13/08/2010

Michael Bradley, bassist with punk legends, the Undertones

“I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night”

Over thirty years since Teenage Kicks first took the music world by storm, the anthem of the punk movement continues to reach a whole new audience at the as Derry punk legends the Undertones have rolled back the years this summer which has already seen them play venues in Ireland, Scotland, France and England and will conclude at the Templehouse Festival in Ballymote, County Sligo on September 8.

Punk stardom

With originals Michael Bradley, Damien and John O’Neill and Billy Doherty joined by new vocalist Paul McLoone, The Undertones mark two are having as much fun as back in the glory days of the late seventies, when a combination of Teenage Kicks, an appearance on Top of the Pops and the support of the late great John Peel helped catapult them to punk stardom.

A natural home

For bassist Michael Bradley, now a producer with Radio Foyle in his native city, punk, with its home grown, anyone can have a go attitude, was perfect for Derry where playing music was part of normal life and resources were, to put it mildly, limited.

Part of life

“There was someone playing in a band in every street”, he says. “My father, for instance, played in a ceili band and played the accordion in bars. By the time I started hanging out with the O’Neill brothers (John and Damian) we were all into guitars. It was just part of life here.”

Origins

It was that teenage friendship with the O’Neills that would lead to the formation of the Undertones. Joined by drummer Billy Doherty and vocalist Feargal Sharkey, they became well known locally by 1977 for high-octane performances at venues like the Casbah. Influenced by bands like the Rolling Stones, Cream and Dr Feelgood, they began to be impressed by the music they were hearing of the fledgling punk movement, like the Sex Pistols, Damned and Ramones, on Radio One DJ John Peel’s show.

Fast songs

While their own music influences were broad, it was the ethos of punk that really attracted them. “The attitude and inspiration were very much punk - fast songs played on guitar, songs that anyone could play” Michael says. “We liked the humour in punk too, the whole idea of God Save the Queen, for instance, the way bands like the Sex Pistols and Ramones didn’t take themselves seriously.”

All in a name

The Ramones were a particular favourite. When drummer Billy Doherty found the name Undertones in a book, it gelled with the others because of its similar sound to the New York outfit. Proud to be Derry’s first (and for some time only) punk band, The Undertones had what Michael sees as two crucial years creating their own identity. ‘We didn’t come out of a punk scene, so weren’t influenced by other punk bands. That whole live thing we developed ourselves,” he says.

Teenage Kicks

Expectations of success were not high, even when they recorded Teenage Kicks on an EP for Terri Hooley’s Good Vibrations record label in Belfast in 1978. “We were really messing at that point,” Michael says. “Feargal was about to leave and I persuaded him to stay until we made a record. But we certainly didn’t think Teenage Kicks was going to change anything. I remember in the O’Neill’s house, where all the decisions were made, playing it on John’s very basic record player and there was a general feeling of disappointment, of thinking this isn’t great”.

Success

Thankfully, the band members were just about the only ones who felt that way. Within the space of a few weeks, Sire Records, a major record label who had signed the Ramones and Talking Heads (and who would launch the career of Madonna), signed the band, John Peel began playing the single and the band made their first Top of the Pops appearance. So, what made Teenage Kicks so special?

Unrequited love

“I read somewhere that what made it unusual was that a teenager was describing things as a teenager, which is something teenagers don’t usually do and there’s something in that”, Michael says. “John (who wrote the song) always said his inspiration was the Brill Building (the New York building where many classic 60s teen pop songs were written) and there was something of the US teen romance about it. It’s a classic unrequited love song”.

Proud of Derry

Despite the success that followed, the band remained true to Derry, only leaving for short tours or recording in London or Holland. “We were really based in the O’Neill’s house”, Michael says. “That’s where John wrote the songs and we continued to practise in Damian’s bedroom, even when we had records in the charts. It wouldn’t happen now. The only difference was that when we turned professional we could practise in the day. Looking back it’s something I’m proud of, we always stayed in Derry and it kept our feet on the ground”.

My Perfect Cousin

Nothing typified that attitude more than when top film director Julian Temple (The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle) filmed the video of My Perfect Cousin in the O’Neill’s house in Beechwood Avenue. As filming took place in the kitchen the film lights suddenly went out and the crew were hurriedly despatched to the local shop to get enough coins to keep the electricity meter fed for the rest of the shoot!

Touring with the Clash

Michael recalls touring the US with the Clash in September 79 as one of the highlights of that time. “That was brilliant, they asked us to support them and it was the Clash at their peak, playing the material that would end up on London Calling. The US wasn’t quite ready for punk then but it was an incredible experience. We had actually asked them to play in Derry at a free concert we were organising that summer but Joe Strummer received a death threat because he had called for British troops to be withdrawn. He was fair shook up, as we say here, so sadly it didn’t happen”.

Back in the USA

The Undertones returned to the US in 1980 but didn’t stay for long enough to really crack the American scene. “Four weeks away from Derry was about all we could stand,” Michael says, “and you need far more time than that to really break through over there”.

John Peel

A more recent highlight was the visit of John Peel to Derry in 2001 to see the band he loved in their home town, the film of which was produced by Undertones fan Vinny Cunningham and shot by Derry’s BAFTA award-winning cameraman Mark McCauley. “John was really generous with his time and loved it”, Michael recalls. “It almost put a seal on the band, meeting John Peel again”.

“The song by which all others must be judged”

Peel, who was sadly to die three years later, had long proclaimed Teenage Kicks, which always made him cry, his favourite song. Indeed he had written that he wanted the lyrics of the song “by which all others must be judged” to be written on his headstone. And so ‘Teenage Dreams. So hard to beat’, along with his name, is all that is engraved.

Fantastic legacy

The original band split up in 1983, leaving a fantastic legacy of recorded music, including four albums, The Undertones (1979), Hypnotised (1980), Positive Touch (1981) and The Sin of Pride (1983). Along with Teenage Kicks and My Perfect Cousin, singles like Jimmy Jimmy, Wednesday Week, Here Comes Summer and You’ve Got My Number all made an impression on the charts.

Mark Two

The second coming of the Undertones had its roots in a Saw Doctors’ concert where Billy, Michael, and the O’Neill brothers (who had gone on to play in the highly acclaimed That Petrol Emotion) joined them for a rendition of Teenage Kicks. Soon after the band were asked to play live at the opening of the Nerve Centre in Derry in late 1999. There the new singer, Paul McLoone, made his debut, proving he could fill Feargal Sharkey’s shoes, and the band have played irregularly ever since.

Radio Foyle

A successful producer at Radio Foyle since 1989 (he currently produces the morning news and current affairs show of Sarah Brett) Michael says the music scene has changed dramatically since the Undertones played their first gigs at the Casbah. “In 1978 we were the only band in Derry writing their own songs, now there are hundreds. It’s part of the culture now, you get to 15/16 and you play in at least one band. It’s not out of reach anymore. People participate here. The strength of the arts here is that arts organisations come from people who are passionate and drive them, like Pauline Ross at the Playhouse, and aren’t a government intervention. That’s why they survive and prosper”.

City of Culture

“I’m delighted to see Derry get it because it will change this place for the better. It will open a lot of eyes and give people here a better perspective of the outside world and vice versa. It would also be a great pat on the back for all those people in the arts here who have worked so hard to make this a better place for years.”

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