By Jim Rowland
Finally back on the road for the rescheduled dates following the numerous postponements of the past couple of years, Derry’s finest The Undertones hit Camden’s Electric Ballroom the day after the release of their new ‘Dig What You Need’ compilation album. And what’s more, they have the legendary Stranglers founding member Hugh Cornwell as a special guest for what promises to be a very special night in the English capital.
You know things are getting back to normal when the gig starts at 6.45 and the headliners are on at 8.15 so that the venue can run a club afterwards, so we’re all back out on the streets before 10.00. Ah yes, the good old days of a Saturday gig in London are back. As Hugh Cornwell points out, it feels like a matinee gig as he hits the stage at the unearthly time of 6.45. Still, there’s a large crowd assembled who have heeded the warning of the early start, and Cornwell is instantly playing to a pretty packed house, which is no less than he deserves.
I’m utterly ashamed to admit that this is the first time I’ve seen Hugh Cornwell since he fronted the Stranglers at Hammersmith Odeon in 1987, on the ‘Dreamtime’ tour. Still, better late than never I suppose. A fine selection of old Stranglers songs pepper the set, and of course there’s no shortage of those to choose from. ‘Always The Sun’ is a classic song that has stood the test of time so well, and still gets a massive audience sing along tonight, as it still does at a Stranglers gig. ‘Skin Deep’ and ‘Strange Little Girl’ sound great, as does ‘Duchess’, possibly my favourite Stranglers song, albeit sounding a little different here without the keyboards. ‘London Lady’ and ‘Goodbye Toulouse’ are inspired choices from the first Stranglers album, and ‘Five Minutes’ wraps things up with punk fury intact.
Hugh Cornwell is not just about his old Stranglers songs though, and his solo songs, none of which I’m familiar with, are hugely impressive, especially the Lou Reed-inspired ‘Black Hair Black Eyes Black Suit’, and ‘Mr. Leather’, which is actually about Lou Reed. Most of the solo tunes played come from the most recent album ‘Monster’, which certainly seems like an album to be checked out on the back of this. Cornwell’s stage persona is genuine and humble, and it’s truly great to hear that voice in a live setting again. With a new album on the way, I’ll be queuing up to see him again now after this hugely impressive set.
With the brand new compilation ‘Dig What You Need’ just out, the likes of ‘Thrill Me’, ‘Here Comes The Rain’, ‘Oh Please’ and ‘Dig Yourself Deep’ prove that, just like Hugh Cornwell, there’s still plenty in the song writing tank for The Undertones, albeit those songs are a fair few years old now (time for a new album?) Those choices from the Paul McCloone era blend seamlessly with the onslaught of old Undertones classics in the set tonight in front of a now rammed to the rafters venue.
As is usual, The Undertones deliver just about every track from the classic first album during the course of the set. So in addition to standard opener ‘Family Entertainment’ and the familiar singles ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ and ‘Here Comes the Summer’, as well as the inevitable ‘Teenage Kicks’, it’s great to hear album tracks like ‘Billy’s Third’, ‘Jump Boys’, ‘I Gotta Getta’, ‘Listening In’, ‘(She’s A) Runaround’ and ‘I Know A Girl’ along with my personal favourite from that album, and one of its most punky moments, the awesome ‘Male Model’. The classic single ‘You’ve Got My Number’ also goes down a treat towards the start of the set, as does ‘Get Over You’, the Undertones’ New York Dolls-esque moment.
Two tracks from 1981’s wonderful ‘Positive Touch’ album positively shine in the shape of ‘It’s Going To Happen’, one of their best singles for me, and ‘When Saturday Comes’ which is the most powerful sounding track in the set. It’s great to hear ‘More Songs About Chocolate & Girls’ from ‘Hypnotised’ as the first encore, with ‘Wednesday Week’, ‘Tearproof’ and the title track all sounding awesome from that album, with its most famous track ‘My Perfect Cousin’ wrapping the gig up in riotous fashion.
It must be said what a magnificent job Paul McLoone does fronting the Undertones. He’s been fronting them since they reformed in 1999 and is the perfect replacement for Feargal Sharkey. McLoone’s voice isn’t a million miles away from that of Sharkey, but he’s certainly his own man, hugely charismatic and exuding the sense of fun that characterises so many of the Undertones’ songs. On top of that, you still have all of the other original members on top form.
As a live act, The Undertones are still hard to beat, you can’t go wrong with that catalogue of quality songs. Thanks as well to a great set from the legend that is Hugh Cornwell, as expected this was a truly outstanding show.
- The tour continues:
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