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| TERRI HOOLEY BENEFIT Terri Hooley hero/villian, everyone has their own opinion. There's no denying the man's place is assured in the history of NI punk rock, where he earned his reputation. And I'll be the last person to try and rubbish his contribution and efforts in the past, for which he deserves the recognition and plaudits he's been receiving and dining out on for years. Living here in Belfast we've become used to the sight and sound of Terri, the shy retiring type and shameless self publicist on tv/radio/ print, pontificating on every style of music known to man. Because after all Terri been around forever with his finger on the pulse, as I heard a local radio presenter say about him recently. Terri knows it all doesn't he? The sad thing is the media have elevated Terri to such a high position in the NI punk pecking order to the detrement of the young punk bands. And of course the fans who were on the cutting edge and estabilishing their own scene well before Terri's arrival later on. I've seen the other side of good ol' Terri as the Harp bar/Pound etc. history repeats itself. The side where worst for wear due to drink, he clambers onstage during a bands set grabs the mic and mumbles incoherently |
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| trying to steal the bands limelight, or when he viciously slags members of bands he's been involved with in the past from the stage, or throws objects at band members while they are performing. And even after strutting around like a prima donna falls on the dancefloor and has to be lifted up by the other punters because he can't get up on his own. (tee hee -PDC) Ok punk scene regulars from back then will say he's been doing that for years, but it's not the 70's anymore, and frankly it's not even funny or dignified nowadays. It's just embarrassing behaviour from NI punks elder statesman! So what! He can be foolish sometimes, can't we all. (I certainly can and very recently, a red faced - PDC) It's not a crime, but why he just can't bask in the glory of his past achievements and take a back seat I don't know? He always wants to be the centre of attention, but I suppose that's just Terri being Terri Hooley. Punk? hero/villian you choose? This gig was organised with the help of a few old friends to give Terri a helping hand after his record shop and all it's contents including thousands of pounds worth of memorabilia and vinyl was gutted in a fire. A fire which destroyed the North St arcade in Belfast city centre, where the shop was situated! According to press reports arson is a strong possibility. So tonite was about a bit of payback and recognition for his past endevours on behalf of the local music scene. The tenner entrance was good value for four good bands, and all the press tell us it's a worthy cause after all. Charity begins at home as they say, and I can think of more deserving causes in this crazy dangerous world at the moment, but tonite it's Terri 's turn for a little help from his friends and interested parties. To be honest if $hame Academy weren't playing I probably wouldn't be here, so I pay the admission gladly. At one point it didn't look like we were gonna get in as we didn't bother buying tickets and it sold out! There was only a very limited guestlist so we couldn't blag our way in made it eventually. Ruefrex were first up. A good band joined tonite by Brian Faloon the original SLF drummer and fronted by a maniac in Alan Clark. The band sounded a lot sharper and grittier than back in November, no accoustic guitars and better for it. Ruefrex are an aquired taste, their serious message laden brand of atmospheric politicised punk is not for everyone, and to be honest has become quite dated in parts as life in NI has moved on. It's not the same place it was when some of the songs were written, making the bands strong sentiments outdated and alien to the younger members of the audience. But 'Capital Letters' remains a classic punk tune and the band played a fantastic version. You can't take your eyes of Clarkies onstage exploits, especially when he dons props like a terrorist balaclava and sunglasses during the song 'Death List'. And to top that during the last song (in a short set) already bare chested and having gone walkabout on the dancefloor "playing another song no-one knew", he had sarcastically quiped. Hhe suddenly dropped his trousers to reveal a pair of fetching blue baggy trunks. He then held his hands in the air and stood motionless in the centre of the stage for everyone to gawp at. What a showman! To tell you the truth I think the band were a bit pissed off at the general indifference and poor reaction from an audience made up mostly Undertones fans, who would normally not be seen dead watching a band like Ruefrex. |
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| The Moondogs were up next , with only one original member in the line up Gerry McCandless. Their sugar sweet teeny pop punk just makes me queasy. It doesn't look or sound right performed by middle aged balding men. It's not that it's all bad, they do have some decent tunes, but the songs are dragged down by horrible adolecent lovesick lyrics. It's seriously dated now and it has never done anything for me and still doesn't. But they pleased some sections of the crowd who couldn't handle the in your face antics of Clarky. Surprisingly the supposed headliners the Undertones came on next, amid unconfirmed rumours that certain band members wanted to go home early and a manager who didn't want them to play at all. But they got a heroes welcome, and they were very good!!! You know the songs, and they played everything you would expect in an Undertones greatest hits |
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| set, and with a back catalogue like they have, how could they fail? They were tight as hell and Paul McLoone is an excellent replacement for the abrasive Fergal Sharkey. He has made the lead singer position his own after a number of years in the firing line. During the set we got a speech from Terri Hooley proclaiming the Undertones to be as good as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones!!, in his usual over exaggerating style. As always 'Teenage Kicks' brings the house down. It's a bona fide NI punk classic, even Busted's cover version couldn't ruin a great song. Then after a short break and a bit of crowd prompting from a local radio DJ, the Undertones came on and did a three song encore. The place was bouncing with the weight of 400+ punters jumping around to the northwests premier pop punk outfit. They were much better than I expected. This is the first time I've seen the Undertones play live since the glory days, and their make believe fueds with other local bands like the best of the best Rudi and their fans, (remember Something Else TV show at Balmoral lads!, where you threw a hissy fit?). The Undertones have always had a love/hate relationship with Belfast punks. When this gig was first proposed I'm sure $hame Academy never expected to have the Undertones as their support act. And post gig I think $A were shafted! The Undertones played a full headlining set including encores which should have been stopped as they gave up that right when they decided they didn't wanna go on last. They were just piling on the pressure for the following band which was unfair. Maybe they had heard of $A's fearsome live reputation, and the bands pedigree would let them know that $A were no pushovers. Who knows what made the Undertones step down? For whatever reason $hame Academy put in a below par performance against their own high standard. They seemed to be on edge and lacking the killer attitude they displayed last time they headlined the Empire. The fact they were thrown in at the deep end without preparing for a headline show probably has a lot to do with it, but even with an off nite, an $A show is still a lot better than some punk bands best! Tonites scaled down set still had more than a few highlights including the bands brilliant rendition of Iggy's |
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| 'I wanna be your dog', the Outcasts 'Cops Are Coming' and a brace of Rudi classics like 'Big Time' and 'Cops' amongst others. One funny moment in the set was when Terri strolled onstage, made a short speech about what I can't remember as I was the worst for wear myself at this point in the proceedings, he then attemped to sing his number 1 indie hit from 1979 'Laugh At Me' while $A were belting out the intro to another song. In the end he gave up and walked off stage. The next big $hame Academy gig is penciled in for christmastime, 23rd December to be exact. And I'm positive they will destroy the Empire, expect a few surprises. Overall it was a good night and Terri Hooley seemed genuinely moved by the turnout. Hopefully the money raised will help get him back on his business feet again sometime in the future! Joe Donnelly Belfast 1/11/04. |