Busy days for legendary Saints guitarist Ed Kuepper. Not only did he join seminal Irish pop-punks the Undertones (of ‘Teenage Kicks’ fame) for a cover of the Saints "This Perfect Day" in Brisbane over the weekend, but he’s just been honoured with a Brisbane park renamed in his honour.
All this comes ahead of Ed re-familiarising himself with the old tunes and taking the Aints out for another spin in November. The Aints, if you’re not aware, was an outfit that Ed put together at the beginning of the 90s to ‘reclaim’ the legacy of the band he’d originally formed with Chris Bailey in Brisbane in 1973. That was the Saints of course. Bailey had kept the band’s name after the pair went their separate ways in ’78, and after more than a decade of Bailey-led Saints activity, Ed felt he was being written out of Saints history.
The Aints – originally Ed together with Celibate Rifles guitarist Kent Steedman on bass and drummer Mark Dawson – released one incredible live album of old Saints material called SLSQ – Very Live! in 1991, and then two albums of strong original material. This year’s Aints tour coincides with the 40th Anniversary of the Saints’ debut (I’m) Stranded album and the line-up will feature Sunnyboys bassplayer (and now longtime Kuepper sideman) Peter Oxley, drummer Paul Larson (The Celibate Rifles) and keyboardist Alister Spence.
Funnily enough the newly named Ed Kuepper Park – the sign for which is now being made – adjoins Oxley Road and Lawson Street and is situated close to Ed’s childhood home in the south-western Brisbane suburb of Oxley, so maybe the Aints bass player is getting a nod too.
Anyway, check out Ed and the Undertones doing "This Perfect Day", and then have a listen to the killer Aints tune "It’s Still Nowhere" from ’92.
The Undertones – minus Ed assumedly – still have some shows left of their Australian tour:
Fri 14 Jul - Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sat 15 Jul - Rosemount Hotel, Perth
THE AINTS PLAY THE SAINTS ('73 – '78)
27 Sep 2017 - The Tivoli, Brisbane
10 Nov 2017 - The Gov, Adelaide
11 Nov 2017 - Rosemount Hotel, Perth
17 Nov 2017 - Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh
18 Nov 2017 - Corner Hotel, Melbourne
24 Nov 2017 - The Factory Theatre, Sydney
25 Nov 2017 - Twin Towns, Tweed Heads
If you dig the Saints and the Undertones be sure to check out our Shake Some Action - Punk & New Wave Classics from the '70s & early '80s playlist on Spotify.
