Pat Gilbert writes:-

Pat Gilbert talks to the Irish new wavers about their new 'best of', and wonders, where's Feargal ?

Ten years after their split, the Undertones are back together again in one room. The reason?

Well, if all had gone to plan, it could've been to discuss a handful of reunion dates. But sadly, this was not to be. No, Derry's finest, who as fresh-faced teenagers provided a run of the brightest, poppiest, most love able punk anthems ever, are here purely to promote their new 'Best Of' compilation, the first to be released on CD.

They're also here to laugh, rib each other , reminisce about punk, argue passionately about their back catalogue, eat sandwiches, drink tea, and generally be the most charming hosts you're ever likely to meet. No talk about girls this time around, but there's plenty of good-humoured anecdotes about everything from the Ramones to, erm, Feargal Sharkey. But, hang on, where is Feargal?

Embarrassed

We can understand, says drummer and occasional Saw Doctors stand-in, Billy' Doherty, with exaggerated pathos. John O'Neill - Damian's elder brother; who left That Petrol Emotion in 1988 to form indie-dance outfit Rare - nods in agreement.

So, the singer who energetically warbled his way through all those brilliant Undertones hits like Jimmy Jimmy and It's Gonna Happen isn't here. And, in a way, I suppose we can forgive him for his absence, as well as for his controversial decision to veto a reunion. After a solo career in the 80s that started off successfully but then bombed dramatically, Feargal was taken on by Polydor as their Head of A&R - not a position that you'd want to leave temporarily to scream Here comes the summer! at a crowd of ageing punks. Nonetheless, Feargal's unwillingness to join in the fun has, without a doubt, upset his old colleagues, particularly as the band was offered a large sum of money to reform.

I ask why Feargal was willing to play at John Peel's 50th birthday party, three years ago, but not to do a few gigs now.

We were just talking about that today , answers Michael. We don't know. When we were going to play for John Peel he had flu. He came down to the rehearsals on the first day, but he didn't do, any singing. And that night, Damian and John's father died, so the gig was cancelled. But even if their father hadn't died, I think Feargal would've pulled out anyway.

I tried to phone him to ask if he wanted to go out for a drink while we were over here, recalls Billy.

But he was unobtainable.

Michael, I rang him up the time we were offered the money for the shows. I said to him, 'Feargal you might be in a good position, but some of us could do with the money. Think of it like that. It's only six dates.' But it was 'Nope. Nope. Nope.' It was a lot of cash. And it would've been a good crack as well, 'cos it was doing festivals, and with festivals you just turn up and plug in. And if no-one turns up, then the embarrassment is shared between all the bands.

Flattered

Have you seen 'Jurassic Park'? Well, apparently the models are really good, so I've been talking to George Lucas, of Industrial Light & Magic, and he said to give him a call next week. He's working on a Sharkey-saurus. What'd you say about turning up on Sharkey's doorstep with it, and saying, 'Forget about it all, kid, we've got a new one ?

Billy, We could get some of his blood and clone him -

Michael, I'd be scared about what would happen. It might go horribly wrong! A 200ft Feargal Sharkey pacing through London. He'd be up at the top of the Post Office Tower, going 'Urrrgh'. We'd have to get his sister over from Derry to calm him down. 'Feargal, come down, come down, it's not worth it!' So I think that the answer is no.

Ebullience

From this snatch of conversation, you'll gather that the Undertones aren't exactly your dour, deadpan types, which goes some way to explaining the ebullience of their early material. Influenced by the Ramones, the New York Dolls and the legendary Nuggets psych/garage compilation, the band started writing their own material in 1976 but, unlike many British new wave acts, they had no interest in pretending to be thuggish, or in swaggering through their city centre wearing make-up and pointy boots. Songs like Get Over You and Teenage Kicks from their eponymous debut album were robust and fast, yes, but they were rarely aggressive or menacing. Perhaps the very real violence that surrounded them was more than enough to stomach.

In fact, while Belfast's Stiff Little Fingers were being told to write about the Troubles by their English manager, the Undertones' lyrics were usually about being lovelorn, rejected and generally a bit of a lonely 'bedroom' sort. And even when they'd become more worldly, the warmth, honesty and provinciality of Derry life still permeated their music like indelible ink. Their third and fourth albums, Positive Touch and Sin Of Pride, may have been more sophisticated and, in places, morose and bitter, but nonetheless a good-naturedness reigns.

So how do they now view their back catalogue?

Michael, The earlier the better. The first and the second LP are better than the later ones. Damian, I've played them all recently, and I used to think that as well. But 'Positive Touch' sounded very good to me. 'Sin Of Pride' I didn't like at all. I used to like the first two LPs, but now I think the first LP and 'Positive Touch' are the best. Michael, But I'm sure when we did 'The Sin Of Pride', we thought it was the best, and the same goes with 'Positive Touch' and 'Hypnotised'. But I always wonder when the Rolling Stones bring out a new LP and say, 'This is our best material yet,' whether they mean it. Damian, I'm sure they don't.

Was your music deliberately naive, or was it just natural?

John, I think 'naive' is the wrong word. All that rock stuff that was out before punk, when everything was so serious, all that progressive rock on the 'Whistle Test' - that was the good thing about punk. It was fresh and honest, and we just tried to be ourselves.

Michael, We believed that 100%. We never thought that these bands that we'd meet would all be rockers underneath it all. They'd do things because it would sell records.

How quickly did disillusionment set in about the music industry?

Michael, As in realising that it was a business? About the third week. John, I think it was the tour with the Clash in America. They played the same set three nights in a row. We never did the same set.

Remember

Michael, I remember seeing David Johansen - who was supporting them too - and thinking, 'Jeez, he's good.' He was brilliant, and he was talking to the crowd and everything. And you'd see him the next night, and he'd say exactly the same things. And there was all this artificiality about it. We wouldn't have the brassneck to go out there and say the same thing. One of us would say, 'You said that last night!'

Was it easy to come to a decision about the tracks on this new 25-track collection?

Michael, I had nothing to do with it! Damian put it together 'cos he's the only one who lives in London. (Perusing the track-listing) It's got 'Mars Bars' on it - nothing to do with the fact that you wrote it, eh, Damian?

Damian, So did you.

Michael, But I wasn't there when this compilation was put together! Let's see how this works out then- there are no Billy songs! Have you something to tell us, Damian?

Billy, (Looking down the track-listing with a genuinely hurt expression) That's a bit rough. Is that the finalised version?

Damian, Yeah. Michael, Well, Damian, this is an embarrassing moment! So you didn't put any Billy songs on there at all? Why not? 'Billy's Third' was a very popular song when we played it live. (Pause) Why isn't it on it?

Damian, I don't know. I just picked other ones.

Billy, That's great that, isn't it?

A long, embarrassing silence ensues. I decide to break the ice. Is this album going to be TV advertised?

Michael, Yeah. 'Featuring No Songs by Billy Doherty!' That's the catch-phrase. He's taking this very badly. It's alright, Billy, you were part of it. Don't worry.

So yes, we're all unanimous about what's on the album.

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