In an attempt to be more controversial in 2004, do any of us think that with all the gigs the band are lining up they are in danger of fulfilling their fear of a few years ago of becoming a punk nostalgia circuit band? I think I preferred it when they were just doing a handful of dates each year as it made the gigs more special. I suppose they do have the new songs to showcase which must comprise about a third of the set nowadays.

Other than playing Derry every few months and the recent very welcome return gigs at the Casbah and the Garage within the space of 11 weeks the band still don't play that many concerts, so everyone is still special. Very few people on the site are going to get to see all (if any) of the forthcoming gigs in Germany, Holland and Italy. So at the moment we really only have Aberdeen, Glasgow, Nottingham and Birmingham in the next four month. Not exactly a nostalgia circuit! And December wouldn't be December without at least one Undertones concert. Even when I saw consecutive gigs in October, the venue, the crowd and the whole atmosphere did make each concert special. Over the last few years most of the UK gigs have been on a weekend. The weekdays seemed to be reserved for overseas! Do the band work for Companies who's holiday year runs from April - March?

Rick, in one word..no.Because the band have made new material,and we're told making more,I dont think they can be labled purely a nostalgia band.You could say the same thing about anyone from the 60's/70's that still tours,The Rolling Stones,David Bowie,U2, etc etc,assuming they still play some of their old classics at gigs(do they?).I would agree that same buzz isnt there when gigs are announced as they're becoming more regular, but the buzz certainly is there at the gigs themselves.

Hopefully it wont chop the URL any more

FS

FS 2

hi .i`m thinking of going to the undertones /buzzcocks /damned /gig sounds like it would be a great gig .still trying to make the german gig but dont hold out much hope .tssy

Bloody hell, that's a bad photo of Feargal in the Guardian; he looks like something outta Lord of the Rings!Interesting that the main reference point for Feargal is the Undertones and not his solo career.

I don't know about the Undertones/Buzzcocks/Dammed gig. It looks like a punk nostalgia fest, something that the band should stay clear of. The album and solo gigs are great but the vast majority of people don't know about them. If they're not careful, they'll end up in a cul de sac from which there might not be a way out.

Arthur this is a bit like the point I was making and my view was influenced largely by that Birmingham gig. There are a few of these nostalgia tours every year with everyone from Sham 69 to 999. In my opinion the Undertones don't do themselves any favours linking up in this way with other punk acts. The Damned were always crap anyway and playing with the Buzzcocks is likely to reveal that they were a big influence on a lot of the Undertones songs.

Talking of influences, Julius and I raved about a Libertines single some months ago that we said sounded like Buzzcocks meets Undertones. I got the album for Xmas and its great. Take a look at the web site above for a review that makes much of the Undertones influence.

Rare french copy of T.K. 7' for those who hate french ;-) --------------------------------​------ http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.​dll?ViewItem&item=2584869379&cat​egory=17646 --------------------------------​------

See one of the articles suggests that Feargal used to practice in a neighbours shed in Belfast! Is that a district in Derry? No the wonder the band didn't survive.

I don't think 1 gig with other bands will do any harm, so long as it dosent become the norm.Cant really see where you're coming from with this Rick; 'playing with the Buzzcocks is likely to reveal that they were a big influence on a lot of the Undertones songs'.Dont agree with that at all. .

Never seen that version of TK before Roger.Nobody hates the French, dont take any notice.

Totally agree with you Cliff the Undertones were deafinately not influenced by the Buzzcocks,early Stones possibly,Monkees yes!As for the gig with theDamned and Buzzcocks i never really liked the Damned except for Neat,Neat,Neat Buzzcocks were good but no where near the Tones level.Hopefully the Tones are the headline act if not i wouldn,t do it.The Undertones are not a support band although they may benefit if they were to support somebody like The White Stries which could maybe broaden their younger fan base,personally i wouldn,t like to see them as a support band but a means to an end as they say.

talk about feeling my age today.First; Before I'd arrived at work this morning our waitress was asked 'what time is your Dad in?', she replied 'hes not my Dad'.How old do you think she is, 19? 20? no, 31 !!!! then in Safeways later at the deli counter, kid asks me 'are you Alex's Dad?', 'No, but I hope Alex is a toddler','No, hes 21 '.Thanks a bunch, time to invest in a toupee I think.

blimey, post number 2996.Bearing in mind I first posted in Jan 2000, thats more than 2 posts per day, 365 days a year.I really am one sad fucker.

Cliff - do you do that proper Horlicks that's dead sweet and foamy and sticks on your top lip??

Arthur, on this subject of the magic getting lost in football.One of things that really bugs me is when mercenary players have the cheek to kiss the club badge after scoring.'I love this club, this is my club'.Then they're off in the summer to anyone who'll pay them more.One of the worst culprits of the shirt kissing is Frank Lampard, he's West Ham thru and thru, but he loves kissing that Chelsea badge.Wanker.

No, but funny enough somebody mentioned horlicks the other day, might have to give it a go.And maybe bovril.

2999........

If you do Bovril, you need to put a tiny bit of milk in it or it just sticks on the side. Marmite - don't even go there!

Really? thanks for the tip.Best Bovril I ever had was at Highbury in 1970 at H/T,it just tasted spot on, we lost 2-6 but it was worth it.

They do a good one at Turf Moor - it's got brandy in it. Ah yes, better get in practice as the Nationwide league beckons....

What about favourite sweets from the 60's/70's? sherbert fountains,space ships,bazooka joes,refreshers, curly wurlys and of course the chewing gum in the football cards.And what happened to 'freshca....its frothy man'(was it called freshca?).

'a quarter of sherbert pips please mister'

It was Fresca. If you sent in so many ring pulls, you got a polar bear glove puppet made out of polythene. They got banned at our school cos a kid ate one. You can get flying saucers in our office canteen. I don't remember the '70s.

And drumstick lollies. They were ace; used to get them stuck in my hair all the time.

And cherry lips!! More than 2 in at once and they'd make you heave.

Apologies. I'm off on a huge nostalgia trip now...

And Jubblies!! Them pyramid shaped ice lolly things.

I did eat SOME proper food as a kid, honest! (but not much)

I'm just over 21 Cliff. My humble opinion on the Damned/Buzzcocks thing is if it raises their profile and gets them a couple of quid then why not. I quite fancy it but think I'll skip the Damned bit.Don't think JJ has ever quoted the Buzzcocks as an influence, but I can see a some similarities. The last Celtic player I ever saw kissing the badge(ooh er missus) was Viduka, who is probably the most mercenary player I've ever witnessed, good but not a Celt. Lennon thumped his chest on the crest and lit up an imaginary cigar after the rangers game. Much to the delight of the away support as you can imagine. He is my player of the year, just pipping Sutton. Rusedski's a junkie :) wonder how long he'll be 'English' now. Milk in Bovril? Why not just stir it?

I like Jeff Goldblum, but I can't remember seeing him in a decent film. I'm usually working Thursday nights, but not tonight :) I will be available in the chat room this evening for my thoughts on life, football and schizophrenia.

Er,British dont you mean.I've never cheered for Rusedski in my life,I hate the idea that a decent(ish)player suddenly becomes British and we're all supposed to take him to our hearts coz we're short of decent players, its a nonsense.

I have to agree with Cliff about the Damned/Buzzcocks/Undertones gig. I reckon Rick is well of the mark saying that playing with the Buzzcocks is likely to reveal that they were a big influence on a lot of the Undertones songs. If anything it will show that The Undertones were and still are head and shoulders above most other punk/pop bands. I also think that a support slot with a big name band such as The White Stripes, Green Day or The Chili Peppers would do wonders for broadening the bands fan base even further. Or even better if they could get on the bill at a few of the major festivals this coming summer. (Black Jacks were always my favourite by the way)

Did I just say I agreed with Cliff?! Fuck I must be getting old! lol

Never see many Saltires round Centre Court. I can assure you he'd be English if he won.

Saw the Damned jsut before Xmas and the audience had a great time- lots of banter, laughing and good music. Seasoned pro's out to have a good time and not taking themselves too seriously. Buzzcocks by all accounts have been superb recently so I think it will be a great gig.

Anyone in the chat room tonight?

Sensible asked the audience ''any students in?'' (gig was in Cambidge) a dozen hands (naively) went up to taunts of ''wankers''. Sensible simply said Gorb Bless Ya, and when one sudenly yelled ''I fucking hate Tony Blair'' he looked at him for a moment, smiled and said ''Nice One Missus''

just a test

Undertones and Buzzcocks really aren't very similar live. The Undertones have a range of songs, from very fast to slow, show a lot of different 60's 70's influences and come with the added bonus of Paul and Micky's inter-song banter. The Buzzcocks play everything back to back (a la Ramones), play nearly everything at the same speed and have a very different set of influences. And Pete Shelley is really small. Really very different but both great. I wouldn't mind seeing the Undertones supporting a band like Blink 182. The'd probably pick up more new fans that way than any other.

Frank Lampard is certainly playing well for West Ham this season. Not like his dad, em, Frank Lampard. Left-back all through the 60's.

But there are similarities. Yes/No/Maybe ?

BUZZCOCKS= LOUDEST band in the world, going by personal experience in Nerve Centre as well as chatting to people in Germany May 2003. Maybe we were all the same age group? Is that 'Promises' 'Harmony' or 'Everybody's'. All sounded the same, honestly!!

We are talking about songs Vin, why are you mentioning your aftershave collection?

:-) That was my FIRST attempt EVER at doing one of those fecking 'smiley' things....PHEW!! Well done Alex :-) There ye go again!!