Undertones documentary BBC4 tonight

[droopsnoot]

"Here Comes the Summer", a documentary about the Undertones, is on BBC4 tonight at 21.45. Also they're re-showing "Punk Britannia at the BBC" either side of it.

[MULLY]

Don't forget 'So Hard To Beat' on after the Pubk Britannia show - covers punk in NI and interviews with bands (as well as other 'rock' from Van the Man thru to Snore Patrol)

[Five Minutes]

Wonder if Lord Feargal will deign to appear

[Ian9331]

"Here Comes the Summer", a documentary about the Undertones, is on BBC4 tonight at 21.45. Also they're re-showing "Punk Britannia at the BBC" either side of it.

Thanks for the info.

F... all else on, so will give it a watch.

[MULLY]

Wonder if Lord Feargal will deign to appear

The Undertones doc is the one with Peelie coming over to Londonderry. Vintage clips and stuff.

Can't remember if Sharkey appears in the 'Beat..' show - it was a three parter shown a few years ago on BBC NI (shown here in it's entirity)

[Ian9331]

Punk Britannia on after The Undertones.

Think I have seen this before.

Isn't it the one where there is no mention of The Stranglers apart from a tour poster in the background of one shot...?

[Hugh in Black]

Bugger - forgot about this. Thank God for the iPlayer!

[beebop]

Punk Brittania was a different show to that shown earlier in the summer. Was basically a fantastic music jukebox from 76 to 79 . Very enjoyable and scheduled to be shown again on BBC4 at 0040 Sunday night / Monday morning , or of course available on I Player

[MULLY]

HERE COMES THE SUMMER

Overall a pretty good show - although a couple of serious misleading statements from the programme.

No way did The Undertones blow everyone else off the stage and steal the Battle Of The Bands gig. Certainly they were pretty good, but whether it was fair or not, they were an unknown band from Londonderry and the partisan Belfast crowd had their (and my) hometown faves on stage - RUDI. The first punk band in Northern Ireland, already released the first single on Good Vibrations and light years ahead of all the other 'competition' in terms of stage craft, performance and songs. The Outcasts, although rough'n'ready received a better ovation than Da 'Tones on the night.

As for the Troubles hitting Derry hardest - I would dispute that fact. OK, Bloody Sunday is a biggie - but as the programme stated 3/4 of the city was Catholic (regardless of the political set-up) - there was not the same scale of ghettoisation, streets of families being burnt out off their homes and forced to move because off their religious/political beliefs. The IRA ran the Bogside - 'You Are Now Entering Free Derry' - after a couple off years the Catholic estates were practically a no-go area for the Army. Belfast had it the hardest in terms of The Troubles and both sides of the community were just as poorly treated by the Security Forces - searches, checks, etc... The IRA weren't the only paramilitaries in town!! Also many of the bands, apart from SLF, also steered clear of the political stance in their songs - RUDI, Outcasts, Protex all sang about teenage angst rather than The Troubles.

Their early songs may have been teenage love songs - but 'Its Gonna Happen' with the hunger strike message and the wearing off a black arm band on TOTP in memory of Bobby Sands were more political and inflammatory back home than anything SLF ever recorded or sang about.

Their attitude also stank - you could have fed a whole family on the chips they had on their shoulders!! Prime example at the recording off youth TV prog 'Something Else'. Demanded a re-recording off their songs because the studio audience were mainly there to support RUDI. There was also an incident backstage with their rider that angered many of the mixed denomination RUDI fans accused of nicking all the alcohol and called thieving Orange bastards (whether they had reason was moot LOL). It didn't go down well with the Catholic guys sitting in that room I'm tellin' ya.

An interesting show with some nice interviews (VInny & cousin Kevin and the Casbah 'family') but I hate it when you hear the English accents talking about what it was like for the kids in Northern Ireland - Julien Temple, Paul Morley and that other cnut rabbiting on about the suffering. Fuck Off.

Respect to Sharkey for not participating - although it would have been interesting to hear his side off the story.

[theraven1979]

Thanks Mully.

Was an interesting little documentary. They seemed to skip a fair bit out of their later years though (I don't actually mind their last 2 albums - very 80s poppy but some nice little melodies throughout. They came across pretty badly in it I thought, not very rock n roll and a tad cantankerous (maybe it's their age now?). Has Fergal ever taken part in anything Undertones related since he left?


Jim

[mickinblack]

Damien O Neil spent his whole life saying winging about how evil and nasty the Brits are..
Yet even thoe the Brits are so bad he decided to spend most of his Adult life living in London

What is it with pop stars...just like politicians and religious leaders they want us to do as they say but not as they do.....
What did Damien O Neil say when the IRA held Fergal Sharkeys mother as hostage, until fergal paid the cause some money....
Id love to know the real reason the band fell out, but i dout we ever will.

[MiB81]

Well I enjoyed it anyway, reminded of all the fantastic songs they produced,
which, at the end of the day, is how I remember my pop groups.