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Nobody notices the bass player....


Bilbo
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On 11/3/2017 at 10:12, PaulWarning said:
Barking Spiders said:


Me neither and I like the Undertones but it's one of their weaker songs and one I always skip Anyone recall That Petrol Emotion which was formed by ex-Undertones? A fine and underrated band who were much better than the Undertones IMO.

the Undertones first album is one of my favourites, my vinyl copy doesn't have Teenage Kicks on it

:) We play it most gigs so I don't really want to hear the Undertones do it, going a bit off thread here

Yes, I recall That Petrol Emotion. The band was formed by the O'Neil brothers from the Undertones. TPE were a great band, really like them, as you say they're underrated


As for the Undertones, they are one of my favourite live bands - always put on a great show. Saw them last Friday as it happens. They split a number of years back, and re-formed quite some time later. Despite the loss of singer Feargal Sharkey, they still sound as good as they ever did. Nice bunch of blokes too. I met them a couple of times. First time I met them was back in the early 80's - they were really friendly, quiet sort of guys... happy to autograph record sleeves and chat. Really easy to get on with, and not at all full of them selves. A mate of mine knew a lad who had written to them when he was just 14, asking to interview them for a youth / school magazine. They wrote back, gave him a phone number to call, and arranged train tickets for him + a parent to see them in a hotel where they were playing, paid for a night in the hotel, gave them free tickets and spent the day with the lad & his Dad, playing football, chatting etc....

Spoke with Michael Bradley (the bass player) after last Friday's gig, and he hasn't changed his attitude a bit - still a really good bloke. I told him I'd read his recent book ("My life as an Undertone") and that I'd really enjoyed the read, he seemed rather touched that I'd enjoyed it so much, and thanked me for buying and reading it...

As for their songs - they wrote quite a few brilliantly simple, catchy tunes, full of energy. To me, they were the UK's answer to the Ramones. They were also the pop-side of punk. A bit different from much of the punk in the rest of the UK at the time, yet they embraced the punk attitude perfectly - Punk wasn't really about a particular style, or uniform - it was about wearing whatever, and not caring too much about what others thought. Which is what the Undertones did exactly, they wore hand-me-down clothes, as they came from poor backgrounds in Derry. In fact, they lived through all the troubles in Northern Ireland, and didn't want to sing about that. Playing in the tiny local Casbah Club, they were one of the really few bands who played to both sides of the political / religious divide..... and inspired both sides dance and sing together! no mean feat in the late 70's and early 80's
Hats off to them :)

My taste is rather broader nowadays - but I've still got a soft spot for the Undertones

Teenage kicks was actually written about a rather more risque subject
The original lyric was "I wanna hold, I wanna hold it tight, get teenage kicks right through the night"
But they changed the lyric, so the recording wouldn't get banned....

EDIT: The energy they delivered their long set with on Friday really didn't seem like a band in their late 50's / early 60's
Yes, I know "the rolling stones etc (who are also great btw) - but there was hardly a slow track in the set :o

Edited by Marc S
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I saw them at Bearded theory festival a few years back, felt sorry for the Water Boys, they had to follow them on xD, I've got the 2 CD's with the new line up, nothing wrong with them, but the first album is a cracker, I look out for them playing near Nottingham but no luck so far, they don't do that many gigs which is probably a good thing, keeps them fresh

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2 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

I saw them at Bearded theory festival a few years back, felt sorry for the Water Boys, they had to follow them on xD, I've got the 2 CD's with the new line up, nothing wrong with them, but the first album is a cracker, I look out for them playing near Nottingham but no luck so far, they don't do that many gigs which is probably a good thing, keeps them fresh

On Friday, they played much of their superb 1st album. Me & my pal agreed - nearly every song on that album could have been a single
Yes, Paul Warning - their more recent albums are pretty good.... but as you say, it's a hard debut album to follow :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

did a gig for this years halloween. went as gene simmons....i dont need much of an excuse to dress up, let alone as the god of thunder!!

met a very attractive young lady, 20 years younger than me...im hitting 50!

 

boy, did she boost my ego!!!

 

apologies for the dodgy looking wig and costume!!

DSC_0623.JPG

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On 29/10/2017 at 16:15, blue said:

It's why I position myself front stage with a mic,right along side of our lead singer/ lead guitarist and the other guitarist and play with a pic.

People think I'm a guitar player. They certainly can't tell the difference.

When I joined 6 years ago, I made it clear I was not a stand in the back by the drummer kind of guy. I'm a poser. Lol

Blue

You have to leave room on the stage for the invisible bear Blue!  Is it lurking behind by the drummer waiting for you to makes your moves? 

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2 hours ago, bazzbass said:

As I was setting up the PA for a Sunday arvo gig, a woman I knew hugged me , kissed me deeply and said "take me home and @#$! me"

 

OK she didn't KNOW I was the bass player, but she did by the time I took her home hehe

 

it lasted 9 years :)

 

 

9 years, my God you‘ve got some stamina!......oh, wait a minute...... oh, you mean.....

 

 

....coat.

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Maybe I'm not a bass player after all as I've had 2 female stalkers, a model get up on stage during a gig and snog me, plus a bunch of groupies showing me stuff, sending me stuff etc.

We generally each had different types of girls interested in us. The singer had the nutcases and hangerons, the guitarist had the sex mad filthy girls, I had the girl next door mothering type and the drummer got nobody haha

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