So why did TV Smith's Explorers leave The Undertones tour so quickly?

[Fred21]

You can hear Mickey Bradley of The Undertones take on it here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cl79q

Starts at 2.26 after The Ramones track.

[Fred21]

Check out the comments here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bradleyblog/2012/06/playlist-7-june.shtml#comments

[Tj]

Looks like I was too late listening to this and they've not kept the recording. What did they say Fred?

[Tj]

I think TV Smith would be the first person to say that he might have been a bit challenging back in the day, which might have explained the diagreement on The Undertones tour. He is great now. I met him a few years ago when he played a benefit gig in Canterbury and he was lovely (and played One Chord Wonders!)
 

Another interesting comment abot TV Smith way back when.

What was the disagreement Fred? 

[Fred21]

Mickey said that one of his mates texted him after seeing We Who Wait and asked him why The Explorers had left the tour. He said that he honestly didn't know, "But let's just say that TV's personality didn't fit well with those of five lads from Derry".

He went on to play GGE and say how much he likes The Adverts and, indeed, he often plays and praises them.

[Tj]

Thanks for that Fred.

What we have to remember is that TV was a young Punk. When you watch the German film you get the feeling he could me a bit of a bugger at times. Hell who wasn't a bit of a bugger once?

I don't think Teev's ever tried to say he was a Saint*. He's definitly still quite a perfectionist, for instance.   

* Just an Evangelist. Cheers Richard.  

[Uli]

He went on to play GGE and say how much he likes The Adverts and, indeed, he often plays and praises them.

Yup, he still does!
http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-03-15/the-10-best-punk-rock-singles-by-the-undertones-michael-bradley

10. THE ADVERTS – Gary Gilmore’s Eyes (1977)
The Adverts must have turned this record around incredibly quickly, because it didn’t seem like any time at all between the news that Gary Gilmore, the Texas murderer, was going to be executed and this single coming out and then The Adverts appearing on Top Of The Pops. I can’t pretend I was a huge fan of The Adverts, but they had three or four absolutely brilliant records, and this was one of them. I present a radio show and I still play this: it’s got a great thrash to it. And Gaye Advert was a fantastic bass player, really underrated.