The danger with anniversary shows is that they can become purely a way of monetising nostalgia. This was not a problem with the Undertones, who played Leeds as part of their 50th anniversary tour on 16 October. Although they played the hits (Teenage Kicks, Jump Boys, etc), they peppered unreleased material and deeper cuts into the setlist. The band was not asking us to remember how great the 70s were, but to appreciate their music on its own merit.
By Stanley West
The more niche material (including Love Parade and a song they “came up with last week”) was a breath of fresh air in a world where every single musician seems to milk every penny they can out of nostalgia. It was a relief to realise that I was there to watch a rock band play music and not to watch a group of people reminisce about how great things were before Thatcher.
As you would expect from a band that had just celebrated 50 years, the Undertones were very well rehearsed aside from a hiccup at the start of one song, which was solved with humour and rock ’n’ roll spirit (“I could’ve sworn that song was longer”). Singer Paul McLoone, who replaced their original singer Feargal Sharkey in 1999, didn’t miss a single note, and showmanship from the band overall was entertaining without feeling exaggerated or theatrical. Bassist Michael Bradley did most of the crowdwork, joking about performing some solo songs at the start of the encore and cracking jokes throughout.
Whoever wrote the setlist thankfully resisted the temptation to put Teenage Kicks in the encore, instead placing it in the middle of the set and avoiding dragging out the wait for too long. After it was played, the crowd gained a certain energy that it kept for the rest of the show.
It was a great show. The crowd – who I guessed would be going home to their grandchildren rather than doing lines of coke at an afterparty somewhere – was clearly enthralled by the music and not simply nostalgic for a past I was too young to remember.
The Undertones played at Project House on Friday 16 October 2026.