The Undertones
The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey, John O'Neill, Damian O'Neill, Michael Bradley and Billy Doherty. Much of the earlier Undertones material drew influence from punk rock and new wave; the Undertones also incorporated elements of rock, glam rock and post-punk into material released after 1979, before citing soul and Motown as the influence for the material released upon their final album. The Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums between 1978 and 1983 before Sharkey announced his intention to leave the band in May 1983, citing musical differences as the reason for the break up.
Despite the backdrop of the Troubles in Derry and across Northern Ireland, the vast majority of the material the Undertones released focused not upon the political climate, but upon issues such as adolescence, teenage angst and heartbreak. AllMusic has 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."
In 1999, the Undertones reformed, replacing lead singer Sharkey with Paul McLoone.
The Undertones remain the most successful band to have emerged from Derry, and one of the most successful bands to have emerged from Northern Ireland.
Formation and early gigs
The Undertones formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. 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 and who decided in part to form their own band due to both their common interest in music and the fact that—because of the Troubles—many entertainment venues in the city were closed in late evenings.The band initially rehearsed cover versions at the home of the guitarists, brothers John and Vincent O'Neill, and in the shed of a neighbour.
Beginning in February 1976 the group, at this stage still unnamed, began playing gigs at various minor local venues, including schools, parish halls and Scout huts, where the band's lead singer, Feargal Sharkey, was a local Scout leader. 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, 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": another 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 his school history book. 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, 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.
The Casbah
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 Bar, where the band began to perform in February. The Undertones had occasionally earned money at venues where they had performed throughout 1976, but these gigs at the Casbah were the first performances for which the Undertones were paid on a regular basis, as performing at the Casbah earned the group up to £30 for each attendance fee. Both the money earned and their popularity at this venue inspired the band to write and rehearse further material, as a means of remaining a popular act at the Casbah. By the following year, the concerts the Undertones performed would include the song "Teenage Kicks", which had been written by guitarist John O'Neill in mid-1977. The gigs performed at the Casbah gave the Undertones increased confidence in their musical ability, and in June 1977 they performed concerts outside 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. On 15 June 1978, the band recorded their debut four-song EP "Teenage Kicks" on a budget of only £200. The EP was engineered by Davy Shannon at Wizard Studios, Belfast, and was released on Belfast's Good Vibrations record label. The title song became a hit with support from BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who considered "Teenage Kicks" his all-time favourite song, an opinion he held through to his death in 2004.
Sire Records
, 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. McNally saw the band play live in what would ultimately prove to be their final performance at the Casbah on 29 September 1978. The following day, McNally convened with the Undertones to discuss a record contract. Three members of the band signed the proposed contract on this date, with the understanding that Feargal Sharkey and Michael Bradley would discuss negotiations to the contract with Seymour Stein in person in London."Teenage Kicks" (1978–1979)
On 2 October 1978, Bradley and Sharkey agreed to an increased advance fee of £10,000 offered by Stein upon the recording contract and signed to Sire Records on a five-year contract. Sire Records subsequently obtained all rights to the material released upon the Teenage Kicks EP and the song was re-released as a standard vinyl single upon Sire's own label two weeks later.On 26 October, the Undertones performed "Teenage Kicks" live on Top of the Pops. With help from Peel, Teenage Kicks peaked at number 31 in the UK Singles Chart the following month.
In November 1978, the Undertones embarked on their first tour of the UK. This tour lasted until 16 December and saw the band appear as the supporting act for The Rezillos and John Otway in England and Wales in addition to headlining in three concerts in Belfast and Derry.
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 four weeks.
Following the release of "Get Over You" in February 1979, the Undertones' eponymous 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 " 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.
''Hypnotised'' (1980)
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".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". Following the completion of their second LP, the band embarked upon a two-week tour of Ireland before touring continental Europe for the first time in March.
On 28 March 1980, the Undertones released their sixth single, "My Perfect Cousin". The song, which had been written the previous summer by Damian O'Neill and Michael Bradley, reached number 9 in the UK charts and would subsequently prove to be the band's highest-charting single in the United Kingdom. The following month, on 21 April 1980, the band's second LP, Hypnotised was released. This album reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart, remaining in the Top 10 for one month. The same week the album was released, the Undertones embarked on their 'Humming tour', which saw the band play a total of 25 gigs across the UK between April and June.
Less than two weeks after the completion of the 'Humming tour', the Undertones toured the United States for the second time, this time as the headlining band. "Wednesday Week"—the second single to be released from Hypnotised—was released in July 1980. This single reached number 11 in the UK chart and remained in the Top 40 for a total of seven weeks.
Between September and December 1980, the Undertones performed two further tours: the 'Disaster Tour ', which saw the band perform in continental Europe and—in December—the 'See No More' tour of the UK.
In terms of chart sales, the year 1980 was the Undertones' most successful year. In a review by Sounds magazine the same year, the Undertones were described as: "Possibly the best pop group in the English speaking world."
EMI
''Positive Touch'' (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, succeeded in the band retaining ownership rights to the material released on Sire Records; Ferguson subsequently signed the group to EMI in March 1981.On 4 January 1981, the band began recording their third album, Positive Touch, again at Wisseloord Studios, and again with Roger Bechirian as producer. The band recorded a total of eight songs in five days before returning to Derry. Later the same month, the band returned to Wisseloord Studios to complete the recording of the LP. 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 upon 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 partly inspired by the 1980–81 Hunger Strikes. In addition, several songs upon the LP included instruments such as pianos, saxophones, recorders and brass instruments, with two further songs drawing musical inspiration from contemporary artists Orange Juice and Dexy's Midnight Runners respectively. The band themselves were content with the change of influences for Positive Touch, which bassist Michael Bradley later described as a "natural progression" for the band, adding that, at the time, consensus between the band members was that the songs upon the LP were their best yet.
One month prior to the release of this third album, in April 1981, the Undertones embarked on their 'Positive Touch tour'; this tour saw the band perform a total of 36 gigs across the UK mainland in the space of less than two months.
Positive Touch was released in May 1981. This third album peaked at number 17 in the UK charts—remaining in the Top 40 for a total of four weeks. The album also received favourable reviews from several music critics and was listed by NME as one of the best albums to be released in 1981, although neither the album nor either of the singles released were as successful as any of the material released the previous year.
Following the conclusion of their 'Positive Touch tour' in June 1981, 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.
On 29 September 1981, the Undertones embarked on their biggest tour of continental Europe, which lasted until 20 October 1981 and saw the band perform a total of 19 concerts in six countries.
1982 saw a lull in activity from the Undertones, who only performed live on a total of five occasions throughout the entire year. Two of these gigs were held in England, with three further live appearances held in the United States in August. Much of the time the band spent together was devoted towards writing and recording songs for their next LP in their 8-track demo studio. Damian O'Neill, the Undertones' lead guitarist, later admitted: "We 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." The Undertones released two studio singles, "Beautiful Friend" and "The Love Parade", in February and October; both of these singles failed to make an impact upon the UK charts.