Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone (Michael Bradley)

Michael Bradley
Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone

God almighty why didn't I learn the bass when I was 14 instead of in my 50's. Ah well, you shouldn't live life with regrets just do what you wanna do at the time. I guess this is the essence of this book and the story of The Undertones. Act your age (i.e. immature when a teenager) and have fun. Whilst trying to find the cheapest food (free if available). Mickey has his own take on The Undertones adventure and I'm sure the others will have their own stories. This story is a simple one of friends getting into punk rock, forming a band in the musical wastelands (i.e. no other punk rock groups, this was year zero when no previous music mattered) of Derry (aka Londonderry but let's stay with Derry as our heroes support the Free Derry movement if you catch my drift) and making it big before imploding due to musical differences. OK, maybe not imploding but fizzling out due to boredom. I always thought of the band as on the poppier side of punk and I still think that they are the pop side of the punk coin as opposed to the hard rock side of the Ramones. But they are definitely the same coin and The Undertones' simple tunes have lasted the test of time. John Peel saw that straight away. I always wondered why he thought Teenage Kicks was the best song ever. Especially given his eclectic taste and at that time he was playing what we now think of as post punk. I now know why he thought that. Five Derry boys not immersed in the London or mainland trend scene creating classic punk rock direct from their influences of New York proto punk, British glam and Bowie with a bit of rock thrown in. And Irish traditional music channeled through Feargal. 7 inches of pure heaven that everyone loves. Yeah of course it was played at my wedding. Maybe the most played punk song ever: surely at weddings? And my kids know it not from me forcing punk rock credentials into their ears (this isn't my first choice of punk education) but from adverts and backing music to you tube videos. Other songs by The Undertones are available.

Back to the book. After learning about their start as a band their rise to stardom is charted with a leg up by my mate Gavin Martin who first wrote about them in a Bangor fanzine called Alternative Ulster and in the NME. They were soon on Top of the Pops and then touring the UK and creating albums. I won't go into the details as the book's not that long to read but it has a homely feel as they always return to Derry and live lives normally (OK, without working as such, which probably wasn't that uncommon in the late 70s early 80s anyway) rather than moving to London to live the life of rock stars. The Undertones seem more interested in getting their tea and toast in the morning and playing footie than getting laid by groupies and jacking up. Men of the people. Kids. Likeable. The end of the band seems to be due to boredom but as I say, there's probably another side (or 4) to that. I hope that Michael has enjoyed his life not as a rock star as much as he would have had he gone all out to conquer America. I'm sure he has and he knows he's made some truly classic records. I regret not playing a few gigs (there's still time, just about) but would I have enjoyed life in a celebrity bubble as a punk rock bassist? Living in LA surrounded by sex and drugs and rock and roll? Definitely not. I'd miss cycling in London which, as Mickey points out, I sometimes think is the best thing ever. It isn't of course.