er(?) – I was even pogoing in the car to it the other day! Can you be arrested for that?

Next time I’m thinking of doing one in the style of synchronised swimming, or Star Trek perhaps? It really was a wonderful, gig. It's rare to see so many smiley people at a gig, both crowd and band. In the end I couldn't look smiley as I was too knackered. My foot really is sore and have resorted to limping a bit for sympathy; rheumatism or arthritis, some old person problem anyway!

I don't think there is much more I could add to Cactus' post match summary of the big south coast fixture, suffice to say that the team confidently performed with moments of sheer genius blended into a superb all round team performance...jumpers for goalposts....and when I finally got home, listening to Janice Long in the hope of some Guildfest highlights, at 2:00AM (ish)the glorious sound of a live teenagekicks with Paul leading the line blasted out of the clock radio. It can still be listened to on the Radio 2 website with much patience forwarding the play button to two hours into the show. & if someone knows how to record streamed music please tell me.

Picture the scene. I'm hovering at the edge of a marquee in Stoke Park, Guildford, on Saturday afternoon, half an hour or so after Derry's finest exit the stage. Suddenly, I see a face I recognise and move a little closer to make sure this really is the footballing legend I think it is. Just as I'm getting to the point of confirming a sighting of a Notts Forest and England legend his familiar voice confirms my hunch. He looks into the fug towards the bar and in his trademark Southern accent pipes up to his entourage, 'Bloody 'ell. Look. It's Psycho.' Confused, I follow his gaze and pick out the legendary 'Derek the Scouse' returning with yet more drinks. I instinctively know it's going to be a long day.

Also, she says that the band will be recording a session soon. The implication being that this will be for her show on Radio 2, with the new songs squeezed in between the Barry Manilow and Mantovani, no doubt.

As you may have realised from my last entry, I'm still getting over Guilfest. A review of sorts will follow, but suffice to say it was a great day out and £32 was definitely 'vfm'for campers like Derek who got to enjoy an unadvertised appearance from the backing band of that best-selling artist who used to wear face paint and sing about Prince Charming. I too can confirm many deckchairs but also several young spirited types getting into it all down the front (although they still need to learn a bit about communal dancing and how to jump boys without stamping and mauling). As for the performance - sublime! Family entertainment commitments dictate I get to see fewer gigs than I'd like too and Brighton sounded superb), but I'm happy with my lot and can't wait for my next chance.

Malc you still living in Preston? If so you might get a visit from Cactus soon.Anyway you lot, enough of all this football talk ;-)

Yes, Cliff. Preston South End to be specific. By the way, my review should now be on somewhere. Au revoir!