The Undertones

The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.

The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones (1979), Hypnotised (1980), Positive Touch (1981) and The Sin of Pride (1983) — before disbanding in July 1983.^[1]

Music guide Allmusic stated that guitarists John and Damian O'Neill "mated infectious guitar hooks to 1960s garage, 1970s glam rock, and Feargal Sharkey's signature vocal quaver."^[1]

The Undertones have since reformed, replacing lead singer Feargal Sharkey with Paul McLoone.

Formation and early gigs

The Undertones formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1975. The band members were five friends from Creggan and the Bogside, who originally drew inspiration from such artists as the Beatles, Small Faces and Lindisfarne. The band initially rehearsed cover versions at the home of the guitarists, brothers John and Damian O'Neill, and in the shed of a neighbour. By the following year the group, at this stage still un-named, began playing gigs at minor local venues, including schools, parish halls and scout huts, where the band's lead singer, Feargal Sharkey, was a local scout leader.^[2] Sharkey was also responsible for giving the band their first name: at the introduction to a gig at Saint Joseph's Secondary School in Derry on 16 March 1976,^[3] Feargal Sharkey was asked the name of the band and quickly replied "The Hot Rods". At a later gig, Sharkey named the band "Little Feat": a name already used by another group.

Later that year, drummer Billy Doherty proposed an alternate name for the group: The Undertones, which Doherty had discovered in a history book.^[4] The other members of the band agreed to the proposal.

With the arrival of punk rock in late 1976, the artistic focus of the band changed. Artists such as the Adverts, Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks and, particularly, the Ramones became major influences on the Undertones.

In addition to being a scout leader, Feargal Sharkey worked as a television repairman and delivery man. The van which Sharkey drove in this employment was used by the Undertones to transport their equipment to and from various venues.

Casbah Rock

By 1977 the band were performing their own three-chord pop punk material, which was performed alongside cover versions at concerts, primarily at The Casbah, where the band began to perform in February. These gigs were the first performances for which the Undertones were actually paid: performing at The Casbah earned the group up to £40 a week. This inspired the band to write and rehearse further material, as a means of remaining a popular act at this venue.^[4] By the summer of that year the concerts the Undertones performed would include the song "Teenage Kicks", which had been written by guitarist John O'Neill in the summer of 1977. The gigs performed at The Casbah gave the Undertones increased confidence in their musical ability, and in June 1977 they performed concerts outside of Derry for the first time, supporting a Dublin punk group named The Radiators From Space.

In March 1978, the Undertones recorded a demo tape at Magee University in Derry and sent copies of the tape to various record companies in the hope of securing a record deal, but only received official letters of rejection. The band had also sent a copy of their recordings to influential BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, requesting he play the songs on his radio programme. Peel replied to the band, offering to pay for a recording session in Belfast. On 16 June 1978, the band recorded their debut four-song EP "Teenage Kicks" on a budget of only £200.^[5] The EP was engineered by Davy Shannon at Wizard Sound Studios, Belfast - and was released on Belfast's Good Vibrations record label. The title song became a hit with support from John Peel, who considered Teenage Kicks his all-time favourite song, an opinion he held until his death in 2004.^[6]

Seymour Stein, the president of Sire Records - in London on business - heard John Peel play Teenage Kicks on BBC Radio 1 and became interested in the band. Stein sent a London-based representative named Paul McNally to Derry to discuss a record deal with the band.^[7]

Teenage Kicks (1978-1979)

The Undertones signed to Sire Records in September 1978 on a five-year contract, and the single was re-released on Sire's own label in October that year. The same month, the Undertones performed "Teenage Kicks" live on Top of the Pops. With help from Peel (who also recorded a Peel Session with the Undertones on the 16th), Teenage Kicks reached number 31 in the UK Singles Chart. The following month, the Undertones embarked on their first tour of the UK, which lasted for one month, as the supporting act for The Rezillos.^[3]

In January 1979, the Undertones recorded their eponymous debut album at Eden Studios in Acton, West London, using producer Roger Bechirian, whom the band had worked with for the first time the previous December, when Bechirian had produced the band's second single, "Get Over You". Much of the material upon their first album had been performed regularly at The Casbah, and the band were able to record this album in the space of less than two weeks.

Following the release of Get Over You in February 1979, the Undertones' debut album was released in May. The primary lyrical concern of the songs focused upon youthful relationships and adolescence. Three further punk singles; "Jimmy Jimmy", "Here Comes the Summer" and "You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It)?" were released between April and October 1979, each to critical acclaim. In September 1979, the Undertones toured the United States for the first time, supporting The Clash with eight concerts in six different States.^[8]

Following the You Got My Number tour of October 1979, the Undertones began recording the songs for their second album, Hypnotised at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands. The recording of the songs began in December. Ten songs were recorded before the band returned to Derry prior to Christmas to write and record further songs for the album. Three further songs were written during this break: "Tearproof", "More Songs About Chocolate and Girls" and "Wednesday Week".^[9]

Wednesday Week (1980)

In January 1980, the production of Hypnotised was finished at Eden Studios in London, with the Undertones recording the three further songs written the previous December, plus two further songs — "Hypnotised" and a cover of "Under The Boardwalk" — which had been written that month.

Hypnotised was released on 21 April 1980, and reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart, remaining in the Top 10 for one month. Two further singles, "My Perfect Cousin" and "Wednesday Week" were released in March and July, reaching number 9 and 11 in the UK chart respectively, and making 1980 the band's most successful year in terms of chart sales. In a review by Sounds magazine the same year, the Undertones were described as: "possibly the best pop group in the English speaking world."^[10]

Between February and December 1980, the band also performed five major tours, including another tour of the US, this time as the headlining band, and their first tours of continental Europe.^[3]

You're Welcome (1981-1982)

In December 1980, the Undertones announced their intention to split from Sire Records as they were unhappy with the lack of promotion they were receiving outside of the UK, particularly in the US. Following negotiations, their manager, Andy Ferguson, signed the group to EMI. In January, 1981, the band began recording their third album, Positive Touch, again at Wisseloord Studios. This third album was released in May 1981. The songs on this album indicated a change in both musical and lyrical influences; although the songs remained largely guitar-oriented, the band had written songs which focused on the Troubles in Northern Ireland such as "Crisis of Mine" ,"You're Welcome" and the single "It's Going To Happen!", which preceded the release of the LP and was inspired by the Hunger Strikes. Positive Touch, which peaked at number 17 in the UK chart, received favourable reviews from several critics, and was listed by NME as one of the best albums to be released in 1981.^[11]

Two months after the release of Positive Touch, the Undertones released their second single of 1981, "Julie Ocean". The single — an extended recording of the 90-second album version — was produced by Hugh Jones and Dave Balfe.^[12] As with Positive Touch, each single was critically acclaimed, although neither the album nor either of the singles was as successful as any of the material released the previous year. Following the release of their third album, the group embarked on their biggest European tour, which lasted from May until October 1981.

1982 saw a lull in activity from the Undertones, who only performed a single tour of continental Europe in August, and spent much of their time writing and recording songs for their next LP in their 8-track demo studio. Damian O'Neill, the Undertones' lead guitarist, later admitted: "we (had) definitely lost a bit of the spark. I don't know but I tend to think some of us got too complacent sitting in our homes in Derry."^[13] The Undertones did, however, release two studio singles, "Beautiful Friend" and "The Love Parade", in February and October, however both of the singles failed to make an impact on the UK charts.

Conscious (1983)

In March 1983, the Undertones released their fourth album, "The Sin of Pride". This album, which drew inspiration from both soul and Motown, was produced by Mike Hedges, who had replaced Roger Bechirian as the Undertones' producer following the 1981 release of Positive Touch. Although The Sin of Pride was critically acclaimed and the Undertones performed several gigs in both Scotland and England to promote the release of this album,^[3] The Sin of Pride only reached number 43 in the UK chart.

The Undertones released two further studio singles in 1983; their first single, "Got To Have You Back" — which was inspired by both ABC and Smokey Robinson — was released in February and their second single, "Chain of Love", was released in May. Both failed to make any major impact on the UK chart.

The Sin of Pride

In April 1983, the Undertones embarked on their UK "Sin of Pride" tour to promote their latest album.^[3] By this stage in their career, the band were acutely aware of the pressure they were under from EMI, who were unhappy with the lack of chart success of much of the material the band had released since their Positive Touch LP in 1981. In addition, internal tensions between various members of the band, in particular between Feargal Sharkey and John O'Neill, had deteriorated significantly. These factors led to Sharkey announcing his intentions to leave the Undertones during the 'European Tour 1983', which the group performed in May of that year.

To fulfill agreed commitments, the Undertones remained together for a further two months, performing several gigs across continental Europe^[14] before disbanding in the summer,^[15] with their final concert being played at Punchestown Racecourse in County Kildare in Ireland on 17 July.^[8]

Subsequent careers

Following the disbandment of The Undertones in 1983, Feargal Sharkey was invited by former Depeche Mode keyboardist Vince Clarke and recording engineer Eric Radcliffe to sing as a guest vocalist upon the single "Never Never", which was released by The Assembly in 1983.^[16] Sharkey was never officially a member of The Assembly.^[17] Nevertheless, the single "Never Never" did chart as high as number 4 in the UK charts; however, the song proved to be Sharkey's only recording with The Assembly.

Subsequently, Sharkey embarked upon a brief, but commercially successful solo career in the mid- to late-1980s.

Two of the other band members, John O'Neill and Damian O'Neill formed That Petrol Emotion, a highly regarded, pioneering rock act which released fifteen singles and six albums between 1985 and 1994.^[18][19]

Reunion

The Undertones reformed in November 1999, initially to play concerts in Derry. The band replaced Sharkey, who declined to rejoin the Undertones,^[20] with Derry singer Paul McLoone. Since this date, the Undertones have performed several tours across the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe and North America.

Noteworthy gigs by the Undertones since their reunion include performing at the Glastonbury Festival in June, 2005,^[21] providing pre-match entertainment prior to kick-off at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League play-off between Celtic and Arsenal in August, 2009^[22][23] and, in March and April 2011, a series of UK gigs in which they played their debut album, The Undertones, in its entirety as part of each show. This tour was timed to accompany by a re-release of a double compilation album containing all of the A- and B-sides of their singles.^[24][25]

The band have since released two albums of original material with Paul McLoone: Get What You Need on 30 September 2003 and Dig Yourself Deep, on 15 October 2007.^[26]

Media recognition

In a 2000 poll by Q to discover the 100 greatest British albums of all time as voted by the British public, the Undertones' eponymous debut LP was voted the 90th greatest British album.^[27]

The Undertones have also been subject of a 2004 documentary, The Undertones: Teenage Kicks, which was recorded in 2001. The 65-minute documentary features the band wandering their old haunts and discussing their formation, career and reunion with John Peel.

Members

Discography

Singles

Albums

Compilation albums

^{[28][29][30][31][32]}

References

External links

• Official Site
• History of the band from an unofficial fan site
• Sold On Song Top 100: Teenage Kicks (No. 51)
• Teenage Kicks from Salon.com
• History of Punk in Derry, Northern Ireland.
• Profile of The Undertones
• A Panorama of The Undertones Playing in Brooke Park, Derry, August 2007
• Official press release for the Undertone's 'True Confessions' greatest hits album