Teenage Kicks

"Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by J.J. O'Neill, the band's rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Belfast record label Good Vibrations,[6] before the band signed to Sire Records on 2 October 1978. Sire Records subsequently obtained all copyrights to the material released upon the Teenage Kicks EP and the song was re-released as a standard vinyl single on Sire's own label on 14 October that year, reaching number 31 in the UK Singles Chart[7] two weeks after its release[8]

For other uses, see Teenage Kicks (disambiguation).
"Teenage Kicks"
Single by The Undertones
from the album The Undertones
B-side"True Confessions"
Released21 October 1978 (21 October 1978)
Recorded
Genre
Length2:28
LabelSire
Songwriter(s)J. J. O'Neill
The Undertones singles chronology
"Teenage Kicks"
(1978)		 "Get Over You"
(1979)
Teenage Kicks
EP by
The Undertones
ReleasedSeptember 1978 (1978-09)
Recorded15 June 1978
Studio
  • Wizard Studios
  • (Belfast)
Length7:51
Label
ProducerDavy Shannon
Alternative cover
Fold-out of sleeve of original Good Vibrations release of Teenage Kicks EP
Music video
"Teenage Kicks" on YouTube

The single was not included upon the original May 1979 release of the band's debut album The Undertones; however, the October 1979 re-release of this debut album included both "Teenage Kicks" and the Undertones' second single, "Get Over You".

Influential BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel is known to have repeatedly stated "Teenage Kicks" to be his all-time favourite song from 1978 until his death in 2004. When he first played the song on his show on 25 September, he played the song twice (something he had never previously done).[9] Peel also specifically requested sections of the lyrics of the song be engraved upon his tombstone.[10] The song has also been ranked as the second best indie song of all time in a 2016 poll conducted by an alternative music radio station (after "Freak Scene" by Dinosaur Jr.).[11]

In 2008, the song served as the theme song to the ITV sitcom of the same name.

The song Teenage Kicks features prominently in Season 3, Episode 5 of the television series Derry Girls ("The Reunion") which aired in 2022. In a flashback to 1977 (a slight inaccuracy), a cover band plays the song, referring to it as "our national anthem".[12][13]

Impact

John Peel

Upon first hearing "Teenage Kicks" in September 1978, BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel is reported to have burst into tears, and readily admitted to still being moved to tears upon hearing the song in interviews granted to journalists up until his death.[14] To judge songs he had heard for the first time as to worthiness of airplay upon his show, Peel often rated new bands' songs with a series of asterisks, with each song judged upon a scale of one to five asterisks: Peel was so taken by "Teenage Kicks", he awarded the song 28 stars. On one occasion, he is known to have played the song twice in a row, with the explanation given to his audience being, "It doesn't get much better than this."[15]

In a 2001 interview given to The Guardian, Peel stated that apart from his name, the only words he wished to be engraved upon his gravestone were the opening lyrics to "Teenage Kicks": "Teenage dreams so hard to beat"[16]

In February 2008, a headstone engraved with these words was placed on his grave in the Suffolk village of Great Finborough.[17][18]

In 2004, a mural in tribute to Peel, featuring the opening line of "Teenage Kicks", appeared on a Belfast flyover.[n 1]

Documentaries
  • Teenage Kicks - The Undertones is a 2001 documentary film directed by Tom Collins.[21]
  • Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story is a 2012 BBC-commissioned documentary focusing upon the Undertones.[22] The documentary was broadcast on BBC Four in September that year. This documentary also features interviews with current and former members of the Undertones (with the exception of Feargal Sharkey) in addition to fans, friends and additional personnel involved in the band's recordings and career.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWritten byLength
1."Teenage Kicks"J. J. O'Neill2:26
2."True Confessions"J. J. O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Damian O'Neill1:53
Side two
No.TitleWritten byLength
1."Smarter Than U"J. J. O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Billy Doherty1:36
2."Emergency Cases"J. J. O'Neill1:56

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Covers

The Waco Brothers covered "Teenage Kicks" on their 2023 album The Men That God Forgot.

Notes
  1. This mural was removed in 2013.[19] However, following a public outcry, the mural was reinstated in March 2015.[20]

References
  1. Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone ISBN 978-1-78558-180-9 p. 60
  2. Eileen (1 July 2013). "News: Controversial Removal of "Teenage Kicks" Graffiti Piece in Ireland". 12ozPROPHET. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2013. The 'Teenage Kicks' mural was a reference to the 1978 punk rock song by the Undertones,
  3. Claps, Andy. "Teenage Kicks - The Undertones | Song Info". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2013. It is now widely acknowledged as a classic -- a pop-punk standard that continues to point the way for countless bands on both sides of the Atlantic.
  4. Runtagh, Jordan (8 April 2014). "Catchy, Loud and Proud: 20 Essential Power Pop Tracks That Will Be Stuck In Your Head Forever". VH1. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  5. Ross, Graeme (7 June 2018). "Playlist: 10 best new wave singles of 1978". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26.
  6. The Undertones.com. "Singles-Historical". Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  7. "Undertones". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  8. "Official Singles Chart Top 40: 29 October 1978 - 04 November 1978". officialcharts.com. 29 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  9. Cavanagh, David (2015). Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Life. London: Faber & Faber Ltd. ISBN 978-0-571-30248-2.
  10. "John Peel Gets Teenage Kicks Epitaph". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  11. "All Time Top 50 Indie Songs". www.23indie.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  12. Brookover, Sophie (9 October 2022). "Derry Girls Recap: Teenage Kicks". Vulture. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  13. Poniewozik, James (6 October 2022). "'Derry Girls': And Now Their Troubles Are Ended". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  14. "John Peel on the Undertones". The Guardian. November 2, 2001. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  15. "John Peel gets Teenage Kicks epitaph". www.telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  16. "So hard to beat". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. 2 November 2001. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  17. "DJ Peel's song sets the tone for gravestone". Edp24.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  18. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33160597/john-peel
  19. "Teenage Kicks lyrics mural removed from Belfast flyover". BBC.co.uk. 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  20. "Mural returns without Peel tribute". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  21. "Teenage Kicks: The Undertones (2001)". IMDb. 18 January 2015. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  22. "Here Comes The Summer : The Undertones Story". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  23. "The Undertones – Teenage Kicks" (in French). Les classement single.
  24. "British single certifications – Undertones – Teenage Kicks". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  25. Richard James (9 December 2012). "One Direction to record Red Nose Day 2013 single - Metro News". Metro. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
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