Category: Band News

If you need to hire a Whitworth Locke Wedding Band then look no further than professional musicians Punch The Air. This Manchester wedding venue is superb for brides and grooms, brides and brides and grooms and grooms. A superb dedicated room in the basement for your wedding reception band to perform in with excellent space. Contact band leader Andy Starkey to hire a Greater Manchester wedding band performing indie rock and chart pop from modern back day to the 1950’s from our repertoire. Live music for all to enjoy with an indie twist. 

Book a Whitworth Locke Wedding Band for your wedding reception party.

Live photos of Punch The Air performing for Emily & Callum at this central Manchester City wedding venue.

Manchester wedding venue address:

Whitworth Locke,
Civic Quarter,
74 Princess St,
Manchester,
M1 6JD

Get your dancing shoes on as it’s time to hire a Nailcote Hall Wedding Band for your Coventry wedding reception party. ‘Punch The Air‘ will give you an amazing night of indie rock and chart pop from all the decades. Massive hits from Killers, Kaiser Chiefs, Stereophonics, Fountains Of Wayne, Foo Fighters, Bryan Adams, Amy Winehouse, Beatles, George Ezra and more. Your Berkswell wedding venue Nail Cote Hall Hotel has a stage area for your wedding musicians to perform on so it gives your whole wedding reception more of a real life live gig feel. Contact band leader Andy Starkey to hire a wedding band in Warwickshire. 

Book a Nailcote Hall Wedding Band in Coventry

Photos of Punch The Air performing live at this Coventry wedding venue.

Coventry wedding venue address:

Nailcote Hall Hotel,
Nailcote Lane,
Berkswell, Coventry,
CV7 7DE,
UK
Tel: 02476 466174

Having been producing live music videos for indie rock cover band Punch The Air since its inception back in 2013, band leader Andy Starkey thought he’d try something a little different while at home in-between performing.  He decided to see if he could produce a Teenage Kicks Undertones Cover Version video for his cover band completely on his own. With no one else holding a camera or helping out setting up any equipment. Just exactly what could be achieved with zero budget and a punk rock DIY attitude? Only using one single camera (More about that later), lighting and background equipment he already owned…All in his own home? Did you know that Punch The Air have been together over a decade now? Pretty cool eh. 

What you see below is a self filmed, self edited video of Teenage Kicks Undertones Cover Version Video. 

So Andy transformed his dining room into a full on music video studio. In an area measuring only 2.6 metres by 4.5 metres the video was always going to have its limitations. But would you even know it was filmed in and with these limited conditions otherwise? Andy used as many tricks of the trade as possible while filming the video such as using an Edelkrone motorised slider and a DJI Ronin S Gimbal. The entire video was shot on a Canon EOS 200D camera apart from one angle which was shot side by side also using a Canon 700D. (See if you can spot it). So can you see what is possible with a knowledge of film making, some decent lighting & cameras?

Various lenses were used including a Canon 50mm F1.4, Canon EF-S 10–18mm f/4.5–5.6 IS STM and multiple other angles lenses. Filming was done on a very relaxed time schedule over the period of a few weeks as Andy continued to work on other projects. He then edited the video on his iMac using Final Cut Pro over the space of a few days correcting exposure, colour, skin tones and adding some flair.

Some cool background equipment featured includes a Weltron 2001 8-Track Tape Player and speakers and Fake Rickenbacker Copy Hondo II bass guitar (Check out the headstock).  Also an aged 8 track cartridge was created to add some 70’s authenticity. Furthermore a projector displaying the original video in negative was projected onto the wall and over Andy himself. Andy tried every camera angle possible in his small room including an overhead drum camera, close ups and wide angles of guitar and bass.

Why perform Teenage Kicks Cover Version?

Some folks think of ‘Teenage Kicks’ by The Undertones as a very overly played song when you hire a wedding band. And they’re pretty much right it is. So why would you play Teenage Kicks cover version? As a musician it’s always great to have this punk song in your arsenal. It’s simple, catchy and with only two verses (That repeat themselves) easy to remember. Also it features a pretty simple enough guitar solo. But by no means does that make it a throw away song. Whenever cover band Punch The Air perform live together you can bet your life a number of guests will request this fan favourite. Some even want to jump up on stage with us. 

Sometimes they even ask for it to be played AGAIN for a second time. (See John Peel section below) Yes, it really is that much of a phenomena. It doesn’t matter that its classed as a Punk Rock number. It’s stood the test of time and has just become a much appreciated staple pop song. So what better way to showcase this fantastic song from our indie rock repertoire than by paying homage creating a music video for it.

Is Teenage Kicks by The Undertones the first punk rock song?

Oh no, ‘Teenage Kicks’ is by no means the first punk song. That is often considered to be ‘New Rose’ by The Damned (Released 22nd October 1976). 

But Irish Punk band ‘The Undertones’ song ‘Teenage Kicks’ has the honour of being the favourite song ever by ex BBC Radio One DJ John Peel.  Peel also specifically requested sections of the lyrics of the song be engraved upon his tombstone as you will see below. John Peel was know for is massive vinyl collection which is now curated by his widow wife (lovely referred to as ‘The Pig’ by John). On one occasion, John Peel is known to have played the song back to back twice in a row. Explaining to his audience, “It doesn’t get much better than this”.

The B-side to Teenage Kicks was “True Confessions” which too is a great song taking influences from bands like Wire.

Further information about The Undertones.

Teenage Kicks was written by The Undertones principal songwriter & rhythm guitarist John O’Neill. It was recorded in Wizard Studios and released on Sire Records on 21st October 1978. The track was produced by Davy Shannon which there is practically no information online anywhere. It peaked at number 31 in the UK singles chart.

At the time of recording Teenage Kicks, The Undertones band members were:

• Feargal Sharkey
• John O’Neill
• Michael Bradley
• Billy Doherty
• Damian O’Neill

The Undertones split in 1983 after considerable chart success with other hits like Jimmy Jimmy, Here Comes the Summer, My Perfect Cousin and It’s Going to Happen! Then in 1999 they decided to reform, but Feargal Sharkey declined the opportunity. So Paul McLoone stepped into the vacant frontman position.  Feargal Sharkey had a very successful musical career post The Undertones and scored a massive number one hit with the pop song “A Good Heart” (His third number one solo single). Here Comes the Summer is often trotted out every year for supermarket TV and radio commercials about Summertime spending. 

The Undertones are on tour in 2022 and 2023 so you can still catch them live to this very day. At what point in their live performances do you think they play Teenage Kicks though? Do you think they still love the song even after all these years or do you think they loathe it by now?

Boy Band ‘One Direction’ covered “Teenage Kicks” (in a medley with Blondie’s single “One Way or Another”) entitled “One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)” for the 2013 Comic Relief single. Which, unlike the original actually made it to number one in the UK charts.

Singalong with the Karaoke / Lyric video Andy also produced

Teenage Kicks Lyrics

A teenage dreams so hard to beat
Every time she walks down the street
Another girl in the neighbourhood
Wish she was mine, she looks so good

I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night

I’m gonna call her on the telephone
Have her over cuz I’m all alone
I need excitement oh I need it bad
And it’s the best, I’ve ever had

I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
All right

Behind the scenes photos from The Making Of ‘Teenage Kicks’

Below you’ll see images captured during the filming process of Teenage Kicks Undertones cover version video. How shots were filmed and how scenes were set up and created. They all tell the story of how one guy achieved so much with such little space and with no help from anyone else. 

Our other crowd favourite punk track is ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ by Buzzcocks. You’ll often hear us playing this back to back with ‘Teenage Kicks’ to really get the event going. This party-favourite-guest-friendly tune hits the mark at all weddings, birthday parties and other function band occasions.  Contact band leader Andy Starkey to book an indie rock cover band for an event.

A live version of Teenage Kicks at a wedding on a farm

Hire a Burton Albion Football Club wedding band for your Pirelli Stadium wedding reception. Punch The Air will perform live music all your guests will know, love and sing and dance along to all night long. Massive indie songs by bands like Blink 182, Wheatus, Fountains Of Wayne, Kings Of Leon, Killers and more from our bride & groom friendly repertoire. We’ll also play chart hits by artists like Beatles, Queen, Undertones, George Ezra, Amy Winehouse, Florence & The Machine and more. Contact band leader Andrew Starkey to book a Burton-On-Trent wedding reception band. 

Book a Burton Albion Football Club Wedding Band in Staffordshire

Live videos shot at a Pirelli Stadium wedding reception capturing the band and the audiences reaction to our live performances. 

Photos from Punch The Air wedding reception band performing live at Burton Albion Football Club for Cheryl and Clare.

Staffordshire wedding venue address:

Burton Albion Football Club,
Pirelli Stadium,
Princess Way,
Burton-On-Trent,
Staffordshire,
DE13 0AR

Band leader Andy Starkey from indie rock wedding band ‘Punch The Air’ has come up with a fantastic solution for locating stolen guitars using an Apple AirTag. In Andy’s video below he will quickly and easily demonstrate hiding an Apple AirTag in a Guitar.  You can purchase an Airtag for about £20-25 either directly from Apple or from most online and brick & mortar shops. They’re fantastic not just for relocating guitars but for finding all kinds of lost things like lost keys, inside luggage, your vehicle or even your dog. Buy a bunch of them, put the on anything you want and then use the Find My app on your iPhone to locate them all. It works flawlessly. If you or anyone you know are looking hire a professional wedding band based in the UK contact Andy for more information. Punch The Air perform huge indie hits by Coldplay, Oasis, The Killers, Blink 182, Oasis, Feeder, Kings Of Leon and more. Hire a wedding band now. 

What to do when hiding an Apple AirTag in a Guitar

Nobody likes losing their musical equipment, especially if stolen by thieves. Because until now there has been pretty much little to no way of successfully recovering stolen guitars. Below Andy will show you the best place to hide an Apple AirTag on a guitar so that it can’t be seen by thieves.

To hide an Apple Air Tag inside a guitar you will only need three things:

• AirTag – £/$25
• Screwdriver – From your tool kit
• Blu-Tack (Or another brand of reusable adhesive) £/$1

1. First of all unscrew the screws out of the scratchplate. In Andy’s case he only needed to remove the screws from around the guitars pots and input.
2. Pull off a good blob of Blu-Tack. Roll it in your fingers for a new moments to make it more pliable. This will also warm it up to make it a little more sticky.
3. Stick the Blu-Tack on either side of the AirTag (It doesn’t matter what side you stick it on)
4. Place the AirTag somewhere in the cut out of the wood of the guitar body. Then give it a good firm press down so that the Blu-Tack adheres to the wood. Make sure the AirTag isn’t touching or obscuring any wires, pots, pickups or the input. 
5. Replace the guitar scratch-plate
6. Screw the screws back into the guitar scratch-plate.
7. Done

The chances of a thief thinking or even bothering to unscrew a pickguard to look for an Apple AirTag hidden underneath it are surely very, very low. All you need to do it open up your “Find My’ app on your Apple iPhone, iPad. Or on your iMac, Mac Book etc, click on the “Items” tab at the bottom and this will help you locate your missing guitar. Then using “Precision Finding” you should be able to get very close to your stolen instrument with any  iPhone 11 or iPhone 12 variants. The battery lasts for about one year and easily replaceable, but your iDevice should advise you when it is starting to run out. So then all you have to do is repeat the process above again.

Further thoughts on placing an Apple AirTag inside a guitar.

You may need to remove more of the scratchplate or completely remove it to find an area to secure your AirTag to. In some cases you may even need to bore out a slightly larger space/hole. Do this under your scratch plate to hold the Airtag. You could even drill the exact diameter and depth of the Air Tag. Which is 32mm x 8mm and have it fit perfectly under your pick guitar without the need to add Blu-Tack. Having fitted this over two years ago now Andy has experienced no interference at all from the AirTag in its current location by the input and pots of the guitar.

Contact Andy to book a professional indie rock wedding band across the UK and beyond. 

Hire a Caer Llan Wedding Band in Monmouthshire like Jodie & Dean did and have Punch The Air perform live chart pop from all decades and indie rock too for you and all your guests. Monmouth Brides & Grooms love our high energy performances, getting everyone involved singing and dancing along all night long. Big live covers of bands like Blink 182, The Kinks, Bryan Adams, Walk The Moon, Undertones, Stereophonics, Killers and more from our much loved repertoire. 

Book a Caer Llan Wedding Band

This Monmouth wedding reception venue also doubles as a conference centre. Closeby is Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire and also Severn Estuary to the south, and Torfaen, Newport and Blaenau Gwent to the west

Photos of Punch The Air performing live at this Lydart wedding venue in Wales. 

Many videos recorded live at Caer Llan of guests enjoying Punch The Air Lydart wedding band. 

Welsh wedding venue address:

Caer Llan,
Lydart,
Monmouth,
Monmouthshire,
NP25 4JS

What Three Words location for Caer Llan: https://w3w.co/slack.pickles.thuds
Google Maps location for Caer Llan: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Caer+Llan+Conference+Centre/@51.7706984,-2.7401751,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x4871c77af39d6b7d:0x560d3f35e10bcdc2!8m2!3d51.7706718!4d-2.7368867!16s%2Fg%2F1tcy8bjv?entry=ttu

Bride Jodie’s Review

5 star review – Punch the air performed at my wedding this Saturday just gone and I honestly could not recommend them highly enough. From the initial booking inquiry to the actual day the communication and smooth process was absolutely amazing. They turned up lovely and early and were set up ready to go at the time we had arranged. They were also exceptionally fast in responding to any questions I had leading up to the day I’m we’re exceptionally accommodating with any songs that we especially wanted to be played. On the day we and the guests absolutely loved them and they really brought the dance floor to life. They have an excellent repertoire and brought a really fun and engaging atmosphere. You honestly won’t regret booking them and I wouldn’t hesitate to book them for an event again and hopefully we’ll be able to attend an event where they are playing thanks again so much for making our day so special ! Jodie & Dean

When you hire a Hoar Cross Hall Wedding Band we recommend you book a professional party band like ‘Punch The Air‘. Our Burton upon Trent wedding reception band are experts in making sure everyone is up dancing and enjoying your special day with songs from George Ezra, Killers, Queen, Kings Of Leon, Amy Winehouse, Neil Diamond and more from our party repertoire. Contact band leader Andy Starkey to hire Staffordshire musicians with over a decade together in the wedding industry. 

Book a Hoar Cross Hall Wedding Band Reception

Take advantage while at Hoar Cross Hall by using the spa facilities which are some of the largest in Europe (apparently) at this venue bordering Derbyshire.

Many videos of live wedding reception band performing at Hoar Cross Hall & Spa.

Bride joins Punch The Air on stage for Sex On Fire by Kings Of Leon.

Vlog of Punch The Air’s experiences performing at Hoar Cross Spa.

Full video of mega Oasis Fan Ashley and his bride Vicky joining Punch The Air on stage to ham it up playing at being a rockstar

Vicky & Ashley video testimonial of Punch The Air….and we’d only played one set by this point

Punch The Air have performed many times at this Burton upon Trent wedding reception venue which can be seen in the various galleries below. 

Staffordshire wedding reception venue address:

Hoar Cross Hall,
Maker Lane,
Burton upon Trent,
Staffordshire
DE13 8QS

Megan and Chris’s Testimonial

Punch The Air performed at our wedding in January. Great guys and they know how to get the dance floor rocking. Would 100% recommend – Chris Barber

When you book Sparth House Wedding Band ‘Punch The Air‘ you’re going to get a superb high energy performance of indie rock and chart from from all the best decades of music. Live songs by artists like The Killers, George Ezra, The Beatles, Bryan Adams, Walk The Moon and more from our repertoire at your Lancashire wedding reception. Contact band leader Andy for price and availability and book a wedding reception band with over a decade performing together. (Established 2013)

Hire a Sparth House Wedding Reception Band

Live video of Lancashire wedding reception band Punch The Air performing at this Clayton le Moors wedding venue.

Photos of Sparth House Wedding Band ‘Punch The Air’ performing for Lisa & Adam.

Lancs wedding reception venue address:

Sparth House,
Whalley Road,
Clayton le Moors,
Accrington,
Lancashire,
BB5 5RP
UK

“Milk…Er!!!!…..Accrington Stanley, who are they? Exactly”

Bride & Groom Testimonial 

Hi All, Andy and the band played our wedding on 28th May this year at Sparth House in Lancashire. Boring bits first Andy was great to deal with from the initial enquiry, to the contracts and then our choice of set lists! All made very easy in a relaxed manner, even though we were quite a late booking!
Now the more fun bit, the lads turned up early (treated them to a pot of tea as we finished our wedding breakfast), they were spot on from minute one in set up and prep. On performance they were absolutely brilliant – out guests couldn’t get enough! dance floor was full from start to end of the performance. They played everything we had asked for and then even more! Completely too our taste of indie/rock and even some older tracks for the rest, they just went with the flow of the evening!
Absolute pleasure to meet them, made a genuine effort to come over and get to know us as best they could, and truly hope at some point me and Lisa can see them again live, just to reminisce about our special day!
Thank you all, strongly recommend 5* – Adam Smith

Hire a Royal Arms Hotel Wedding Band and professional Leicestershire musicians Punch The Air will rock your wedding reception with our high energy performances and indie rock and chart pop live performances. For you we’ll perform covers by Kings Of Leon, Killers, Queen, Oasis, George Ezra, Bryan Adams and more from our wedding friendly repertoire. Contact band leader Andy Starkey now to check on availability and price for this Sutton Cheney wedding venue now. 

Book a Royal Arms Hotel Wedding Band

On this page you’ll find a live video and photos of us performing for Katie & Marcus at The Royal Arms Hotel, Main St, Sutton Cheney (Near Market Bosworth), Leicestershire,  CV13 0AG.

This Leicestershire wedding venue is located right next to Bosworth Battlefield where the Battle Of Bosworth took place on the 22nd August 1485. Close by is Market Bosworth in East Midlands. 

Review from bride & grooms Katie & Marcus 

BOOK THIS BAND!!! From very first query straight through to arrangements on the day you’re going to be filled with confidence, such a professional band to organise the day with! They turned up at the agreed time and were accommodating when changes to the order of the evening had to be made! That’s just the start of it. I genuinely couldn’t recommend these guys enough! Dance floor was rammed from the first song through to the last! They appreciated our requests for the setlist and you couldn’t have made our evening any more special! This band will not disappoint if you like this kind of music! Very talented musicians and all round absolutely genuine people! Thank you so much Andy and the team!

Hire a Leigh Bransford Memorial Hall Wedding Band at this Malvern Worcestershire wedding venue and have Punch The Air perform indie rock and chart pop from 2020’s, 2010’s, 2000’s, 1990’s, 1980’s, 1970’s, 1960’s and 1950’s. We’ll perform lots of great live songs that all your guests will love by artists such as The Killers, Neil Diamond, George Ezra, Walk The Moon, The Beatles, Kings Of Leon and so much more.  Contact band leader Andy Starkey to hire a professional wedding reception band in Leigh Sinton in The Malvern Hills.

Book a live band for Leigh And Bransford Memorial Hall wedding reception.

There are various options and rooms you can hire for your wedding reception at Leigh And Bransford Memorial Hall. The large hall is 8.5m x 16.4m with a stage for the band and can cater for 160 people. The small hall is 6.1m x 11.9m with a 150 person capacity.  With The Malvern Hills being right on your doorstep all of your wedding photos will look superb.

Guest Jess joined us on stage for some superb tambourine playing to Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis live on stage at a wedding at Leigh & Bransford Memorial Hall.

Malvern wedding reception venue address:

Leigh & Bransford Memorial Hall,
Sherridge Road,
Leigh Sinton,
Malvern,
Worcestershire,
WR13 5DE,
UK

Amy Winehouse Valerie live at a Worcestershire wedding.