The Gig Cartel - Artist profiles: The Undertones

The Undertones emerged from Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974, the result of five friends learning how to play basic rock and roll. Even by the standards of that decade, Derry was not the rock and roll capital of anywhere and with no live bands worth watching, they learned their trade by listening to mail order records, reading one of the few copies of NME that made it to Derry but most of all from listening to John Peel’s show on BBC Radio One. Practicing in their bedrooms eventually led to the band recording ‘Teenage Kicks’ in 1978 on Terri Hooley's Good Vibrations label in Belfast. A copy was sent to the legendary DJ John Peel and he liked the track so much he played it twice in a row on his radio show! Eventually signing to Sire Records, ‘Teenage Kicks’ was re-released, resulting in the band's first appearance on Top of the Pops. Over the next five years, John O’Neill, his younger brother Damian, Feargal Sharkey, Billy Doherty and Michael Bradley crafted numerous punkpop gems and would go on to release 13 singles and 4 studio LP’s, before disbanding in May 1983. The Undertones re-formed in 1999 with singer Paul McLoone, subsequently recorded 2 new LP’s and have been touring regularly ever since. They played Glastonbury Festival in June 2005, recently marked their 40th anniversary, and have just completed a 46 date, 2019 world tour.