The Undertones review – silver-haired fans get Teenage Kicks once more — SkimNews
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- The Undertones launched their UK and Ireland anniversary tour with a 90-minute set spanning 30 songs, anchored by 1978's Teenage Kicks and an unreleased new track called Time is Terminal
- Paul McLoone, recruited as frontman for the band's 1999 reunion after original singer Feargal Sharkey's exit, delivered the "shaky, brittle vocals" the classics demand while adding his own flamboyant stage presence
- The Derry band's original incarnation lasted just eight years before disbanding; they have now been performing on and off for nearly 50 years since their 1978 debut
- John and Damian O'Neill's twin-guitar attack and Billy Doherty's drumming powered a breakneck set drawn primarily from the band's first two albums, including You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It!), Male Model, (She's a) Runaround, Jimmy Jimmy, Get Over You, and 2003's Thrill Me
- The set spanned punk humor, new-wave surrealism, and quiet tragedy, with bassist Mickley Bradley noting of the opener Teenage Kicks: "This is the first record we ever made. Still sounds good to me."
Why it matters: The Undertones, now playing to silver-haired fans almost 50 years after their debut, are still writing new material — the unreleased Time is Terminal — rather than coasting on nostalgia, a rare posture for legacy punk acts and one the review frames as a refusal to indulge rather than outrun their teenage legacy.
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