THE BLANK GENERATION

Welcome to My Television, or MTV for short, a new series reviewing DVDs that I recently rented or purchased. Today's offering is Teenage Kicks: The Story of the Undertones, the companion documentary to the 2003 release of the band's same-titled best-of compilation. The CD is available in the states only as an import, which is fine since it's really no better than the group's domestic best-of comp, The Very Best of..., released in 1994. I have no clue if we can purchase the DVD in the States, but you might be able to find a copy at your local independent video store, if you're as lucky as I am to have a wonderful store like That's Rentertainment nearby.

The film begins on an odd note. John Peel is our host for the documentary, which is only fitting since he broke the band in 1977 and proclaimed their stud song "Teenage Kicks" to be his favorite single of all time. The awkward moment occurs when Peel announces that he wants the lyric "teenage kicks so hard to beat" inscribed on his tombstone. The film was released in 2001, and obviously at that time no one saw Peel's untimely death as immediate. Still, it was a chilling pronouncement for these ears considering how recent ago Peel passed away.

Peel serves as our tour guide as he walks around the Northern Ireland town of Derry, where the Undertones formed, in a Fat Possum t-shirt. Four-fifths of the band joins him, as they recreate old photo opps like the one below. Missing in action is singer Feargal Sharkey, who just happens to have one of the best names of any frontman in rock and roll history. Sharkey and the band seemed to be politely estranged to this day. However, Sharkey is interviewed and featured in the film, independent of his former bandmates. Filling in for Sharkey in the photo is Peel (second from left).




The following realization is striking: when these guys first broke on the strength of that great single, "Teenage Kicks," they were incredibly young—all between the ages of 16 and 20. The group had mailed Peel their demo, and he responded approvingly, suggesting that they get in to a studio in a hurry. (His letter was signed, "the world's most boring man.") The Undertones did just that, and they began gigging in clubs like the Casbah Bar in their hometown around 1977.

Irish journalist Eamonn McCann covered the band in those days, and remembers that the group was the focal point of plenty of resentment, suspicion, and hostility because they were non-conformists in sharp contrast to fellow contemporaries like The Clash or The Sex Pistols. As anyone who is familiar with their music can attest, The Undertones were not your typical punk band in that their songs were not angry and full of spite; rather, they were almost fun, full of yearning and focused on subjects very otherworldly for their Irish kin: girls, the weather and candy bars, for example. Despite existing in a community at war (the Irish Republican Army was making plenty of noise in those days), The Undertones did not come across as a band that was "full of angry, ugly sounds, and snarling at the world," to quote McCann. To Sharkey and Co., revolution meant rebelling against the general attitude of the youth that surrounded them. Their statement of opposition: aim for the mainstream.

Sharkey says he held no misperception that by showing up on stage and performing angry music they were suddenly going to heal a country that had been ripped apart for hundreds of years. So, The Undertones embraced escapism instead of lecturing their audiences. "It was three pints of Guinness and hallelujah! Here comes Saturday night!" remembered Sharkey.

The documentary features a few "music videos" and live performances that are quite revealing, shedding light on a band that loved to have fun and act goofy, even on stage. The group would eventually become more political (in disguised songs like "It's Gonna Happen," which is about Ireland's hunger strikes against Britain), but overall they felt that they could best serve their countrymen by providing an substitute for grief and hostility.

Seymour Stein certainly heard no negative energy in the group's sound when he signed them to Sire. Stein recounts driving down the road in his limo on the way to a Searchers concert and hearing Peel spin "Teenage Kicks." In no time, the band was signed to his label. Starkey remembers calling his bandmates during a meeting with Stein in the singer's living room, which was decorated with singing awards he had won at Catholic School. Stein was offering 16,000 pounds as an advance, which Starkey communicated to the rest of the band. Their response: "Let's ask for 60,000. Tell 'em we want the same deal as The Clash." Stein could be heard going apeshit on the other end of the phone. But, the boys got their wish.




They toured America with The Clash, amongst others. But, touring was not something The Undertones were fond of. Some of the members were simply homesick, and favored remaining close to friends, family, and significant others. But the band's introduction to the fast lane was memorable. Upon being offered their choice of restaurants after performing on Top of the Pops, they chose McDonald's. None of them had ever eaten at one.

The documentary focuses primarily on the band's early years, and spends little effort walking the viewer through the group's maturation and eventual dissolution. It's clear that Sharkey was against the balance of his band from the start. He had a job, while the others didn't. Hence, he also had more money. And, as the group matured, Sharkey's desires shifted as his musical interests developed. A clip from the group's last televised concert in 1983, some four months before the band would break up, shows Sharkey on stage with his fingers in his ears. His subsequent solo career produced a number one hit, a god awful pop cover of Maria McKee's "A Good Heart." Needless to say, he was ready to go in a different musical direction from his bandmates, two of which went on to form That Petrol Emotion, who were quite good for a brief while.

The band reunited in 1999, sans the uninterested Sharkey, and never looked back. The documentary includes live footage of the reformed unit, with fellow Derry vocalist Paul McLoone in Sharkey's place. It's proof positive that while you can retrace your steps, you're bound to have a few missteps along the way.

Overall, Teenage Kicks was worth the rental fee. In addition to featuring a few non-hits like "Jump Boys" that will be fresh to those who only own the greatest hits comp, the documentary's inclusion of early live shows was entertaining in adding a face to a group that had only previously existed to me in sound. The footage was surprisingly crisp as well. Those who used to attend my DJ gigs and requested "Teenage Kicks" (that means you, Erik) will definitely find something of interest in this video.

But the documentary could have been better. I want to know how "Teenage Kicks," which I, too, feel is one of the best punk songs ever written, came to fruition. It's always interesting to discover how a band like this rose to fame, and while this video takes a healthy stab at it, ultimately it misses some key points of interest along the way. How about additional interviews with contemporaries of The Undertones to gain a better understanding of how they were viewed by other musicians, and how they fit into the scene as a whole. I could have done with a shorter walk down memory lane, and a little more commentary and opinion.

N/P—The Undertones, "Mars Bar"

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 5 at 7:56 PM.

1 Comments:

Thanks for this post, you inspired me to bust out my Undertones LPs...underplayed in recent years. This was one of the first bands I remember getting turned on to when I first started working at Co-Op back in '94.

I love that about blogs, just the randomness of it all. I also pulled out an old Howlin' Wolf record tonight after reading a post on it on some mp3 blog (can't remember which).

N/P "Family Entertainment"

By  Jonathan Wright, at 9:45 PM  

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