The Undertones / Ruts DC - O2 Edinburgh, 27th September 2024

I didn’t pay enough attention the bands social media pages and arrived at the venue at 7:30 only to find myself in a long queue, listening to the Ruts DC, who started bang on half seven. To be fair, it was on their social media but the O2, who did publish an event info page, failed to put the set times on theirs.

The queue was good fun. I got talking to ‘Wee Joe’ from Glasgow. Well, he was originally from the city but now lives in Turkey. He told me about the punk and ska cruise he puts on in his new home every year. On a cold, late September evening in a slow-moving line, that sounded like a top option to me.

Once in the O2 and without stopping for a beer I raced through to the hall. Ruts DC, who were now 20 minutes into their set, were playing to a pretty full room. I had missed a few of my favourites, “You’re Just A” and “S.U.S.” had been and gone but there was much more to come.

The band looked and sounded great. There was something just, quite relaxed about the band tonight. Drummer, Ruffy provided a fair amount of the chat whilst Seggs, sporting his hat and shades, clutched his aging bass as if it was an extension of his arms. The Ruts DC bass sound is perhaps the most defining feature of this band and tonight, the mix was spot on, this meant the depth and carry of the bass provided a grounding and theme to everything the band played, never less so than on their reggae/punk classic “Jah War”. I loved it. Guitarist, Lee was on fine form, banging out Ruts riff after Ruts riff. “Staring at the Rude Boys, “In a Rut” and “Babylon’s Burning” took us to the end of a fantastic set of tunes that were topped off with “Psychic Attack”. I may have been 20 minutes late for the start, but by the time the band left the stage at 8:30 I was smiling.

I grabbed a quick beer in the break. The venue had three bars, although only one did draft. The place wasn’t full, but it was pretty busy. Last time The Undertones were in town they played the far smaller La Belle Angel and so tonight was a real step up on capacity, and, to that end, ambition. The same bill was heading west the following night, so it was, I thought, a testament to the bands that the venue was as busy as it was.

I had a wee wander around and spoke to a few people. As usual, there were lots of guys of a certain age who had seen one or other bands ‘back in the day’ there were also a good few people who were there with their teenage children. Punk is certainly not dead and it looked to me that the torch is being carried on by a new generation for whom many of the tunes they hear now are as relevant for them as they were for us way back when.

At five to nine the lights went down and the backing track started. Everyone took that wee pace forward in anticipation and then, bang – The Undertones were on stage. “Jimmy Jimmy” started the night with “Girl’s Don’t Like It” coming hot on it's heels.

Sometimes I have felt The Undertones break too long between songs and that takes away from their momentum. Not tonight. Tonight, it was one song after another, no messing, just playing; and it was fantastic.

Third up was “The Love Parade”. I always thought The Undertones sound matured over the years and, along with some great bubble-gum pop, they produced some pretty fantastic and complex tunes. This was one, others included “Wednesday Week” and “When Saturday Comes”. All of which got a run out tonight and all of which were made all the more powerful thanks to the delivery of singer Paul McLoone. Every time I see him, I think Paul has the strut of Morrissey about him and a well-placed confidence in his own ability to deliver. Vocally, he is, I think, outstanding and with his high kicks and shimmy hips, he makes every song his own, particularly this group of complex pop masterpieces.

I mentioned the bubble-gum pop. Perhaps that makes this bands output sound trite. That is not my intention at all. In the mid 1970’s when Derry/Londonderry was awash with political and religious violence, this group of guys choose to sing about first love, Mars Bars and the optimism of summer. This was, probably, not what was expected at the time, but always underpinned, for me, that teenagers were teenagers the world over, regardless of what was going on around that. A sentiment, echoed in that other classic output from their hometown “Derry Girls”.

So more of the music, “You’ve Got My Number (Why Don’t You Use It?)” arrived eight songs in. In my view, the guitar riff on this song is the finest guitar riff in punk. If you have never heard it before, stick it on and give it a listen. It is a pop-punk masterpiece.

After about half an hour on stage the opening bars of “Teenage Kicks” set the room alight. This was a song that changed a lot of things in music. It pushed this band to the forefront; it also raised John Peel’s profile and shone a light on music in Northern Ireland. The one place tonight the light was not shining was the back right of the stage. There, under dim cover, stood John O’Neill. He was playing his rhythm guitar and, across the night, threw in a bit of lead too. He never stepped forward, offered no chat and was involved in no onstage band banter. I often wonder how he feels in that wee dull corner of his, when he hears this song, and so many other played tonight. The unassuming O’Neill was the author of “Teenage Kicks” and a raft of the other Undertones staples. He brought this smiley, post punk, power pop into the world born from a challenged piece of a country at war with itself. He brought hope and teenage dreams to many who often lacked optimism due to all that was going on around them. I am grateful to him for the memories he has given me and grin he has put on my face over the years. I hope, when he is standing well away from the spotlight, his smile is as big as mine.

There was nothing left out the set. Clearly The Undertones had made the decision to leave it all on the stage and they certainly delivered. Highlights for me included “Here Comes the Summer” and “Hypnotised” but every song was a toe tapping banger. Michael Bradley, on his Rickenbacker bass, did a bit of a double act with Paul in delivering just about the right amount of banter. Damien O’Neill took care of business on lead guitar taking up a point on the opposite side of the stage to his brother, he delivered so many instantly recognisable riffs. As the night drew to a end, drummer, Billy Doherty, beat the instantly recognisable tattoo of “I Just Can’t Get Over You” to bring the main set to a bouncing close. The band never lost their energy at any time throughout the preceding 80 minutes and took only the shortest of breaks before returning for more. “Mars Bars” kicked off a five song encore and “My Perfect Cousin” brought the curtain down. I left one primary school for another in 1979. The class I was leaving bought me this single as part of a leaving gift. I still have it and the opening bars always take me back to Mrs Skene’s class in Murrayburn Primary School. And that’s what Friday was for so many at the O2, a night of memories; memories of chocolate and girls, our own youth and the different events that took us here. Tonight was a full on performance with non stop energy and ever present smiles. Thirty five songs in 90 minutes was Ramones-esque in content and delivery. Props too to the sound team, the production quality was top drawer on Friday, the sound clear and the mix ideal. As the lights came up I had a quick chat with Wee Joe, my new mate. from Glasgow via Turkey. He and his pals loved it and, like so many guys my age they were leaving with a big grim. So too were the teenage kids who were at this gig. Chocolate and girls will forever be teenage dreams and both bands tonight were certainly hard to beat.