I was really a singles buyer in those days (most cash strapped teenagers were...) but for various reasons some lost in time, other still memorable (example: no picture sleeves left on the day I went to buy My Perfect Cousin...) I do not actually possess a single Undertones 7”...!
A friend of mine who I used to swap records with subsequently bought the “Hypnotised” album so between us we were happy enough.
That being the case, this new collection of all the Undertones singles releases A sides and B sides is a pleasant revelation to me as there are quite a few songs on here that I have never heard before.
Listening now as a (fairly...) mature adult and with the benefit of almost 30 years of hindsight, I can fully appreciate the musical the development through “It’s Going To Happen” and “Wednesday Week” to “Julie Ocean” and beyond much better now than I could have done as a petulant teen.
I quite liked "It's Going To Happen" even back then - although not as a typical Undertones' song but absolutley hated “Julie Ocean” at the time as it was nothing like “Jimmy Jimmy” or “Get Over You” and didn’t seem to resemble punk,/new wave or teen culture in any way. Obviously a lot of the music buying public agreed as Undertones record sales slumped from that point on and the later single releases failed to reach the charts.
Having said that, Damien O’Neill said: “the music scene had changed and even if we’d released a new album full of “My Perfect Cousin” there’s no guarantee it would have been a success anyway” so maybe now - almost 30 years on - I can now see their point of view.
I am pleased to say that I no longer hate “Julie Ocean” and have discovered that I also like most of the material that I didn’t get to hear first time round. Lucy didn’t realise that she liked The Undertones but has now discovered that she knew all the big hits and liked all of them.
This compilation is interesting as CD1 follows the rise of the chart success– from “Teenage Kicks” to “My Perfect Cousin” while CD2 charts the fall, if you choose to look at it that way. The booklet has some interesting sleeve notes penned by bass player Mickey Bradley - who also wrote some of the songs – and his comments help to understand the feelings and frictions within the band at certain points in time.
Definitely worth a listen – check it out!
You can hear what Damien O'Neill says about the CD release by clicking on the sound icon here:
