So, now imagine the scene on the day, the rain has changed direction, driving horizontally into your face from the direction of the stage. However, you are not so fussed as it being June the rain is not so cold and besides the effects of the beers are starting to kick in. And to dispell any residual summer time blues, The Undertones are taking to the stage. Who can be pissed off within 30 feet of Derry's finest? Ok, so it may sound odd in 2025 to hear men in their sixties (Paul excepted) singing 'More Songs About Chocolate And Girls' but that doesn't matter for now.
The Undertones have suffered the same fate as The Stranglers at the hands of fans and critics in terms of who's better/who's best... Paul vs Feargal or Baz vs Hugh. In both cases, each replacement vocalist has served more time in their respective bands than the original singers. Besides which Paul is a wholly worthy replacement for Mr Sharkey, the latter currently being upto the top of his waders in shite, trying to clean up our rivers and waterways. He, Paul, has the Derry accent, the vibrato vocal and a brilliant stage presence. By the way, Baz is OK too!!
I have said before that I have been guilty of ovelooking anything that the band did after the second album. This may in part due to the fact that back in 1981 when 'It's Going To Happen' was released I mentioned to my class mates that I particularly disliked the song, prompting them to sing it whenever I was within earshot. Far more recently, when preparing a recording to upload on this site I came across a really good quality gig from the 1983 'Sin of Pride' tour which changed my view of much of the later material, when with songs 'Julie Ocean' and 'Beautiful Friend', The Undertones were trying so hard to shake their 'Punks in parkas' image.
Here's a marathon set from the band playing in Germany (where they seem to go down particularly well). Thanks to the original Dime uploader (TheServant).
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-0jhHnyzKVp
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-wgJy6OGdvL
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