A Young Person’s Guide To Punk Rock — The Undertones
Punk for me (I was a teen when it all started) was always very much about my generation. At the time I don’t think I noticed how incredibly young we all were.
Behold the zit-filled faces of The Undertones, looking like they had to ask their mums if it was okay to go out on a school night to shoot this video for Teenage Kicks:
https://www.youtube.com/v/wAtUw6lxcis
And because the Internet is making everything instantly available, here’s footage of the band actually recording the song:
It’s quite incredible that what is arguably one of the best pop songs ever just happened to be used as an example of how records are made!
Yes, I do mean it when I say I think Teenage Kicks is one of the “best pop songs ever”. Who can argue with lyrics as unpretentious as this:
Are teenage dreams so hard to beat
Everytime she walks down the street
Another girl in the neighbourhood
Wish she was mine, she looks so good
I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
I’m gonna call her on the telephone
Have her over ‘cos I’m all alone
I need excitement oh I need it bad
And its the best, I’ve ever had
I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
I only saw The Undertones once, opening for The Clash but I’ve always had a soft spot for them.