Undertones

• Feargal Sharkey - vocals
• Damian O'Neill - guitar
• John O'Neill - guitar
• Michael Bradley - bass
• Billy Doherty - drums

Bio:

Classic powerpop punk. The debut single and the Hypnotized LP are indispensible.

The debut single was recorded at Wizard Studios in June 1978. The band had already been rejected by Radar, Stiff and Chiswick by this time. It was released in September on Good Vibrations and within a month or so the band had signed to Sire. The Sire reissue charted well and on October 22nd 1978 the band made it's debut appearance on Top of the Pops.

The Undertones are very well served elsewhere on the net so I don't intend to repeat it all here. I list all UK releases here plus any interesting foreign releases. Singles in exotic foreign picture sleeves or with sufficiently different contents are considered interesting -- Canadian Sire promos in company sleeves are not! For a complete discography check out the official site or even better the exhaustive unofficial site at theundertones.net (see links below). Also check out the Punk in Derry site for more background info.

Some notes: Ardeck was the bands own label launched in 1981. Feargal Sharkey later launched a successful solo career, releasing mainstream pop records. He later worked in the music business. Other members worked as the inexplicably underachieving That Petrol Emotion who recorded some great songs, but never quite managed that killer LP.

side one: Teenage Kicks
Smarter Than You

side two:
True Confessions
Emergency Cases

Notes:
The Good Vibrations poster cover was printed on various colour sheets including white, pink, mustard and green. Produced by Davy Smith of Wizard Studios who later recorded as No Smokin' as a direct result of the success of "Teenage Kicks". Engineered by Davy Shannon, who also played on No Smokin''s single.

• Teenage Kicks / Smarter Than You
7" - Sire Records - WBN 17585 - Netherlands - 1980 - unique PS

Notes:
The Ardeck reissue was available only as part of a double-pack with ARDS 6 (below)


• You've Got My Number / Lets Talk About Girls
7" - Sire Records - SIR4024 - UK - September 1979 - diecut PS
7" - Sire Records - 2C 008-63503 - France - 1979 - different PS
7" - Sire Records - 101 164-100 - Germany - 1979 - UK front cover on both sides

side one:
Teenage Kicks
Get Over You

side two:
Jimmy Jimmy
Here Comes The Summer

Notes:
The back cover contains the text "This is a limited edition of 1000. Your personal number is_____" with a hand-written number in the space provided. Un-numbered copies are not overruns, they are simply un-numbered copies. For some reason (writers cramp?!), not all 1000 copies were numbered.

side one:
My Perfect Cousin
The Way Girls Talk
Boys Will Be Boys

side two:
More Songs About Chocolate & Girls
Wednesday Week
There Goes Norman.

side one:
Love Parade (extended)

side two:
Like That
You're Welcome (live)
Crisis Of Mine (live)
Family Entertainment (live)

Notes:
The 3 live-in-the-studio tracks on the B-side include between song banter.

Teenage Kicks
My Perfect Cousin
Wednesday Week
It's Going To Happen
The Love Parade
Got To Have You Back

Notes:
Issued during Feargal Sharkey's solo success.

Teenage Kicks
My Perfect Cousin
Wednesday Week
It's Going To Happen
The Love Parade
Got To Have You Back
There Goes Norman

Notes:
65 minute made-for-TV documentary including seven promo videos plus live footage from the 1999 reunion

disc one:
(29 singles and album tracks)

disc two:
1. My Perfect Cousin
2. You've Got My Number
3. Girls That Don't Talk
4. Nine Times Out Of Ten
5. Get Over You
6. Wrong Way
7. Mars Bars
8. Listening In
9. I Don't Wanna See You Again
10. Do The Fast
11. Girls Don't Like It
12. I Gotta Getta
13. Teenage Kicks
14. Emergency Cases
15. Get Over You
16. It's Going To Happen
17. The Positive Touch
18. Luxury
19. Party Party
20. Beautiful Friend
21. The Love Parade
22. You Stand So Close (recording session 82) 23. Bittersweet
24. Soul Seven
25. Turning Blue
26. Window Shopping For New Clothes
27. Cher O'Bowlies

sources:
1-4: demos 1979
5-8: Live at the Lyceum 1978
9-15: demos 1978
16-17: live to 8-track 1981
18,19,21,23-26: demos 1982
20,22: studio recording session 1982
27: rehearsal 1983

Notes:
65 minute made-for-TV documentary including seven promo videos plus live footage from the 1999 reunion

tracks:
Hard Luck
You've Got My Number
I Gotta Getta
Male Model
Tearproof
Girls That Don't Talk
Jimmy Jimmy
Whizz Kids
More Songs About Chocolate And Girls
There Goes Norman
Top Twenty
My Perfect Cousin
Get Over You

side one:
The Undertones Live To Air 1980
(see BBC In Concert #232 LP above for tracklisting)

side 2:
The Buzzcocks Live To Air WPIXFM Club 57 N.Y. 1979
I Don't Mind
What Do I Get
Love You More
Harmony In Your Head
Automony
Moving Away From The Pulsebeat
Nothing Left
Ever Fallen In Love
Boredom

Notes:
A murky AM copy of the BBC In Concert #232 show. The entire original disc is squeezed on to one LP side -- it sounds terrible! A pity, as like most Happy Porpak titles, this is a very nice looking bootleg.

tracks
See That Girl
Jump Boys
Billy's Third
You're Welcome
When Saturday Comes
Girls That Don't Talk
His Good-Looking Girlfriend
I Gotta Getta
Wednesday Week
Crisis Of Mine
Get Over You
You've Got My Number
Sugh And Explode
My Perfect Cousin
Teenage Kicks
More Songs About Chocolate And Girls
What's With Terry
There Goes Norman

Notes:
Recorded live at The Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead on 19 May 1981. Catalogued by the BBC at In Concert 3256 and Classic In Concert #21. The latter may not exist as a transcription disc.

Notes:
The Undertones were recorded live at The Ace, Brixton on 18 November 1982 for later broadcast on Channel 4's TV show "Whatever You Want". As far as I know this show has not turned up on bootleg. Was it broadcast?

01 Introduction
02 When Saturday Comes
03 It's Going To Happen
04 The Untouchables
05 Jimmy Jimmy
06 The Love Parade
07 This Crisis Of Mine
08 Got To Have You Back
09 Beautiful Friend
10 Julie Ocean
11 That Peculiar Luxury
12 Teenage Kicks
13 Chain Of Love
14 Youve Got My Number
15 Cher Of Bowlies

Notes:
Sight And Sound In Concert shows were simultaneous TV and FM radio broadcasts, so this show was always common on tape and is now circulating on DVD-R. Although I haven't seen a copy yet, there must be a BBC Transcription disc. Recorded at The Regal Theatre in Hitchin on 22 February 1983. Note this is not BBC IN Concert #302.

01 Introduction
02 When Saturday Comes
03 I Don't Know
04 The Love Parade
05 The Untouchables
06 Teenage Kicks
07 Chain of Love
08 Let's Talk About Girls
09 Conscious
10 Jump Boys
11 Got To Have You Back
12 Bittersweet
13 Tearproof
14 Julie Ocean
15 Wednesday Week
16 Get Over You
17 Luxury
18 You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It)
19 I know a Girl
20 I Gotta Get Her

Notes:
Live at Reading University. 15 March (or possibly 16 March) may be the broadcast date rather than the actual recording date. BBC College Concert #33 is a USA pressing of BBC In Concert #302 for distribution to US college radio stations. The School Bullies CDR claims to be from 18 March 1983 but this is probably an error.

previously unreleased demos:
Stand So Close
I Don't Wanna See You Again
Do The Fast
Undercover Lover
There She Goes
All By Myself
Incendiary Device
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue
You're Gonna Miss Me
I Feel Alright
Jimmy Jimmy

Live Belfast 1979:
I Gotta Getta
Girls That Don't Talk
Whizz Kids
See That Girl
The Way Girls Talk
You've Got My Number
Get Over You
True Confessions

Notes:
Collection of TV performances including Top of the Pops appearances 1978-1980; Old Grey Whistle Test 1979; Something Else BBC 1980 ("There Goes Norman"); Rockpalast 1980; and BBC Sight & Sound 1981 special.

Notes:
The Undertones performance at the Grugahalle, Essen on 17 October 1981 was broadcast live on German TV (Rockpalast). This DVDR contains the full length concert (21 tracks, 55mins approx) plus five original promo videos: Teenage Kicks / My Perfect Cousin / Wednesday Week / It's Going To Happen / The Love Parade

side one:
1. My Perfect Cousin
2. You've Got My Number
3. Girls That Don't Talk
4. Nine Times Out Of Ten
5. Get Over You
6. Wrong Way
7. Mars Bars
8. Listening In

side two:
9. I Don't Wanna See You Again
10. Do The Fast
11. Girls Don't Like It
12. I Gotta Getta
13. Teenage Kicks
14. Emergency Cases
15. Get Over You

sources:
1-4: demos 1979
5-8: Live at the Lyceum 1978
9-15: demos 1978

Notes:
Bootleg LP regurgitating the first 15 (of 27) tracks of the second disc of the officially released "An Anthology" 2xCD set. This is the kind of release that gives bootlegs a bad name. Did we really need a vinyl rip of (half of) the CD? Zero imagination has gone into this bootleg. Even the front cover is recycled. Avoid.

We need your help to correct and/or complete this entry. If you can provide more information about this band, have scans, photos or any other memorabilia we can use, or spare copies of any releases, then please get in touch.