FORTY summers ago ago, the teenage members of The Undertones were performing their first shows at the Top of the Hill Youth Club in Derry City, Northern Ireland.

Derry was not the rock'n'roll capital of anywhere, and with no live bands worth watching, the O'Neill brothers, Feargal Sharkey and co learned by listening to mail-order records, reading one of the few copies of NME that made it to their home town but most of all from listening to John Peel’s late-night shows on BBC Radio One.

Practising in their bedrooms eventually led to the fledgling band recording the Teenage Kicks E.P., initially released in 1978 on Terri Hooley's Good Vibrations label in Belfast.

This year, the veteran punk-pop combo are on their 40th anniversary travels, and having played North Yorkshire's Willowman Festival in June at Hillside Rural Activities Park in Knayton, here comes the Undertones' summer all over again at Fibbers in York on August 26.

In the Undertones line-up, as ever, will be lead guitarist and songwriter Damian O'Neill, now 55. "Going to places like Fibbers takes us back to 1977/78, reminding us of our first tours, and these shows are the best, with a great crowd atmosphere," he says. "I can't believe we're still doing it at our age, but we're older and wider, with no pressure now."

What a contrast to the record-company expectations of their peak days after the early success of signature tune Teenage Kicks – the song that Peel memorably played twice in a row the first time he aired it – and the rush of witty, breezy singles it spawned, such as Here Comes The Summer, My Perfect Cousin and Jimmy Jimmy. "When we left Sire Records, we moved to EMI, who wanted hits [from 1983's The Sin Of Pride album] and you kind of understand that, but we didn't provide them with them unfortunately," says Damian.

"The Love Parade was our best shot, but they were breathing down our necks, putting our cover of The Isley Brothers' Got To Have You Back out as a single, when it was only supposed to be a B-side. They they didn't even put Bittersweet on the album, and that was probably John's [O'Neill] best song.

"When Feargal then said he wanted to leave, we thought, 'yes, please'; it couldn't come soon enough."

After The Sin Of Pride, their fourth album, The Undertones went their separate ways, the O'Neill brothers re-emerging in That Petrol Emotion, but the Undertones story was not at an end, although Feargal Sharkey has never returned to the fold. "In 1999, even with a different singer [Paul McLoone], it didn't seem wrong to come back, and we've now been playing together in this line-up for longer than the original band and there's more enthusiasm than ever," says Damian.

Such is the longevity of the band that bass player Michael Bradley has written his memoirs, Teenage Kicks: My Life As An Undertone. "It's a really good read; the only thing missing was that he didn't go into any detail about the songs, the recording process, though he wrote a lot of them with me," says Damian. "But other than that, there were details in there I didn't remember, so that was interesting, and it's very funny too.

"The only other criticism I'd say was that it was a little too self-deprecating but that's a Derry thing. Come on, big yourself up, Michael."

Damian acknowledges nostalgia plays its part in the abiding popularity of The Undertones, but adds. "Bands like us have lasted because of the quality of the songs – and it's not just old geezers going to see us. You get young people coming too."

Nevertheless, long-time fans will be the ones excited by news of upcoming "exciting releases", as the tour press release trails tantalisingly. "We're re-releasing the first two albums [1979's The Undertones and 1980's Hypnotised] on vinyl only," reveals Damian. "I've re-mastered them from the original tapes, totally analogue, and we've also remixed Get Over You with my friend Kevin Shields [from My Bloody Valentine] in his studio in Camden. That'll be coming out in September on limited-edition red vinyl."

Get Over You was The Undertones' second single, made when they needed to prove they were not a one-hit wonder with Teenage Kicks. "But we were never happy with it when we first recorded it as it had a lot of reverb on Feargal's vocals and it was just too polished and too sleek," says Damian. "It was John's [O'Neill] favourite song of ours and it wasn't the performance that was wrong, just that it was over-produced – and we didn't even get a hit out of it.

"Kevin hasn't dramatically altered it, but he's got rid of the poppy backing vocals and that reverb, and it sounds tougher, more like what it was meant to be: our sort of New York Dolls tribute song."

Damian, who now lives in London, is enjoying his life as an Undertone at 55. "We still get a buzz out of it on stage and you can tell that from our expressions," he says. "The 40th anniversary has been going really well because we've been playing loads of gigs and it just feels natural, joyful and exuberant."

The Undertones play Fibbers, York, on August 26; doors open at 7.30pm for the 8pm start. Box office: 0844 478 0898 or seetickets.com/event/the-undertones/fibbers/1006875