2016 marks the 40th Anniversary of The Undertones and birth of punk, and to celebrate this milestone, Union Square Music are pleased to announce the 2016 vinyl remaster and digital release of the band’s highly acclaimed first two albums; ‘The Undertones – The Undertones’ + ‘The Undertones – Hypnotised’. Released 7th October, both LPs are remastered from the original tapes and produced on 180g heavyweight vinyl with original replicated artwork.

Also released is a 2016 7” remix of the classic 1979 single ‘Get Over You’. Remixed by Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine/Primal Scream), the single was remixed from the original multi track tape and available on 180g heavyweight red vinyl.

One of the best bands to come out of Northern Ireland, The Undertones took youth adoration from glam-rock and gave it the stripped-down simplicity and energy of punk to create 3 minute, slam-bang punk-pop. Released in 1979, the band’s self-titled debut album was recorded at Eden Studios, London.

Including the singles ‘Here Comes the Summer’, ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ and the seminal ‘Teenage Kicks’. The album is based around simple, 4 chord punk songs, but executed with so much enthusiasm, you cannot help but smile all the way through. The Undertones’ second album Hypnotised, released the following year, was part recorded at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands in and Eden Studios. Produced by Roger Bechirian.

Formed in Derry in 1974, The Undertones consisted of the O’Neill brothers – John and Damian on guitars, Michael Bradley on bass, Billy Doherty on drums, and Feargal Sharkey on vocals. Even by the standards of that decade, Derry was not the rock and roll capital of anywhere. Like countless others, punk rock fired their imagination and they learned to play by listening to mail order records.

With little success initially, the band were on the verge of quitting when the small but influential Belfast label ‘Good Vibrations’ took them on. The song ‘Teenage Kicks’ was released as their debut single in September 1978 and although it failed to chart, it did attract the attention of the BBC’s John Peel. A tale of adolescent yearnings, its greatest strength lies in its simplicity from the buzzsaw guitars to the two angst-ridden verses and the singalong chorus. Peel played it incessantly, proclaiming it the greatest single ever, and it helped the band win a major label deal with Sire Records who re-released it, resulting in the band’s first appearance on Top of the Pops. Over the next five years before their eventual split in 1983, The Undertones released four studio albums and thirteen singles.

The band continue to tour and perform at venues and festivals throughout the UK and Europe and are set to embark on a 12-date 40th Anniversary UK tour this autumn.

2016 also marks the 40th anniversary of punk. The loud, take-no-prisoners genre smashed its way onto the UK’s music scene in the 70s and in particular in London in 1976 when two key moments helped spark the punk fervour: the Ramones’ July gig at the Roundhouse, and the release of the Sex Pistols’ anthem-like debut single, ‘Anarchy in the U.K.’ Punk not only changed music but also art, fashion and vulture forever, giving many young disillusioned young people a voice for the first time.

UK tour dates:

AUGUST
Fri 26th YORK Fibbers
Sat 27th STOKE ON TRENT The Sugarmill
OCTOBER
Thur 20th SOUTHAMPTON Engine Rooms
Fri 21st BRISTOL O2 Academy
Sat 22nd LEAMINGTON SPA The Assembly
Thur 27th GATESHEAD Sage
Fri 28th HOLMFIRTH The Picturedrome
Sat 29th MANCHESTER Academy
NOVEMBER
Fri 11th ABERDEEN The Garage
Sat 12th GLASGOW The Garage
Sun 13th AYR Town Hall
Thur 17th BURY ST EDMUNDS The Apex
Fri 18th NORWICH The Waterfront
Sat 19th LONDON O2 Forum