Images may be subject to copyright
On this day, 18 May 1980, Northern Irish punk band The Undertones played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Support was provided by The Moondogs.
The band had just released their second album Hypnotised, recorded at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands in December 1979, and at Eden Studios in London in January 1980. The album peaked at No 6 in the UK album charts.
The original release of Hypnotised included two singles: "My Perfect Cousin", which was released on 28 March 1980 and reached number 9 in the charts; and "Wednesday Week", released on 5 July 1980 and which charted at number 11 three weeks later.
The Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley (bass, vocals) and Billy Doherty (drums).
Much of the earlier Undertones material drew influence from punk rock and new wave; the Undertones also incorporated elements of rock, glam rock and post-punk into material released after 1979, before citing soul and Motown as the influence for the material released upon their final album.
