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The best photo of the week so far is that of the plastic bottle as it hit the side of the head onstage in Liverpool. At least, I thought I saw it today but when I went to look for it again, it was gone. There's still some mobile phone footage of the bottle (beer, according to the announcement ending the show) on the internet, along with many comments about whether he was right to stop the show after only two songs.Ìý It's not pleasant being at the receiving end of an object aimed at your skull, although sometimes there's an upside.
In 1980 The Undertones played at a club in Washington DC, in a show which was up to our usual high standard of punk rockin' party hits. But towards the end, while we were coming back for an encore, someone threw coins on to the stage. Not being historians of American showbusiness traditions, we didn't know whether this was because the crowd didn't like our songs or because someone wanted us to phone them. We gathered up the coins, with such excitement and gratitude that we started pushing each other out of the way to get them. This led to us openly encouraging more currency to be thrown. Not quite Chuck Berry wanting cash in hand before an encore, but not far off it. We ended up with several dollars in small change, dirty hands from scrabbling in the dust and a reputation in Washington as poverty stricken refugees from the war torn streets of Northern Ireland. Maybe that's why we never broke America.