When Derry City lifted last season’s FAI Cup at the Aviva, their jubilant supporters celebrated by singing Teenage Kicks, by The Undertones, which is the greatest Irish single of all time, hands down.
In 1999, Paul McLoone more than admirably stepped into Sharkey’s shoes
Crowds at soccer matches singing a song clearly indicates the artist in question has made a profound impact on popular culture. While it beautifully illustrates the song’s evergreen appeal, the rest of the band’s back catalogue isn’t as widely appreciated. This is a pity, because their first two albums, now lavishly reissued on coloured vinyl, are chock-a-block with razor-sharp pop-punk anthems.
The title of the opening track of their second album, Hypnotised, which peaked at number six in the UK albums chart, puts it best: More Songs About Chocolate and Girls. These songs haven’t aged a day and still sound vital and fresh. Feargal Sharkey was one of the great unsung singers of the punk and post-punk era, prior to his solo career and environmental activism.
In 1999, Paul McLoone more than admirably stepped into Sharkey’s shoes, steering the band into the 21st century as a perennial live attraction. If you’re unfamiliar with this cracking pair of reissues, you’re very lucky. There’s lots of gold to discover in their oeuvre, and this is an excellent place to start.
To quote their own lyric, which is etched on John Peel’s tombstone, a teenage dream is still hard to beat.
