The Undertones (album)

The Undertones
Original May 1979 cover release of The Undertones
Studio album by The Undertones
Released	13 May 1979
Recorded	Eden Studios and Mrs. Simms Shed, Derry 1979
Genre	Punk rock
Length	29:29
Label	Sire Rykodisc
Producer	Roger Bechirian
The Undertones chronology
The Undertones (1979) Hypnotised (1980)
Cover of October 1979 re-release of The Undertones
Both images of the vinyl album cover of The Undertones could be described as "front covers", as the track listings and name of album/group are shown on both sides.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Q	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Smash Hits	7/10[6]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10[7]

The Undertones is the 1979 debut album by The Undertones. The album was recorded at Eden Studios in London in early 1979 and released on 13 May that year.^[8] The original release included just one single release: "Jimmy Jimmy" and an album version of "Here Comes The Summer", which was never released as a single.

A re-released version of the album (housed in an alternate sleeve), was issued in October 1979. The re-released album also included the Undertones' first two singles: "Teenage Kicks" and "Get Over You" alongside both "Jimmy Jimmy" and a single version of "Here Comes The Summer", which had been released in July. In addition, the song "Casbah Rock" was included as the final track of the album.

Numerous polls conducted since 1979 have placed The Undertones as one of the greatest albums to be released in the 1970s and one of the Top 40 Punk/New Wave albums of all time,^[9] with the single "Teenage Kicks" being listed by the BBC Radio 2 as the 51st best song ever released.^[10]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Written by	Length
1.	"Family Entertainment"	Damian O'Neill	2:37
2.	"Girls Don't Like It"	J. J. O'Neill	2:19
3.	"Male Model"	J. J. O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Damian O'Neill	1:54
4.	"I Gotta Getta"	J. J. O'Neill	1:53
5.	"Wrong Way"	Billy Doherty	1:23
6.	"Jump Boys"	J. J. O'Neill	2:40
7.	"Here Comes The Summer"	J. J. O'Neill	1:42

Side two
No.	Title	Written by	Length
1.	"Billy's Third"	Billy Doherty	1:57
2.	"Jimmy Jimmy"	J. J. O'Neill	2:41
3.	"True Confessions"	J. J. O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Damian O'Neill	1:52
4.	"She's A Runaround"	J. J. O'Neill	1:49
5.	"I Know a Girl"	J. J. O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Damian O'Neill	2:35
6.	"Listening In"	J . J. O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Damian O'Neill	2:24
7.	"Casbah Rock"	J. J. O'Neill	0:47

Bonus tracks (issued on CD and download releases only)
No.	Title	Written by	Length
15.	"Teenage Kicks"	J. J. O'Neill	2:28
16.	"True Confessions (single version)"	J. J. O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Damian O'Neill	1:56
17.	"Emergency Cases"	J. J. O'Neill	1:59
18.	"Smarter Than You"	Damian O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Billy Doherty	1:38
19.	"Get Over You"	J. J. O'Neill	2:46
20.	"Really Really"	Billy Doherty	1:52
21.	"She Can Only Say No"	J. J. O'Neill	0:54
22.	"Here Comes The Summer (single version)"	J. J. O'Neill	1:46
23.	"One Way Love"	J. J. O'Neill	2:16
24.	"Top Twenty"	J. J. O'Neill	2:14
25.	"Mars Bars"	Damian O'Neill, Michael Bradley	2:10
26.	"You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It?)"	J. J. O'Neill	2:41
27.	"Let's Talk About Girls"	Manny Freiser*	3:40
28.	"Top Twenty (Peel session)"	J. J. O'Neill	2:03
29.	"Nine Times Out of Ten (Peel session)"	J. J. O'Neill, Billy Doherty	2:33
30.	"The Way Girls Talk (Peel session)"	J. J. O'Neill	2:40
31.	"Whizz Kids (Peel session)"	Damian O'Neill	2:23

• "Let's Talk About Girls" is a cover of a 1967 song by The Chocolate Watch Band.^[11]

Accolades

• A 1979 end of year critics' list published by Melody Maker placed The Undertones as the sixth best album to be released that year.^[12]
• The album was ranked at No. 17 among the top "Albums of the Year" for 1979 by NME, with "Get Over You" ranked at No. 32 among the year's top tracks.^[13] A 1993 poll by NME placed it as the 50th greatest album to be released in the 1970s.^[14]
• In a 2000 poll by Q magazine, to find the '100 Greatest British Albums Ever' as voted by the British public, The Undertones' eponymous debut LP was voted the 90th greatest album ever written by British artists.
• A 2006 poll by UK-based rock music magazine Kerrang! lists The Undertones as the 19th greatest punk album ever to be released.^[15]
• The Undertones' debut LP was also listed in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die:" a poll selected and written by 90 leading international music critics.^[16]

Personnel

• Feargal Sharkey – lead vocals
• John O'Neill – rhythm guitar and backing vocals
• Damian O'Neill – lead guitar, keyboard and backing vocals
• Michael Bradley – bass guitar, lead vocals (on original album version of "True Confessions") and backing vocals
• Billy Doherty – drums

References

1. Mason, Stewart. "The Undertones – The Undertones". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
2. Christgau, Robert. "The Undertones: The Undertones". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
4. "The Undertones: The Undertones". Q (164): 132. May 2000.
5. "The Undertones: The Undertones". Rolling Stone: 94. 30 October 2003.
6. Starr, Red (31 May – 13 June 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits: 25.
7. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York City: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-67975574-8.
8. Chart Stats.com 13 May - 19 May 1979
9. Top 100 punk albums of all time.
10. BBC Radio 2 top 100
11. ChocolateWatchBand discography.
12. Melody Maker's best albums of 1979
13. "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
14. NME Greatest albums of the 60s, 70s and 80s.
15. Punknews.org.
16. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

External links

• Official website of The Undertones
• Allmusic review of The Undertones' debut album
• History of Punk in Derry, Northern Ireland.
• Yourirish.com profile of The Undertones