H-Y-P Hypnotized

Blimey readers! What have I got here scrunched up in my pocket? Steady you lot...it...it looks like a set list of sorts. But which band? With words like "Jimmy", "Teenage K" and "Perfect Cousin" it's a bit of a giveaway, isn't it?

Stuey popped round to Ister towers last Thursday afternoon, as he felt fine about driving down to Brighton to see what was hopefully going to be a stonking gig by legendary punk band The Undertones. For those of you that aren't aware of current Undertone issues, the band themselves are doing a tour of the British Isles to promote their new studio recording since 2003's "Get What You Need" which featured Feargal Sharkey's vocal replacement Paul McCloone. Many people that I've spoken to regarding the lads' new vocalist have been very accepting of Paul fitting into Sharkey's shoes - and having witnessed him a few years ago with the rest of the original Undertones line-up, he does a superb job...close your eyes as you listen and it could be Sharkey himself but with a subtler warble. You can listen to some of the songs from the newbie studio album "Dig Yourself Deep" here and here.

The drive down to Brighton from Croydon was relatively painless with the exception of Stu's car suffering from delirium tremens at certain speeds above 75 mph along the M23. That's 5 mph over the speed limit, so I don't know what he was worried about. I had visions of the cops pulling us over and booking us for breaking the record for breaking the speed limit. I came back down to earth when I remembered that we were in a Micra.

We safely arrived in the seaside town that the band were playing in that night, parked up, and as we were early, we decided to have a stroll on the pier (tiddley-om-pom-pom). Walking past the arches on the seafront, we noticed upstairs in what looked like a gay themed cafe, none other than Christopher Ellison, you know - the bloke that played D.I. Burnside in The Bill. I'm bloody sure it wuz 'im, guv an' Ah'm no gwass... we left Chris to drink his champagne in peace after he gave us one of his trademark menacing stares.

The pier that jets out from the beach is a nice distraction from The Lanes, it's a refuge from Brighton's current trendy and colourful bohemian air. There's nothing wrong with bumping into many of the local artists, students and surfers that will make up some of the audience at tonight's gig, but everytime I go to this beautiful coastal resort I feel the need to hanker for the days when my dad used to bring me here. The days of blustery dampness, traditional fish 'n' chip shops, tall Victorian seafront housing and old amusements can still be found if you look hard enough, but thankfully Brighton has developed into a lot more than that - with house prices reflecting current levels of popularity.

Having discarded loose change into various arcade machines, we decided to walk back to the venue where the band were due on stage. We arrived before the first support band. Noooo.....

I must be getting old if I can't even be willing to go through with giving up 'n' coming bands a trial listen these days. Let's face it, you see a band that you like advertising a gig. So you go to a gig for that band and then you go home after the show - hopefully satisfied. Who cares about these young upstarts that are clamouring for audience attention as they try and kick start their career? But hang about...let's try not getting too stuck in our ways as the advancing years beat down on us, let's give the young pups a chance shall we?

So, all in all, there were two support bands. We saw the first lot, who looked and sounded like a million other bands, and we went to the bar for the second support act. I don't remember their names and I don't particularly care. The music wasn't fresh and it lacked depth - and then it dawned on me why bands like The Undertones can still draw a large crowd. Good, simple, melodic memorable tunes with singalong choruses. That's the recipe right there. It ain't exactly Cordon Bleu, is it?

Finally, the main act confidently graced the stage to rupturous whoops and cheers, they plugged in and straight away took their appreciative audience on a reminder of what made these five clean cut boys from Derry so attractive to listen to. Opening up with Stu's personal fave "You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It)", followed by "Here Comes The Summer" and "Jump Boys", they made it clear that they didn't come to England's south coast to fuck around. There'll be no room for stuff like "The Love Parade" or "It's Going To Happen" either, the band focusing instead on their more charming but rough around the edges sound of earlier songs from their first two albums as well as the new one. All the essential tracks were played - "Jimmy, Jimmy", "My Perfect Cousin", "True Confessions" and of course the must-have song of the night "Teenage Kicks" - John Peel would've loved it.

Lead singer Paul McCloone was bemused at a couple of LA based poodle-permed rockers that were in the crowd and giving him horned 'devil signs' and we were bemused at watching McCloone go through his various Mick Jagger poses. We were both down the front, propping up the audience barrier and I must've got winded three times (twice during "Kicks") from being so close to the mosh pit and all of it's pogoing protagonists. Coupled with the band's excellent sound and a fantastic acoustic environment, this gig was what I call a "Grinner". I grinned when they first came on, I grinned even more as they played their oldies until I grinned so much my gob exploded.

Downsides? The non-inclusion of songs like "Mars Bars" and "There Goes Norman" makes me award this gig an eight out of ten. Eight out of ten, but satisfied - and for fifteen quid a ticket, that's better value than cheering on the lads from "Team Warnock".

God bless The Undertones.

Go here for pictures of the gig.

Undertones bassist Mickey Bradley hosts his own late night show for BBC Ulster which plays more fantastic music from the same period. Listen again here.

Very big Thanks go to Howesy for swapping shift patterns for those days in question.