The Undertones

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die day 18 and boy, its going to be a long ride if I can manage to stick this out. I’m nowhere near triple digits, and this project is both rewarding and intimidating, equally. As a self described “Music Nerd”, I’m starting to realize that I’m more nerd and less knowledgeable. If you asked me to guess how many of these 1001 albums that I would know before buying this damn book, I’d confidently guess at least sixty percent. What a fool I was 18 days ago. Todays selection is the debut and self titled album from a Punk Rock slash Pop group called the Undertones. This is a great album to put on while you have a shower beer or two. It is fast paced, it’s uplifting, and the simple lyrics about girls and doing hood rat shit with your friends is enough to set the mood. Honestly though, Undertones debut album is largely forgettable. I can’t really explain it, I love these songs when they’re playing, but as soon as they’re over, I barely remember them. Bands like The Ramones sound very similar and are from the same era, yet had more lasting impressions with their compositions. I’m sure many bands took note of this band and built their craft on top of The Undertones established foundation in music, like, say, Green Day or maybe even Soundgarden. I appreciate this album, it is fun and youthful, it sounds great, it just didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. I’m sure it left enough of a lasting impression on other artists to follow their lead. Please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and memories!

16 tracks? I don’t want the deluxe version, I thought. But wait! This is the original version! This will take ages to listen to. But wait again! The album clocks in at a concise 35 minutes! Now that’s an album that breaks down the door, pushes you about for a bit and then gets the hell out of there! Punky, prickly, full of teenage hormones (Teenage Kicks a perfect pop song?), high energy, a really enjoyable album.

Holy hell 16 tracks and 34 minutes! I take longer pisses than some of these songs. Some pretty similar sounding pop punk songs to me. Nothing special or crazy to me though. Heard better punk.

I was running late for my eldest daughter's parents evening a few years ago and didn't have time to change, so was wearing football shorts. As her geography teacher was talking some shit about how well she was doing, I felt a twinge in my stomach. I knew I was in trouble, but tried to stay composed. I'm sat there like "yeah, yeah, she knows all the capital cities of europe because of her years of child trafficking." We all laughed...but then, just as I was standing up to leave, my explosive diahorrea kicked in and launched a splurge of hearty brown liquid, splashing it all across a map of Africa. We all laughed. The Undertones were on in the car on the way home.

So-called pop punk was a necessary tweak to keep punk going. You can only make angry, face spitting music for so long. The mid 70s recession had gone and by 1979 Thatcher was Prime Minister and the weary Sex Pistols fans stopped hitting the streets to burn shit and started to pop pills instead. The time was right for pop punk! This sub-genre of punk is probably the one I know best. A lot of my favourite bands like The Police, The Jam, The Pretenders, Joe Jackson were part of this and were getting traction in 1979. The Clash had been around for the angry years but they were getting more traction than ever as they embraced pop punk. I like the Undertones and the genre but the bands I note above will get the 4s and 5s. The Undertones are a few floors below.

The Undertones? More like the Underwhelmings. Straight forward early British punk but basically the same song 16 times on one album.

Throw the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Clash into a blender, add a dash of Bryan Ferry's vibrato, then blend away, and I'm pretty sure the resulting concoction will be the Undertones. I don't know how this is the first time I've run across them, as this album is fantastic. This is top-notch old school punk*, and the last time I was this excited about a new (to me) band was when Roxy Music's debut album popped up a few weeks ago. I found a 26-track version of the album on YouTube, and there's a lot to love here. It starts off strong with "Family Entertainment," and while "The Girls Don't Like It," I sure do. "Teenage Kicks," "Get Over You," "Listening in," "Emergency Cases" ... So many good tracks. And a special shout-out to "Mars Bars," which is quite funny. Honestly, 26 tracks and I had no desire to skip any of them. That's the dream right there. *Except for "True Confessions," which starts with the line "Don't look so surprised," which amused me because it *was* a surprise, and came out of left field with a Devo-like new wave flavor that caught me completely off guard.

very enjoyable. norn iron doing a good.

This is waaaaaaay better than the Undertones' frankly terrible second album, Hypnotized, which had no place at all on a list of albums you must here. This is somewhat better, in that the songs are catchier and generally recorded quickly enough to capture the energy and charm of the band. But, really when we come down to it, they are really just Ramones clones, down to the cover photo. So why would you listen to this instead of the Ramones? You have sit through the insufferable warbling of Feargal Sharkey. I really can't stand his voice for more than a few minutes at a time. If I had bought the original release, I would have been ropable that Teenage Kicks wasn't on the record. That is the best song, hands down, that the Undertones ever wrote. It's a pretty good single, and I can't believe they left it (and their other single, Get Over You) off the original release of this album. Because nothing else here is that good. Good thing they rectified that on the re-release I am listening to now. But at least it's better than Hypontized, which is a pile of dogshit. And not in a good way.

Listening to this album made me imagine my Dad careering around the streets of suburbia in his Vauxhall Viva modified with twin carbs; me in the back seat barely secured to the hot, faux leather vinyl that passed as a bench seat, him with his brown Aviators, 'tash, flared trousers and mop of hair blowing in the wind. Then I remembered he was more into Meat Loaf at the time and the daydream was shattered. Although lyrically, teenage kicks is still relevant today and the album as a whole was not unenjoyable if a little repetitive towards the end, I think this will end up forgotton, like a rusting car with Teenage Kicks as the singular component rescued and remembered in a museum of classics.

I've only been doing this for a few days and this is the first album I've heard that made me say, "Holy shit, how did I not know about this band?" "Teenage Kicks" is a great song but this album is full of catchy hooks and fun, upbeat pop punk that will make you thing of The Clash, The Ramones, and Dead Kennedys. I love it, and I will definitely be adding The Undertones to my library.

This will be a new listen for me. I’ve never heard of these guys. A quick glance at the Wikipedia for this album tells me it was critically beloved. Early on I was puzzled by how straightforward it sounded. I was digging it, but not going gaga eyed for it. It’s a fun garage punk sound. Another youthful debut full of teenage drama. Was this fresh and new in 1979? I wanted to try and hear what made this a critical darling. Then I stayed with it a bit and started to get into it. The guitar isn’t as crunchy as I usually prefer, but I grew up in the 1990s. when heavy distortion reigned. This is stripped down and impatiently refusing further production out of adolescent spite. The stretch of songs in the middle; "Jump Boys" -> "Here Comes the Summer" -> "Get Over You" -> "Billy's Third" really won me over. This falls on the “enjoyed it a lot” side of the 3 rating. 3.5/5 that I’m rounding down out of the same adolescent spite.

Incredibly punchy proto pop punk. This is concise, lean, and full of fun.

But of a wild album. Sounds like if the Dead Kennedy's made an album in the style of Rocky Horror Picture Show. And I've got absolutely no complaints. Big thumbs up from this guy.

Ok, I consider myself a bit of a New Wave/Punk aficionado and I knew NOTHING about this group. Never heard of them. BLOWN. AWAY. This is what I love about this list. This. So obsessed.

This brief pop-punk record is quick, dynamic, and knows it has a short shelf-life. I mostly enjoyed each song when they were on, but didn't once feel compelled to go back and listen to any of them. And that repetitive nature is the obvious criticism. It holds true for a lot of punk, really, but it seems to be this album's highlight. "True Confessions" was a jarring departure from the rest of the album and the sole exception to this rule. I'm on the fence as to whether this gets a '2' or a '3', but I'm leaning on (2/5), because... Anglo-centrism, strikes again. There are TWO albums by this band on the list? Jesus Christ. Going back to my upsetting revelation from a few days ago that there were no SUPREMES albums on this list, here's another one (probably both of their albums) we can easily push aside in favor of anything that's *not* British and centered firmly in the time period of 1975-1985. Overall -- even if I enjoyed it in the moment -- it's pretty forgettable and nothing I will ever revisit.

One of the greatest pop punks albums ever made. Like early Ramones and Buzzcocks, this is perfect pop distilled through a buzzsaw. John Peel was right and so are you if you love them.

Used to listen to this all the time but forgot about it. I forgot about it so much, that when this album came up, I was like ‘who are the undertones?’ Then as I played through it, all the songs came back to me. It was like awakening from amnesia. Wow, I love this album.

upbeat energetic old school punk. nice and melodic. its short enough so as not to get repetitive. really good album

What a great album. This is what rock and roll is all about. Young talented kids playing with an energy and joy that is absolutely infectious. 5 🌟

i'm smarter than you

This is #day605 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to John Peel favorites, aka my first of two records from The Undertones. Even though it's my first time hearing the full album, I was already familiar with "Teenage Kicks," again, thanks to John Peel. This is the kind of album that makes you feel young again… or maybe nostalgic for a youth you never actually had. Being born in 1990, there's something like a false memory, or longing, for the late '70s here. That sense of exuberance is overflowing. It's punk rock on the verge of new wave and post-punk. Just what I needed. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day606.

Kinda good for some reason.

I don’t know if it’s writers block, but I’ve started, stopped and restarted writing this review at least three times. I’ve tried a few different approaches so far, but, really, it just boils down to this: This is my type of punk. Give me a record like this over anything by the Clash or Pistols any day of the week.

This is a new band for me. Although not usually my style, The Undertones have produced a fairly decent album. It is an upbeat, simple and enjoyable album. With so many songs on the album, however, towards the end, they become a bit muddled and you kind of forget that they are separate songs. A good album but sadly I feel a forgettable one too.

One of the earliest pop-punk records, and it goes hard! The hooks are catchy with lots of energy, while still staying true to it's punk roots. Much less far removed than later pop-punk records, but all music evolves in some way. With all the songs on here, some of them don't stand too well, but the general tone of the record supports the lesser songs by keeping things moving.

Sometimes the lyrics are a little problematic but overall I really like the album. High energy, I like the backup vocals being quite present, good performance, no lazy band members, singer is decent. Quantity over quality is a little issue, with most of the music being pretty simplistic, but does a great job as punk rock music. Does have a bit of variety but they mostly stick to fast-paced jams. Want to see their later stuff as apparently they change their style up.

I'll admit that while I'd never heard of The Undertones, I wasn't very excited about this one when it popped up. 16 songs in 34 minutes? And the immediate impression was of The Ramones, to the point of being a knock off. Before I die? Really?? But as the album went on I decided not to blame them for their inclusion here, and rather, to take them at face value. A young group of Irish blokes looking for a good time and hopeful to spend time with a lass or two along the way. The kind of pop-punk that's approachable to the masses and doesn't overstay its welcome. So it worked its way back up to a 3/5 that doesn't offend, but that I'm not entirely sure I'll revisit.

Feargal Sharkey has such a great voice, and a great name for a rock star. The lyrics make you ask "Wow how young are these guys?" The songs are kind of throw-away, yet more complex and melodic that the 2-minute ditties we've received by American hardcore bans, with a few hit worthy like Teenage Kicks and Jimmy Jimmy.

John Peel's wet dream. I could only just about muster a semi.

Out of all of the British punk albums we have listened to that was definitely one of them. Didn't love it or hate it. Just 34 minutes of music. Hilarious that they fit 16 songs into that amount of time

Meh, I guess you had to have been there.

Lovely, more dogshit UK punk

perfecte huwelijk tussen pop en punk... snedige gitaren, goeie zang, strakke ritmesectie, puike teksten... daar kunnen de offsprings en greendays nog een puntje aan zuigen...

This is old school punk and I LOVE old school punk. Even better, at the moment, for my life, is that it is about love and relationships and social stuff outside the political. The lyrics are still punk but keep it more individual and is not a social protest as much as a social commentary about social dynamics and life. Maybe that is why the Undertones never got the notoriety some of the more known punk bands of the era got, but it does not make them any less fun to listen to and they still represent a canon of what punk was. I actually loved this!

This album was incredible. I’d never heard it before. I loved every song. I listened to it twice. It was so so so so good. Ugh. More!

The Undertones – The Undertones (1979) Catchy, high-energy, and completely free of pretension, that is the perfect explanation for this album. It is incredibly good and high-energy, giving you so much in just 34 minutes of runtime. With 16 tracks, the pacing was incredible and the energy momentum was pure. I really enjoyed the Ramones, so this felt right in that same wheelhouse. I liked various tracks across the record, including "Teenage Kicks", "Get Over You", "Jimmy Jimmy", "Here Comes The Summer", plus "Family Entertainment" which was a massive intro standout. Other highlights for me were "Girls Don't Like It," "Male Model," "I Gotta Getta," "She's A Runaround," "Listening In," and "Casbah Rock," which served as an absolutely great closer. To be honest, the whole project was so great that I might even end up loving the remaining tracks because I will definitely be returning to this one. A strong 5/5.

Ojo primer disco que no había escuchado antes que se lleva las 5

Joyful, fresh poppy punk rock, full of yearning, and full of catchy hooks.

Classic punk

Timeless classic, all killers from beginning to end - love it a lot! :)

A perfect pop punk record, all killer, no filler.

Call me a basic bitch if you want but I loved everything on this album. It might be basic and I don’t use that as an insult. The driving drumming and guitars compliment Feargal Sharkie perfectly. I can imagine myself rocking out to this one in the car, on a run and in work. One of the easiest 5’s I’ve given

I must’ve heard it a billion times, but Teenage Kicks remains an entirely justified thing of wonder - it really is a perfect pop record and it sounds even more magnificent in the context of the album. I love The Undertones’ short, sharp, punchy sound - I love the songwriting, and I REALLY love Feargal Sharkey’s frantic vocal delivery. The album sounds very much of its time now, but what a time. Here Comes the Summer and Get Over You also sounded especially wonderful, and Jimmy Jimmy… and… ah, whatever. All of it. It all sounds great.

What an absolute joy of an album. It fizzes past at a rate of knots full of hooks, harmonies and fun but often with a nice lyrical edge. Not much puts a spring in your step like an Undertones song. My admiration for Feargal Sharkey knows no bounds: a writer of some of the best pop songs ever (yes I have to mention Teenage Kicks) and a vigorous champion of UK waterways. My favourite Undertones song (and some days my favourite song ever) It's Going to Happen not actually on this album but I felt I had to mention it. Glorious, off to listen to it again...

Great burst of energy, totly enjoyable

This album SLAPS!

I really really like this album. This is exactly the sort of thing. I was hoping to find when taking on this.

THIS IS A GREAT LP AND A GREAT BAND !

The Undertones are probably the biggest name band in Northern Ireland, a country that has around a million and a couple hundred thousand people. There's a lot of politics regarding the UK and the Republic of Ireland but I don't want to get too much into that trouble. By 79 punk had taken fold, new and still in vogue and these group of teenage Northern Irish (do I still say Irish? idk) took advantage of the moment to become the big punk band of a tiny country. Minor rant here: this band gets two albums on the list and the Ramones just have one. I really don't understand that. Rocket to Russia is as important as their debut. Moving on to me actually listening to the album. These guys sound very young and the energy they show off is infectious. You can hear some of the earliest examples of pop punk being formed here: a more clearly punk influenced power pop sound. Probably a lot nicer to write songs that typical schoolboys deal with, maybe as escapism with the ongoing conflict going on at the time. My favorites off this are Jump Boy, Here Comes the Summer, and Wrong Way. Definitely see the relevancy here with this inclusion and I don't know what else to add on.

Really solid punk rock. All the songs had hooks and were very catchy. I have no complaints.

I really liked this album. Really good, early punk rock that kept me interested. Sure it sounded a lot alike, but the formula is good and that's all that matters. Will be revisiting.

Fast and fun album, "blink" and you will miss half the songs. I would listen to it again.

I honestly never heard of The Undertones until earlier this week, so this was a pleasant coincidence that I was recommended an album of theirs. I didn't know what I was getting into, but I liked this album! It was a short listen, but great energy with everything.

Classic

Like if the Buzzcocks played in a garage.

Pretty great

Loved this album! I sometimes enjoy tracks that meander and have space to noodle and waste time, but punk needs to be short and to the point to keep from being overwhelming.. and the Undertones do it brilliantly here.

BOPS 10/10

5 out of 5. Great energy and all around fun to listen to.

Pretty great. I little less influenced by The Clash than their album Hypnotised. A great early pop-punk record.

Honestly a big fan of this, high 4, seemingly conventional straight forward punk rock but some cool subversion going on

Great and underrated late 70s punk record. Has a broad appeal on the same way as The Clash. It’s not just for punk fans, it can appeal to fans of early alternative and post punk as well.

What energy.

This band is great. Northern Irish Pop Punk from the 70s. Just an awesome listen.

This is the two hundred seventeenth album I’m rating. I have absolutely no idea what this, and would never listen to this if not for this list. Adding to my Playlist - Family Entertainment, Girl's Don't Like it, Male Model, I Gotta Getta, Wrong Way, Jump Boys, Here Comes the Summer, Billy's Third, Jimmy Jimmy, True Confessions, (She's a) Runaround, I Know a Girl, Listening In, and Casbah Rock. Not Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. All in all I liked 14/14 songs. I really like The Undertones.

It's been a while since I felt genuine pleasure listening to an album. Nothing like some good old-fashioned Ramones-style punk to bring me back to a good mood. 5 stars. For guys who call themselves the Undertones... they're definitely Ontone!

This...is so much more than I imagined! I think maybe it just caught me at the right place, time and mood, because I sort of recognise that it's basically just good punk-pop, but it's so filled with energy, attitude and joy that I'm going to give it the big five (just). It rattles through so pacily and leaves you fairly breathless by the end. A great discovery.

Light bouncy fun.

The pleasures here are myriad - the Nuggets-esque bell tones (Telecaster?) on the opener "Family Entertainment," the jangle of the opening riff on "I Gotta Getta," the psychedelic organ firing up on the same track, the vocal harmonies on "Jump Boys" (which I guess is the Northern Irish term for surfers?). And "Teenage Kicks" remains as great as its reputation. It's almost like they decided to write a bunch of pop-rock songs, but only the good parts (cut to a shot of young Robert Pollard in a basement in southern Ohio, furiously taking notes).

Oh god this is fucking cool. Just some good old fashioned pop-punk. Then "True Confessions (Keyboard Version) sounds completely out of this world, and then you crash back down to pop-punk Earth. Cool album. So so cool

Here's a star for every pair of Doc Martens in the picture ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💅💅

This one is in the record collection. I love this record so so so much. teenage kicks, and the rest of it, is a masterpiece.

Favorite songs: Get Over You, Jump Boys, Listening In, Teenage Kicks, Girls Don't Like It, Male Model, Here Comes the Summer, Billy's Third, I Gotta Getta, Jimmy Jimmy, (She's A) Runaround Least favorite songs: True Confessions 5/5

It was just so easy to listen to and fun and enjoyable.

Life was tough for young people growing up in Northern Ireland in the late 70s - unemployment, poverty and the troubles all loomed large, as well as the universal concerns of teen angst and heartbreak. The Undertones focussed mainly on the last two with their songs that were instantly relatable to anyone who has ever sat in their bedroom wondering if they will ever get a girlfriend / boyfriend (delete as appropriate). The late John Peel famously declared that Teenage Kicks was his favourite song of and played it twice in a row on his show. It’s still as good as it ever was, but there is a lot more to discover on this album with 16 songs clocking it at just over half an hour. It’s punk played with considerable verve and sung by Feargal Sharkey with his distinctive warbling vocals that were unlike anything else in the charts at the time.

Such a great punk vibe

When I bought my cheap copy of this on the Fame label in 1985 I thought I was acquiring an ancient relic. The album was six years old. A blink of an eye to me now. In more age related pondering I don't understand why armed with this, The Ramones and Buzzcocks you would ever want to listen to stagnant genre bound 90s/00s pop punk. People ten to twenty years younger may disagree. Pro tip: search out the punk version of True Confessions live on The Old Grey Whistle Test to fully access their youthful exuberance.

I’m riding a rare wave of 5 star albums this week, mostly from artists I’ve never heard of. Today is the Undertones’ self titled debut. A very early example of pop-punk, this one immediately grabbed me. As someone who grew up in suburbia in the 90s and 00s, pop-punk is near and dear, so it’s cool to hear the beginnings.

This is a pretty kick-ass album. They pack a lot of great tunes into 35 minutes. Favorites: I Gotta Getta, Teenage Kicks, Jump Boys, Get Over You Would I listen to it again: Yes

A pretty cool record! I just knew the name but never heard a song. But it’s very good.

Late 70s punk. I like this sound a lot.

fyre

Enjoyed

Saw these guys live. Tore the roof off.

Hey my birth year! I immediately like the genre :) Soft Punk? lol that's not a thing is it? Reminds me of I Wanna be Sedated by the Ramones. Dude this album was fucking great! 5 stars.

Great example of early punk

it's just a great album.

Never heard of these guys, but why did everyone waste so much airtime sucking off the Sex Pistols rather than elevating the Undertones to a wider audience? So good.

Own and love this album. Lived live with this band. Some of the best sounds of their generation.

Peak!

Крутий альбом

Love this one!

LOVED this album! How is it that I've never heard them before? 16 tracks in 35 minutes is perfect for this old man. I wish I would have heard this back in my middle school days when it was released. It certainly would have been one of those unforgettable albums of my youth. Now it's an unforgettable album of my elderly years.

I don’t always agree with albums being on a list of ones you should listen to, but this one definitely deserves it. The perfect distillation of late seventies punk.

The Undertones’ self-titled album is an explosion of infectious energy and catchy melodies that, while not presenting significant innovations for the punk rock genre, perfectly captures the essence of the music of the 1970s and early 1980s. The simplicity and authenticity of their songs reveal an impressive ability to create memorable tracks that remain relevant even after several decades. The Undertones are a band that, while operating within the traditional parameters of punk, demonstrate a creative potential that is worth following in the future.

Fun Buzzcocky punky power pop music.

This is a lovely album. Very playful and young tone.I liked it

The Beach Ramones.

Derry represent! Fun, infectious, silly pop punk with some timeless classics included. Fuckin belter hi