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The Undertones

Undertones, The

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The Undertones: the Famous Five go to Finland

Profile by Johnny Black, Smash Hits, 6 August 1981

IN JULY in Helsinki, Finland, the only darkness you can find is inside buildings with no windows. Buildings like the "Travastia Klubi" where the Undertones ...

Audio interviews

The Undertones (1980)

Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages audio, June 1980

The mumbling Derry boys talk about pop and punk, translate their lyrics for American listeners and ruminate on what it takes to break big in the USA.

File format: mp3; file size: 45.7mb, interview length: 49' 57" sound quality: **

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The Undertones: Queen's University, Belfast

Live Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 8 July 1978

ON A NIGHT when one of the world's top bands, Ireland's favourite sons Thin Lizzy, were packing them in at the Ulster Hall, it was ...

'Teenage Kicks' Is The Undertones' EP

Interview by Dave McCullough, Sounds, 30 September 1978

DAVE McCULLOUGH FINDS PURE PUNK IN DARKEST DERRY ...

Crash Course in Corruption with The Undertones

Report and Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 4 November 1978

Their record's bubbling under......so why aren't they bubbling over? ...

The Undertones: Putting On The Anti Style

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

...are the Undertones, Derry's nosethumb to the star system. HARRY DOHERTY helped them bury a few rock myths. ...

The Undertones: The Undertones (Sire SRK 6070)*****

Review by Dave McCullough, Sounds, 5 May 1979

Teenage dreamland ...

The Undertones: The Undertones (Sire)

Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 5 May 1979

"So you think you're so clever/you're never in doubt". ...

The Undertones: The Undertones (Sire).

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 5 May 1979

FOR SOME reason, this album reminds me of a scene in Kate Bush's live show, the part where she plays a rifle-toting trouble-shooter on 'James ...

The Undertones: The Reluctant Debutantes

Report and Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 26 May 1979

"When the group first started I suppose it's like a phase, y'know, ye want to be a fireman or ye want to be a policeman. ...

Consuming Passion: The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers

Profile by Simon Frith, Melody Maker, 23 June 1979

IT seemed like they were the last gigs of the year. Summer’s coming. Exam requests for DLT, college partings for Anne Nightingale, End of the ...

The Undertones, The Freshies: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Mick Middles, Sounds, 13 October 1979

CASUALLY, NERVOUSLY, Manchester's newest wonderpoppers, The Freshies, hobble onto their first major venue stage. Chris Sievey tries hard to appear relaxed as he attempts to ...

The Clash/Undertones/Sam & Dave: The Palladium, NYC

Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, November 1979

THIS REVIEW is being turned in weeks late, and I know why. After all these years and all these bands, all the disappointing second albums ...

Smash Hits Dept. of Gritty Realism presents: If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Blackburn

Report by David Hepworth, Smash Hits, 15 November 1979

David Hepworth goes on the road with THE UNDERTONES ...

The Undertones: Teenage Hicks

Interview by Dave McCullough, Sounds, 12 April 1980

The Undertones backlash starts here. Well, not really. But Dave McCullough is worried... ...

The Undertones: Hypnotised (Sire)

Review by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, July 1980

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING special about the Undertones. They're a motley gang of Irish kids with typical imperfect faces and no visible charismatic presence as ...

A Better Mousetrap: The Undertones Beat A Path To America’s Door

Interview by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, September 1980

Back in the primordial '70s, a rash of groups moved into the British 45 charts to occupy the places formerly inhabited by the Beatles and ...

The Undertones

Interview by Howard Wuelfing, New York Rocker, October 1980

SINCE THEIR performing debut here last year supporting the Clash, the Undertones have cleared a whole mess of professional and personal hurdles. ...

Black Uhuru, Mink De Ville, The Undertones: Roackpalast, Essen, West Germany

Live Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 24 October 1981

THESE BIENNIAL all-night Rockpalast bloat-ons are comically close to the idea of a festival mentality geared to Germanic efficiency: You vill be entertained! The groups ...

The Undertones: Kilburn National, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 18 August 1982

FOLLOWERS OF the Undertones will be reassured to learn that after a 12-month leave of absence back in their native Ireland, one thing remains unchanged: ...

The Undertones: Kilburn National Ballroom, London

Live Review by Neil Tennant, Smash Hits, 2 September 1982

PLAYING ONLY their second live date of '82. The Undertones were greeted by an ecstatic audience. ...

→ Undertones

Profile and Interview by Betsy Sherman, Boston Rock, 20 October 1982

WE CAN now exhale in relief — the Undertones are back and they've hardly changed. They've gotten some lines in their formerly cherubic faces since ...

The Undertones: Brightness On The Edge Of Derry

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, February 1983

NEW YORK — A SHORT HISTORY OF DERRY, IRELAND:1688 — Britain lay siege to Derry City for 105 days.1976 — The Undertones are formed. ...

The Undertones: Sounding Out Stroke City

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 11 July 1993

The pop star's tale: Michael Bradley has lived most of his life in the thick of the Troubles — but he has not let them ...

The Undertones reissues

Review by Susan Compo, MOJO, July 1994

The Undertones/Hypnotised/Positive Touch/The Sin Of Pride /The Peel Sessions Album ...

Various Artists: Cash From Chaos: The Complete Punk Collection

Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, February 2002

Perverse selection – from New York Dolls to Gonads, Buzzcocks to Toy Dolls — misses chance to be definitive summary ...

The Undertones: Teenage Dreams, So Hard To Beat

Retrospective and Interview by Mick Houghton, Uncut, November 2008

For the Undertones, living the rock'n'roll dream meant visits to church and McDonald's, and adopting pigeons when they could've been partying with the Clash. But ...

Terri Hooley: I Need Excitement

Book Excerpt by Stuart Bailie, Dig With It Books, November 2023

NOTE: This is an excerpt from Seventy-Five Revolutions, Stuart Bailie's book about the legendary owner of Belfast's Good Vibrations record store. Buy the book here. ...

see also That Petrol Emotion

see also Feargal Sharkey

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