UTR Presents
The Undertones – the legendary first wave Irish punks who enjoyed seven UK chart hits – have confirmed concerts in Wellington and Auckland for this July.
The tour celebrates their four decades together and their very first tour downunder, with shows at:
San Fran, Wellington, Tuesday July 11 (tickets from UTR)
The Powerstation Auckland, Wednesday July 12 (note venue change)
The Undertones NZ tour is proudly presented by Plus1, 95bFM and UnderTheRadar.
Their influence has spread far and wide - their Teenage Kicks single was the favourite single of ALL time for renowned English DJ John Peel
Formed whilst. teenagers in Derry, Ireland in 1975 and taking shape mid-76 following a diet of the Ramones, Nuggets-style garage bands and the emerging UK punk scene, The Undertones - much like the Buzzcocks - churned out two minute punk / pop classics.
Their reputation was cemented with unforgettable songs released from ’77 onwards - about girls, petty jealousies, spotty neuroses and chocolate - including Teenage Kicks, My Perfect Cousin, Get Over You, You’ve Got My Number, Here Comes The Summer, Jimmy Jimmy and loads more over four brilliant albums before initially disbanding in 1983.
Standing here watching this perfect jukebox band you are reminded by just how many great songs The Undertones have, every riff, every vocal line, every moment drips in pop perfection and the thrill of two entwining guitars that cram so much melody and adrenaline into the music that their music sounds eternally joyous, is part of the heart of soul of their greatness.” - Louder Than War
The fact that you could sing along to them whilst mashing up the pit and have your heart strings tugged by the band shows just how perfect they were.” - The Quietus
Following the break-up, the members of The Undertones would go onto varying degrees of success (That Petrol Emotion, solo careers) before reforming in
1999; new singer Paul McLoone joining original members - guitarist and chief-songwriter John O’Neil, his brother Billy (guitar), bassist Michael Bradley and drummer Billy Doherty - headlining shows across the UK and Europe, appearing at the Glastonbury Festival in 2005, releasing two new albums - Get What You Need (2003) and Dig Yourself Deep (2007) - plus Teenage Kicks (A Best Of) and a top 30 chart hit on release in 2003.
As a live proposition the band are arguably on the best form of their career, helped by a pristine sound that pushed the guitars to the fore. The set crackled with energy and the band played with passion and joy. Paul McLoone has totally claimed his place behind the mic, he nailed every tune and spent the whole gig enjoying the music as much as the crowd” - Culture
In 2016 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine / Primal Scream remixed The Undertones 1979 single Get Over You as a stand alone 7” release. Why Why not!
