“We were street urchins from war-torn Derry who battled their way through clouds of tear gas to play punk rock.”
Well, that’s what they thought on Top of the Pops, anyway. So writes Michael Bradley, bass guitarist with the Undertones and a man who freely admits he never takes anything too seriously.
“I would probably be the best in the band at telling stories about the band, and occasionally people would say to me that I should write it all down.”
The result is Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone.
“I used to say I didn’t want to write a book because I would hate it if I turned up in Bargain Books and saw 100 copies sitting there for 50p each. That still might happen,” he laughs.
This is Bradley’s version of the band’s story, from its formation by a group of friends at St Peter’s High School in Derry in 1976 until their breakup in 1983.
He covers all the landmarks you’d expect – their first record, their first appearance on Top of the Pops, and the now famous tale of John Peel playing Teenage Kicks twice in a row – in a tone that is as fresh and authentic as the day when Billy Doherty asked in a tent in Bundoran if he wanted to be in a band.
“OK. D’you want more beans? Not exactly Lennon and McCartney at Woolton Fete but it was good enough for me,” writes Bradley.
It reads like a memoir of the youth we all wish we had had, as told by your best friend.
“It was fun. I think it’s because it happened so fast for us and it happened without any great effort on our part. In the summer of 1978 we had made Teenage Kicks in Belfast. It hadn’t come out yet but it was one of those great summers, we used to play in the Casbah in Derry and then walk home.
“We would stay out until two or three in the morning just standing at a street corner talking with the rest of the boys. In September the record came out and we were on Top of the Pops and signed to a record label, all without ever going to London.”
As the book came together, Bradley explains, themes emerged “that we never ever took it seriously, that like any other band we had arguments and fights, and that we always based ourselves in Derry.”
The city is a constant and Bradley readily admits Derry made the Undertones what they were.
“Derry influenced us because it was so contained. Our influences came from records, and the NME. Your whole world was punk, the latest records, and being in the band, because we were very tight-knit. You just accepted everything else, you didn’t moan about it.
“Of course we all had views. We were all Derry Catholics, and I do talk about the hunger strikes in the book, but I knew I couldn’t write a good song about the Troubles.
“I don’t think anybody’s written a good song about the Troubles. It’s hard to do without becoming cliched. If you were to write a song about the Troubles, it would have to be in black and white, but in reality there are layers to it.”
“Our songs were influenced by people like the Ramones, and Derry was an influence because we stayed there and we had support there, we had great relations and great friends.
“Derry has changed. It’s better but it’s also worse, and obviously nobody has jobs any more.
“I much preferred being a teenager in the late 70s because you didn’t know everything instantly and you had that great process of discovering bands.
“We were very lucky because we were the only band in Derry. Nowadays there are at least 20 bands like the Undertones, writing their own songs, playing, trying to make it. And cheap guitars are really good these days. I’m always amazed by that.”
If Derry has changed, so too have the Undertones. The record that reached No 31 in the British charts in 1978 has taken on a life of its own.
“Teenage Kicks has now become a phrase,” acknowledges Bradley. “It’s left us now. It’s out there, it’s common currency, people use it, and I don’t mind that.”
Does this mean they have finally become mainstream?
“I wouldn’t like to be thought of as a rebel at my age. It works for Eamonn McCann, it works for Keith Richards, but I don’t think it works for anybody in a band really.
“I’m happy enough with the way it worked out, and I think the book is kind of a book about people, about it working out, and about things coming to a natural conclusion.”
Part of that working out was the reforming of the band 17 years ago, with Paul McLoone replacing Feargal Sharkey on vocals. The Undertones continue to perform regularly.
“It’s a very different thing now because we are playing mostly old songs. It’s a kind of hobby, it’s like going away fishing with your friends.”
This year the Undertones are celebrating their 40th anniversary with performances – an Undertone never says “gigs” – in Dublin, Belfast, England and Europe.
“Will we ever stop? Yes. Once one person decides it’s enough, I think that’ll be it. When the bus stops, we’ll all get off at the same time.”
Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone by Michael Bradley is published by Omnibus Press and priced at £16.99
Freya McClements is a writer and arts journalist based in Derry
