Tenous Connections - The Undertones

I finally got round to mapping out the 'connections', my music 'family tree', or as I prefer to call it, 'my tenous connections' - let's be clear about this. There are famous people on the same chart as me, but I have not known all of them. Indeed some are there because I am not there, i.e. I left a band and then they came along. On the other hand I have known 'famous' people! And people who are not on this chart. And I'm sort of amused to think someone reading this might make some more tenous connections for me.

I actually came across another today - and this isn't on the map. I found a band called The Hit Parade who appear to have a drummer called Matt Moffat, a bassist called Raymond Watts and a guitarist called Julian Henry. I couldn't find any more info on this lot, but the very first band I was in had a drummer called Matt Moffat and a great pianist called Mike Watts (I won't say the name of the band... we were very young). I was 'playing' saxophone at the time. A guy called Julian Henry was around (this was a school situation) in a band called 'First of the Last' with Andy McAlpine and John Jacobs. Is this the same Julian Henry who now writes for the Guardian? But this band I found on MySpace must be the sons of the people I knew - surely. I'm confused. There is a mention of the school we were at on their MySpace site. Yes, confused. Anyway, let's move on to look at today's tenous connection - The Undertones.

The reason for producing the map is blatant publicity seeking with the forthcoming release of the Tripping Cherubs album. Though to be fair it only recently occured to me that there were connections, or rather how many.

The most tenuous of all is The Undertones probably. Here's the short story (as I remember it). I was working in Good Vibrations (indie record shop in Belfast's Great Victoria Street) on a voluntary basis putting covers on the singles that Terri Hooley was releasing for bands like Rudi, Protex Blue, Victim, etc in about 1978. One day he was very excited and said he'd got a tape from a band in Derry that he thought was amazing (Derry was another planet to people like us in Belfast).

At the time I was 'running' a fanzine called '9 to 5' and was playing bass in my first real band (The Androids - real: we played gigs).

Terri said, "Do you fancy interviewing them? They're coming down on Sunday." I said "Yes."

When Sunday came there was John O'Neil (later of That Petrol Emotion - one of the greatest bands ever, who were on the Pink label. I did some work for Pink at one stage, but that's quite a separate tenuous conection, and not on the map). Fergal Sharkey was also there. Later Fergal, of course, confounded the pop industry by having a solo hit or two as a glamour star of the '80s!

I can't remember much about the interview because I'm sure I asked dumb questions. Another 'hack' was there. A guy from my school called Andy something who had a fanzine called 'No Fun' - this Andy something also became famous briefly - and doesn't appear on my map. When/if I remember his name I'll post it here. He was a Dylan-type of Northern Irish singer songwriter doing OK in the '90s I think. Found it: Andy White. Looks like he's still at it.

So, The Undertone's first ever interview appeared in edition 2 of my fanzine 9 to 5 (as noted in the book "It makes you want to Spit! - an Alternative Ulster 1977-1982 - the definitive guide to punk in N. Ireland" by Sean O'Neill and Guy Trelford, published by Reekus. p.81). (The ref is for those who think I'm making all this up!)

A slight change of scene in this story... In the Belfast scene at the time we all knew everyone. A lot has been written about that time in Belfast (and at least one more book is promissed according to communication with Alex Og this month) and it all, rightly, focussed on the collective spirit. So in this atmosphere it did not seem that odd when one of The Idiots (and I can't remember which one of this good-time punk band it was) asked me if I wanted to hear the song they'd just recorded for Good Vibes. Sure. To be honest The Idiots was a perfect name for this lot. They were musically the classic 'pick up an instrument and play' punk band. It may have been Dee Wilson or Wee Gordy Owen. Anyway, rather than pulling out a Walkman (no chance even if they were invented by then) we walked round to Wizard Studios in the centre of Belfast and he asked the engineer if he would play their song! Which he did. He then asked me what I thought and whether he thought it needed a guitar solo in the middle. I thought it sounded great and I wasn't sure about the 'solo' - us punks didn't do solos did we?

Anyway before I knew it he'd asked the engineer if he could borrow a guitar. A Fender Strat was handed over (I'd never touched a Fender before!) and he said "Will you put a solo on it then?" Err, well I'll have to learn something is what I was thinking. Obviously that wasn't an option. "OK". Solo done. One take. "See you..." I don't think I, or The Idiots, ever mentioned it again. Anyway, I felt so guilty. I was a bass player in a punk band, not a guitar hero. It was their single and I'd gatecrashed their moment of glory. So Idiots, if you ever read this, apologies. It wasn't my idea, but actually: what a great track!

Anyway, the track came out on a 4 track compilation EP called 'Battle of the Bands' on Good Vibes featuring Rudi, The Outcasts, Spider, and 'Parents' by The Idiots. The cover was a typical Good Vibes folded A3 arrangement featuring a reproduction of my Undertones interview.

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In writing this I have realised that The Undertones didn't have a track on the EP (though they were meant to, but they signed to Sire at about that time on the back of Teenage Kicks coming out on Good Vibes just beforehand. I folded many a cover for that.

This Tenous Connections thing also serves to remind me: it has taken many bands to leave me behind in order to make a name for themselves - bugger. Let's not dwell on that. Let's just say it's more coincidence...

Next installment will examine another piece of the puzzle I expect, but all of a sudden I feel like I should write a song about coincidence and the people I have known... and who have known me.