THE UNDERTONES – TEENAGE KICKS 7″ – Nr MINT UK 1978 PIC SLEEVE PUNK

The Undertones – Teenage Kicks
(Sire Records  1978  SIR4007)
UK Pressing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from a few dust crackles at the very start of side two)

Sleeve in Excellent condition
– some wear along opening edge & some ringwear

The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O’Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O’Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley (bass, vocals) and Billy Doherty (drums). Although 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 political climate in which the band had lived, the vast majority (though not all) of the material the band released focused not upon the Troubles, but upon issues such as adolescence, teenage angst and heartbreak. The merging of instruments has led AllMusic to state 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 Feargal 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.

“Teenage Kicks” is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by J.J. O’Neill, the band’s rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Belfast record label Good Vibrations, before the band signed to Sire Records on 2 October 1978. Sire Records subsequently obtained all copyrights to the material released upon the Teenage Kicks EP and the song was re-released as a standard vinyl single on Sire’s own label on 14 October that year, reaching number 31 in the UK Singles Chart two weeks after its release.