Formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1975, The Undertones became renowned for combining lyrical invention and musical flair with intelligent simplicity. Their anthemic Teenage Kicks, much loved by John Peel, is one of the most influential songs of the post-punk era.
On May 13, 1979 Seymour Stein’s Sire records released the band’s self titled debut album ‘The Undertones’.
To mark the 40th anniversary of its release, The Undertones now present a glorious set of classic tracks taken from what is considered by many to be one of the best punk albums of all time (Family Entertainment, Male Model, Jump Boys, Here Comes The Summer, Jimmy Jimmy), adding to them a whole bucketful of their iconic guitar pop hits & anthems, Get Over You, My Perfect Cousin, You’ve Got My Number, Julie Ocean, Wednesday Week, and, of course, Teenage Kicks.
Special guest Neville Staple, also known as The Original Rudeboy, is credited with changing the face of pop music not only once but twice.
Neville Staple’s 40 year career in the music business is well documented, from the early days with The Coventry Automatics, The Specials & FunBoy3 in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, to The Special Beat and various other collaborations during his solo career from the ‘90s up to the present day.
Welsh giants of rock Stereophonics have announced a North Wales tour date ahead of their of festival appearances this summer.
The band have revealed they will play an intimate gig in Llandudno next month.
The North Wales date is one of just three small venues playing host to the groups run of warm up shows.
The Welsh megastars, regarded as one of the country’s top bands they have enjoyed a string of number one albums, chart-topping singles and sell-out concerts.
With career sales topping 10 million albums, the South Wales band have recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their ‘97 debut LP Word Gets Around.
Kelly Jones and The Stereophonics performing at their sell out concert in Wrexham (Image: Ian Cooper)
Their gold certified, Scream Above The Sounds album was released last year, marking their 10th studio album.
The band – including Kelly Jones on vocals and guitar, Richard Jones on bass, Adam Zindani on guitar and Jamie Morrison on drums are expected to treat fans to their biggest hits. Long-term keyboardist Tony Kirkham will also be joining the band for live shows.
The Aussie outfit are set to visit the UK this April. Find out where they’re headed and if you can still buy tickets.
DMA’s have gathered a pretty big following, with favourable comparisons to the likes of Oasis and The Stone Roses.
If that wasn’t enough to help them gain a loyal fanbase in the UK, two acclaimed albums, memorable performances at Reading & Leeds Festival, endorsements from Liam Gallagher himself, a supporting slot at his 2018 Finsbury Park gig and their own dates at the end of last year all left UK audiences hungry for more.
With two albums in Hills End (2016) and For Now (2018) released so far, the Aussie outfit will no doubt be playing everything from The End to Step Up The Morphine and their breakout track Delete.
See a setlist from their recent headline gig at the O2 Academy, Sheffield:
Glastonbury Festival has announced the dates for the resale of tickets to this year’s event.
Those who missed out on tickets in the original sale last year have the chance to attend by purchasing returned coach packages on Thursday April 25 or general admission tickets on Sunday April 28.
Ed Sheeran performs headlining the Pyramid stage on day 4 of the Glastonbury Festival 2017 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 25, 2017 in Glastonbury, England
NGHFB’s have just announced that they will join The Smashing Pumpkins on an extensive North American Tour in August 2019! Those signed up to NGHFB’s mailing list will gain access to an exclusive fan pre-sale on March 5th, 10am (local time). Make sure to sign up by midnight (local time) March 4th to receive details and the access code* ▶︎ https://NGHFB.lnk.to/SPNAPSSU Ticket go on general sale Friday March 8th, 10am (local time) here ▶︎https://NGHFB.lnk.to/live Tour Dates: 8th August – BB&T Pavilion, Camden, NJ 9th August – Northwell Health Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh, NY 10th August – Darien Lake Performing Arts Centre, Darien Centre, NY 13th August – Budweiser Stage, Toronto 14th August – DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, MI 15th August – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL 17th August – Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD 19th August – Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, OH 20th August – PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC 21st August – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA 23rd August – Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, Rogers, AR 24th August – Dos Equis Pavilion, Dallas, TX 25th August – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX 28th August – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA 30th August – Banc Of California Stadium, Los Angeles, CA** 31st August – Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA * Fan pre-sale sign up is only open to those located in North America ** Seperate on sale date TBA
“How can you not be affected by what the fuck is happening?”
Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett
Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett has debuted new single ‘This Ol World’ and announced details of a UK and European tour this spring. Check out the single and tour dates exclusively on NME below.
The new track is the first offering from Shiflett’s forthcoming solo album – and it sees him tackling the state of the world in 2019.
Speaking to NME, the Foos axeman explained how his new take on country rock was directly inspired by both Brexit and Donald Trump’s election as US President in 2016.
“It’s always a struggle to write songs about current events or politics, but how can you not be affected by what the fuck is happening?,” explained Shiflett. “Over here we’ve got Trump and over there in the UK you’ve got Brexit and Farage. It seems like every western country is dealing with its own version of Trumpism and the rejection of the status quo and liberal policies.”
While neither event is specifically referenced on the track, Shiflett says he aimed to stay deliberately vague.
“In the early drafts of ‘This Ol World’ it just sounded a little too preachy and came off sounding like a pretentious article,” he continued. “I like my lyrics to be specific, but I wanted that one to be quite vague because regardless of your world views, maybe there’s something in there you can relate to.
“I wrote it after the 2016 election when you had left-wing populism represented in the Bernie Sanders campaign and right-wing populism in the Trump campaign. They’re very two different things but inspired by the same thing.
“That same thing is a rot in the system. To me, the powers have under-represented the masses for a long time and it represents itself, depending on your world view, as coming out of the same issues.”
When asked if the song is a wider reflection of his next album, Shiflett said that his second solo record will head in a rockier direction – after experimenting with country on his 2017 debut ‘West Coast Town.’
“There’s definitely more rock than my last album. It’s more guitar driven, although that sounds like a funny thing to say when so much of my stuff is guitar driven,” Shiflett said.
“But I like exploring sounds that I don’t get to play with. ‘West Coast Town’ from my last record was super pedal steel heavy, and this new one definitely has crunchier guitar tones and it’s more of a rock and roll record.”
Fans will get the chance to see Chris when he heads out on tour in March and April – including shows in London, Manchester and Glasgow. Check out those dates in full below.
MARCH 30 – The Grand Social, DUBLIN 31 – The Haunt, BRIGHTON
APRIL 1 – Omeara, LONDON 2 – The Fleece, BRISTOL 4 – Night & Day, MANCHESTER 5 – Classic Grand, GLASGOW 6 – La Bell Angle, EDINBURGH 8 – John Dee Club, OSLO 9 – Pumphuest, COPENHAGEN 10 – Nalen Klubb, STOCKHOLM
Scottish heroes who got their start in the C86 scene are back and ready for a retrospective.Info/tix
Teenage Fanclub was not always the jangle-pop rock act with tight, anthemic melodies that Liam Gallagher once called “the second-best band in the world.” The Scottish band’s origins were a little noisier and disorderly. Catholic Education, Teenage Fanclub’s 1990 debut, had a heavy grunge feel to it (think somewhere between Sonic Youth and Spacemen 3), and the band followed it up the following year with The King, which, according to singer and guitarist Norman Blake, was recorded in one night as a drunken improvisational experiment. In 1991, Bandwagonesque thrust the band into the limelight and mainstream success. Aside from maybe Thirteen—the darker, heavier fourth release in ’93 that, while sonically excellent, seemed to abandon Teenage Fanclub’s newfound pop sensibilities, which most critics couldn’t forgive—Bandwagonesque signalled a maturation from angsty, chaotic imitations to a structured, melodic eagerness that the band has managed to keep for nearly 30 years.
Teenage Fanclub’s 10th and most recent full-length, 2016’s Here, is more hushed and understated than much of what came before. It has its share of shimmery, blissful crescendos and guitar shredding, and, gratefully, we’re still treated to those gorgeous, soaring Big Star-esque three-part harmonies. However, the instrumentation takes a more introspective, ruminative approach, which the band has arguably been edging towards since 2005’s Man-Made. We enjoy more than a few moments of meandering psychedelia sprinkled throughout, and “Connected To Life,” the last track on the record, begins with the quiet strumming of an acoustic guitar. The lyrics express humble wisdom that comes with age, less concerned with conviction and more so acceptance of circumstances, good and bad, and something else: finding real joy. “I’m In Love” is at first listen, it’s a typical love song, but a closer look reveals a reckoning with the finite, sometimes cruel nature of life, and love experienced not only in spite of that fact but because of it: “Well, it feels good / When you’re close to me / That’s enough, that’s enough / We will fade into history / I’m in love with your love.” The dream-like “Steady State” invites us to, by example, practice non-attachment: “Erase what I’ve become /And let myself become / To feelings of love / Oh my love.”
Some of the borderline hippie/new-age sentiments could sound prescriptive, but it comes across as sincere. And when TF speaks, folks have a tendency to listen. The music has a rare blend of consistency and unity, seen in bands like Guided By Voices or Yo La Tengo, that remind us of being, well, teenagers, when most of us fell in love with rock and roll. They remind us why we should still love rock and roll now.
Some fans are deeply saddened that TF has parted ways with a co-founding member, songwriter, and bassist Gerard Love, save for a few dates in the UK, reportedly due to a disagreement about tour scheduling. But on the Facebook event page for this show at the Majestic, Teenage Fanclub released this statement to let fans know what they can look forward to: “You can expect us to do what we want, but what we want to do at the moment is dig a bit deeper into the back catalogue and play songs we haven’t played for years, so expect to hear things in the setlist beyond what you might have heard in recent years.” So, even though the band just released a single (“Everything Is Falling Apart”) and it’s likely the show will feature its share of new tracks, fans can expect to hear plenty of older, well-loved material. —Katie Hutchinson
TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2019 8:00 PM 11:59 PM MAJESTIC115 KING STREETMADISON, WI, 53703UNITED STATES (MAP)
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