The Undertones 35th anniversary tour

It's 1979 and The Undertones eponymous debut album is released.

Today the band announced a 35th anniversary tour, during which they'll be performing the entire first album.

But no Feargal. Sharkey, that is, the former lead singer. The singer, for the past ten years now, is Paul McLoone, but still there seems to be this constant question mark around what if we could get the original line up again.

So much so, that the morning after Derry won the UK City of Culture bid, there was a celebration in the Millennium Forum. Ed Vaizey, the Culture Minister, took me to one side and earnestly asked me what were the chances of The Undertones reforming for 2013?

Mmmm. I didn't want to rain on his parade, and I didn't really think he had the time to be given a crash course in the contrariness of the Derry spirit that would never countenance such a reconciliation, so I found myself saying "well, Robbie is back with Take That, so who knows?"

As I watched his retreating back I couldn't help thinking when Hell freezes over?