Season 540- PUNKS NOT DEAD

Here's the classic number from a band I really liked, the Undertones. I'm thinking it's punk for sure. Not sure which story I like better about this band and this song. The first is that it was reportedly John Peel's favorite song of all time. There's a case to be made, as they say. The second is that Feargal Sharkey, the lead singer of the band, was working in a TV repair shop when the record came out and became a hit. He asked his boss if he could have a couple of days off to go to London to be on Top of the Pops. His boss didn't believe him, so he had to quit.

Hope you all like it. Got to use my Fanner uke and Spark amp on this one.

 
Hey Gang- sorry I was so silent today. There were lots of baby birds to feed and things to clean, but I am here now doing my homework ;)
 
thanks for hosting this week dave
this song has no business being here but i played it anyway b/c i am punk
hell i'm so punk i dont even use punctuation marks

 
Not hard enough to catch up tonight...my anniversary is tomorrow, make me work gang! That said, there were still some great submissions this evening-

Wee- Was there really anything before the Seasons? I reckon there was! This is great stuff Wee, I have a huge fondness for Mr. Zappa. Having gone to Sonoma State University, it was requisite.


Del- I think more exciting than the song...which is a banger and an excellent choice (dang I was hoping we would get the Buzzcocks this week), is how clearly you are having fun here. Playing your favorite of your brothers records (loved his video by the way...bet my boy had a few street punk LP's in that collection Oi! Oi! Oi!) and pulling out all the stops- loved the additions here for sure- this is just magnificent. Smiling til it hurts my friend, thank you! This is very punk rock.

Berni- Berni...can I just say you are treasure my friend? I normally tell folks that I am smiling til it hurts...naw man, this brought tears (not so punk but just that real) . This not only captures everything about a genre that I know is not your favorite, but it also captures every bit of who you are, and my god I am glad to know ya. Thank you so much for writing and playing this for us.

Greenie- BIG KING!!! How are ya mate? Seems this is the song of the week (because we have two)- definitely punk, almost super punk after Peel played it twice. Banger of a choice, well played and sung, thanks for this bit of noise!

Sean- All I know is that I don't know....and that's fine! Funny that this is also a Green Day song (they covered it early), but the reality here is you played me a song I can sing every word of and you KILLED it...and you brought a Kazoo. Excellent cover mate...amazing selection, and thank you for playing a song for me. This was awesome.

Jon- You know what is punk? Playing whatever the hell you feel like playing. I appreciate this addition, and every bit of you that went into it. Thanks mate. Man this is a helluva cover.

We will see y'all tomorrow. Thanks for all these songs
 
'Tere perestroika' (Welcome Perestroika) by Estonian punk band J.M.K.E. 'Perestroika' was a campaign to reform the political system and society in the former Soviet Union.

In 1989 I had an argument about this song with my friend at school. My friend said that a punk band should not sing about shaking hands with the militia, but I thought that this was meant ironically. I still think so, and after all kinds of reforms it seems that the song is not outdated.
 
Hi Dave,
well I wanted to bring some Siouxsie and the Banshees…..I’ve done Hong Kong Garden for another season somewhere…… but what I dearly wanted to do was bring one of my all time favourite songs off their debut album, The Scream. I love the riff to Overground, and that is the song I was going to do….but it beat me, I just could not get it right….I think it’s in 5/4 for a start, and Siouxsie’s phrasing is just so unusual. Instead I bring you a song from the John McGeoch era, off their third album……I’ve done this BEVOMU style, as I think she would have smashed this one 🤟

Incidentally, I was 14 in 1976, I remember John Peel playing The Damned, and loved it, but for some reason, I was still clinging to Led Zep and the rest of the rock behemoths…..I didn’t really cotton on for another few years. Sadly I never got to see Siouxsie and the Banshees, likewise Buzzcocks, the Clash et al. The closest I got was seeing the Tom Robinson band in about 78, and their support was Stiff Little Fingers. Anyway, great theme 👍
 
Early ska punk combined both 2 Tone and ska with hardcore punk. Ska punk often features wind instruments, especially horns such as saxophones, trombones and trumpets, making the genre distinct from other forms of punk rock.

Madness of Baggy Trousers fame were a 2tone band heavily influenced by ska punk but they could also be very lyrical especially when they covered Labi Siffre.

Here is my Scottish ballad interpretation of the song.


and the 2tone original.
 
Last edited:
A Query: Excuse me, Dave, for going completely off-piste; but has the print on YouTube suddenly gone impossibly small or is it my Internet playing up? I should be really grateful if someone could either confirm that it has, indeed, shrunk, or, alternatively, that is completely normal and I am the one malfunctioning.
 
Not hard enough to catch up tonight...my anniversary is tomorrow, make me work gang! That said, there were still some great submissions this evening-

Wee- Was there really anything before the Seasons? I reckon there was! This is great stuff Wee, I have a huge fondness for Mr. Zappa. Having gone to Sonoma State University, it was requisite.


Del- I think more exciting than the song...which is a banger and an excellent choice (dang I was hoping we would get the Buzzcocks this week), is how clearly you are having fun here. Playing your favorite of your brothers records (loved his video by the way...bet my boy had a few street punk LP's in that collection Oi! Oi! Oi!) and pulling out all the stops- loved the additions here for sure- this is just magnificent. Smiling til it hurts my friend, thank you! This is very punk rock.

Berni- Berni...can I just say you are treasure my friend? I normally tell folks that I am smiling til it hurts...naw man, this brought tears (not so punk but just that real) . This not only captures everything about a genre that I know is not your favorite, but it also captures every bit of who you are, and my god I am glad to know ya. Thank you so much for writing and playing this for us.

Greenie- BIG KING!!! How are ya mate? Seems this is the song of the week (because we have two)- definitely punk, almost super punk after Peel played it twice. Banger of a choice, well played and sung, thanks for this bit of noise!

Sean- All I know is that I don't know....and that's fine! Funny that this is also a Green Day song (they covered it early), but the reality here is you played me a song I can sing every word of and you KILLED it...and you brought a Kazoo. Excellent cover mate...amazing selection, and thank you for playing a song for me. This was awesome.

Jon- You know what is punk? Playing whatever the hell you feel like playing. I appreciate this addition, and every bit of you that went into it. Thanks mate. Man this is a helluva cover.

We will see y'all tomorrow. Thanks for all these songs
Happy anniversary, Dave (and Mel!), and thank you for hosting this week! I don't think I will have a song ready for today, but I'm hoping for tomorrow. In the meantime, I have to ask: what sort of baby corvids? and why are you not posting pictures?? (I do realize that the answer could be, "because this is a ukulele forum, not a bird forum" but still, I for one would love to see a photo:))
 
  • Like
Reactions: TCK
A Query: Excuse me, Dave, for going completely off-piste; but has the print on YouTube suddenly gone impossibly small or is it my Internet playing up? I should be really grateful if someone could either confirm that it has, indeed, shrunk, or, alternatively, that is completely normal and I am the one malfunctioning.
looks same size as always to me Val - check if you've zoomed out in your view preferences
 
YES! Gonna have work to do tonight. Off to dads because he has got that point where he tells me he can handle things but cannot…and the nettle in his yard is taller than I am. I will be pretty quiet today but will see you all this evening for sure- keep ‘em coming!!!!
 
Top Bottom