The Undertones will bring their 50th anniversary celebrations to Shrewsbury next year as part of a major UK and European tour running through 2025 and 2026.
The run marks half a century since the influential Derry band first plugged in together and also continues to promote their first ever live album, “16 Live Humdingers”, currently available only on green vinyl at shows.
The Undertones comes to Shrewsbury Buttermarket on Thursday, April 6.
“16 Live Humdingers” features selected old and new songs performed by the post-1999 line up with Paul McLoone on vocals and was recorded in Glasgow in 2023. It captures the band’s trademark blend of short, sharp, melodic punk-pop, honed across decades on stage and in the studio.
The Undertones’ story began in 1976 when five friends – John O’Neill, Damian O’Neill, Feargal Sharkey, Billy Doherty and Michael Bradley – started learning basic rock and roll in bedrooms in Derry. With virtually no local live scene to inspire them, they absorbed music via mail order records, the odd copy of NME that made it to the city and, above all, John Peel’s BBC Radio One show.
That dedication paid off in 1978 when they recorded John O’Neill’s “Teenage Kicks” for Terri Hooley’s Good Vibrations label in Belfast. John Peel loved the single so much he played it twice in a row on air, helping propel the band towards a deal with Sire Records and their first appearance on Top of the Pops.
Over the next five years they released a string of pop gems including “Here Comes The Summer”, “Jimmy Jimmy”, “You’ve Got My Number (Why Don’t You Use It)”, “Wednesday Week” and “My Perfect Cousin”, alongside four acclaimed albums, before splitting in 1983 when Sharkey left.
They reconvened in 1999 without Sharkey, with fellow Derryman Paul McLoone taking over on vocals and quickly winning over fans with his powerful delivery and lively stage presence. An album of new material, “Get What You Need”, followed, proving that their knack for tight, hook-filled songs remained intact.
For Shrewsbury fans, the anniversary tour promises a set packed with hits and favourites from across both eras, with that exclusive green vinyl live album as an added draw on the merch stand.
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