The Undertones
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The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1975. The original band consisted of:
- Feargal Sharkey (lead vocals),
- John O'Neill (guitar),
- Damian O'Neill (guitar, keyboards and vocals),
- Michael Bradley (bass and vocals), and
- Billy Doherty (drums).
- Paul McLoone replaced Sharkey for (2003)'s "Get What You Need"
John O'Neill was the original main song writer, with his brother Damian and Mickey Bradley writing in various solo & combined variations for most of the remainder.
Sharkey's power pop tenor was unique, and the band was very tight. By 1977 they were performing their own three-chord pop punk material influenced by Nuggets type material and the Ramones, and in 1978 released their debut four-song EP 'Teenage Kicks' on Good Vibrations. It became a hit with support from DJ John Peel, who considered that EP's title song his all-time favourite. The song was later covered by boyband Busted at the Brit Awards in 2003 among many other rather better covers eg Nouveau Vague in (2004).
They have released five studio albums: The Undertones (1979), Hypnotised (1980), Positive Touch (1981) The Sin Of Pride (1983) and Get What You Need (2003). A new album is expected in 2005. Falling sales linked to their changing musical direction and tensions within the band, leading to their temporary split in 1983. A compilation album titled All Wrapped Up featured a woman dressed in lunch meats wrapped in clear plastic on the (non band approved) cover.Several other compilations including the superb BBC sessions CD Listening In (2004) exist.
In 1999, the band re-formed with Feargal Sharkey replaced by former Carralines singer Paul McLoone when Sharkey refused to participate. After touring, the band released a new album, Get What You Need, in 2003.
Quotations
- Scarcely a harsh word was ever written about the Undertones. Their genuine inability to pose or pontificate disarmed the most hardened critics. No-one could ever quite come to grips with their apparent innocence and naivity. They weren't at all naïve, of course, they just came across that way, and, to some extent, it prevented their later work from being taken as seriously as it deserved. Regarded as perpetual teenagers. No-one, it seemed, wanted them to grow up. — Mick Houghton, in liner notes to All Wrapped Up
- I can't listen to it now without getting all dewy-eyed. And if I play it on the radio, I have to segue it into the front of another record because I can't speak after I've heard it. — John Peel on "Teenage Kicks"
External links
- My Life as an Undertone (http://theundertones.com/demo/html/myLife.htm), a 1997 history written by Michael Bradley
- History of the band (http://theundertones.net/history.htm) from an unofficial fan site
- Sold On Song Top 100: Teenage Kicks (No. 51) (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/teenagekicks.shtml)
- Teenage Kicks (http://www.salon.com/weekly/jamside960729.html) from Salon.com
- January 2000 article (http://www.nme.co.uk/news/3676.htm) from NME regarding Sharkey's decision not to join in the band's revival
- History of Punk in Derry, Northern Ireland. (http://www.punkinderry.bravepages.com/)de:The Undertones