Legendary Northern Irish punk group The Undertones are set to look back over their shoulder with the re-release of their third album ‘Hypnotised’.
The Undertones may well have crafted one of the finest singles of all time, but there is so much more to the group than ‘Teenage Kicks’. Probably the best way to spend two and half minutes of your life, the song has unjustly eclipsed a back catalogue that reveals a band whose humour was matched by their sensitivity.
Signing to Sire Records, the Derry based band were inspired by early punk singles by bands such as The Damned, The Clash and Sex Pistols. Keen to emulate those bands, but with an earthy Northern Irish charm, The Undertones were an almost immediate success.
The band’s self titled debut album was released in 1979, and was swiftly followed by ‘Hypnotised’ only a year later.
Although led by Feargal Sharkey much of the band’s songwriting direction was supplied by the O’Neill brothers – John and Damian. Containing some of their best known singles, the album spawned the hit ‘My Perfect Cousin’ which came backed with a now iconic video of the band playing Subbuteo.
However the album also contains moments of real depth and consideration. ‘Wednesday Week’ is a near psychedlic reflection on life in Northern Ireland while ‘The Way Girls Talk’ is an ode to romantic longing.
Sure, it’s never long until a smile creeps round their lips but when The Undertones wanted to play it straight they could craft moments of genuine elegance. The band would split in 1983, with singer Feargal Sharkey enjoying a brief career as an unlikely yuppie pin up boy.
The O’Neill brothers, however, would scale even larger heights with That Petrol Emotion. The band’s forward thinking sonic vision was matched by a commitment to Irish Republicanism, with their albums acting as history lessons as well as thrilling pieces of rock and roll.
Reforming in 1999, The Undertones are now fronted by Paul McLoone with original singer Feargal Sharkey steadfastly refusing to sing the words ‘teenage dreams so hard to beat’ as he enters middle age.
A shame, but then as we all now know there is so much more to The Undertones than one classic hit.
The Undertones are due to re-release their album ‘Hypnotised’ on June 8th with a bonus CD of Peel sessions and rare tracks.
