It's April 1983 and The Undertones return to the UK to tour for the first time in two years, promoting their new album 'Sin Of Pride'. Like many of the 'New Wave' bands who made it through from the heady days of '77 to '79, the 'Tones were facing the up hill battle of staying relevant in an increasingly throw away pop market. They did it with a knowingly '60's tinged album, the aforementioned 'Sin Of Pride'.
I wasn't really listening to The Undertones at the time, only being aware of the single releases coming from their last two studio albums, but as was the case with 'Feline', I have more understanding now as to what they were looking to achieve than I would have had at the time. I imagine that many fans of the band who were looking for their 'Teenage Kicks' in perpetuity found themselves sitting somewhere on the change curve between shock and depression... and that was before Feargal realised his ambition to become a male model for real!
In this short NME interview, Feargal, Michael, John and Damian discuss the challenges of finding new direction.
New Musical Express (2nd April 1983)
TUMBLING OFF the ferry into Liverpool, to tour these shores after a two year absence, The Undertones weren't showing the slightest hint of first night nerves.
Though a declining level of impact might indicate a crisis point in their career, 'The Sin Of Pride' is fresh on the racks brimming with strengths and far and away their most inspired LP to date. 'Got To Have You Back' - a lively interpretation of The Isley Brothers - is making the right moves, and performing live, their music very often surpasses its studio confines. Feargal's in a good mood:
"'Got To Have You Back' has gone in the charts at 83 first week of release, which is in fact the highest first week charting we have ever had. I was really surprised about the whole bloody thing - so I'm very optimistic about it; I really am. Especially when they played it on Round Table the other week and the bass player from Earth Wind And Fire was on and he raved about it.
"When people like that go so Over the top about your records ..... well it was the last thing I expected. So I'm quite pleased with myself, and I'm not afraid to admit it! The main thing that worried me about it was that people would say Oh Jesus, they’ve got no songs of their own. But anyone who has listened to the LP will know that that point is proven totally wrong."
The cheek of 'Love Parade' and the heat of 'The Sin Of Pride', seems to point to a touch (albeit positive) of '60s infatuation. "We were talking to some people from a magazine earlier today, and someone made the remark that the '60s was three people having a party and everyone else looking for it. We don't make a big deal about it though - we're trying to be ourselves and write our own songs and do them the way we know to do them. Perhaps in the way we use melody lines, and especially backing vocals, there may be a connection; but as long as it's a healthy connection then I don't see why not. And it's not like in anyway, shape or form are we sitting listening to '60s records 24 hours a day, stealing every half decent idea they ever had. I think there's a very subtle but important difference between the feel of the song and the actual content and arrangement. I, call it more 'emotion' than '60s.
"I think it's a fairly healthy thing if we actually have some conviction in what we're playing in the studio at that particular minute in time, and if that comes across on record then I'm very pleased about it because it's something we felt a lot of the previous records had lacked. That thing we get playing live on stage didn't come across the same on record. And we had sat around and talked and thought about it a lot, and gone in and tried to get the same emotion. And call it what you want, I'm very pleased about the fact that it has come across. But I wouldn't call it '60s-I would say more that we're being honest about the whole bloody thing instead of trying to make a contrived record."
"I'm listening to a lot of '60s things now and again," offers Dee who has contributed more to this LP than ever before. "Psychedelia, Nuggets, Left Bank. Some of the songs on the LP, maybe you could tell. As long as you don't do it in the way Mari Wilson does it. My girlfriend's from America and she's very '60s, and I heard her LPs and they're brilliant. 'Sin of Pride', the song, was actually influenced by a Left Bank song called' Pretty Ballerina'. I mean it doesn't sound a bit like it, but it was meant to originally. Someone should cover that song because it's so good."
Why choose to release a cover version, rather than one-of your own songs? "Because we want a hit" is Michael's fast reply.
But it's not that well known.
"Well we're certainly not going to go 'Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey' ..... It's bouncy and poppy. We just picked it."
The reasoning behind the group's lengthy silence depends a lot on who you ask. Feargal: "I think we were right in doing what we did, because I think the LP is really really good. And at the end of the day if the record's good then we made the right decision rather than just doing a rehash of 'Jimmy Jimmy' 12 times, sticking it out and saying this is our new LP folks - rush out in your millions and buy it."
Michael: "It's better being away two years and coming back with something good, than being there all the time and coming up with something shit."
Dee: "It's good for the development of songs. But there's no way it's good to take a year break for any group - it's ridiculous. I think some of us aren't pulling our weight”.
"You can't force it," Michael answers "If you force it you get stuff like 'My Perfect Cousin' ..... "
"I'm not ashamed of that one bit. I think it's great," replies Dee.
"I am,” retorts Michael "It's trite."
Whatever their feelings on the subject, the absence has highlighted their declining popularity.
“Last year when we were doing naff all and nothing was going right, we weren't touring, had no records out, I wrote 'Untouchable', which is just a song about frustration. After 'Positive Touch', 'Julie Ocean' was released and it didn't do very well; and 'Beautiful Friend' flopped .... 'Untouchable' - it's like you can't reach the charts anymore" says Dee.
"Punk has been a waste of time I think," adds John. "We used to make a big deal about us being ordinary people-like we're no different from anybody that buys our records. And we've suffered from it because we haven't sold that many records. Like' Positive Touch' sold less than 'Hypnotised', and 'Hypnotised' sold less than the first LP. People want To have something to look up to. They want to have heroes…. People want glamour, they want all that. And they don't want anything that's sort of down there. Why are working class people voting Conservative and not voting for the Labour Party? Well it's the same thing - you can relate it in the same way.
"It's a pretty sad reflection ..... You have to think about publicity, photographs. I thought that the way we were was good enough that I could relate to it if I wasn't in the group. And I thought that was great. But it's not that simple. This time now though, it's like starting over again. Partly because we haven't toured England for two years, but also because we've put all this effort into it. Plus this LP - well we think it's a great LP. Great songs."
So there's been a bit of smartening up going on. Any other change in attitude'?
"More arrogant," says Dee. "We're definitely more arrogant. "
"I would call It professional," Feargal offers. "A lot of people were saying we're a great band live. It got to the stage probably in the past 18 months, two years, when we actually got a chance to watch other bands and see what the hell they were doing. And as far as playing live goes, we're fairly good value for money, and that's that. We’re not professional to the extent where we say the same ad-lib lines between the songs. We're not that bad!"
"We haven't got slick ," Dee confirms. "You don't see many groups making mistakes and we are one group that makes mistakes - so there's nothing wrong with that .. "
"It's like a built-in safety mechanism, " adds Feargal. "But I don't think we’ll ever get to the stage where it becomes so rehearsed that it's just a bore live. Because if it seems to be heading that way in rehearsals we just pack up and go home. So that when it comes round to playing in front of an audience there is that little bit extra there, for us to grasp at. That's the main thing that I think makes an Undertones concert different from everybody elses; and why people keep coming back."
They clean their teeth, wash their feet and take to the stage like ducks to water. And it seems perfectly likely that people will always keep coming back.
Though a declining level of impact might indicate a crisis point in their career, 'The Sin Of Pride' is fresh on the racks brimming with strengths and far and away their most inspired LP to date. 'Got To Have You Back' - a lively interpretation of The Isley Brothers - is making the right moves, and performing live, their music very often surpasses its studio confines. Feargal's in a good mood:
"'Got To Have You Back' has gone in the charts at 83 first week of release, which is in fact the highest first week charting we have ever had. I was really surprised about the whole bloody thing - so I'm very optimistic about it; I really am. Especially when they played it on Round Table the other week and the bass player from Earth Wind And Fire was on and he raved about it.
"When people like that go so Over the top about your records ..... well it was the last thing I expected. So I'm quite pleased with myself, and I'm not afraid to admit it! The main thing that worried me about it was that people would say Oh Jesus, they’ve got no songs of their own. But anyone who has listened to the LP will know that that point is proven totally wrong."
The cheek of 'Love Parade' and the heat of 'The Sin Of Pride', seems to point to a touch (albeit positive) of '60s infatuation. "We were talking to some people from a magazine earlier today, and someone made the remark that the '60s was three people having a party and everyone else looking for it. We don't make a big deal about it though - we're trying to be ourselves and write our own songs and do them the way we know to do them. Perhaps in the way we use melody lines, and especially backing vocals, there may be a connection; but as long as it's a healthy connection then I don't see why not. And it's not like in anyway, shape or form are we sitting listening to '60s records 24 hours a day, stealing every half decent idea they ever had. I think there's a very subtle but important difference between the feel of the song and the actual content and arrangement. I, call it more 'emotion' than '60s.
"I think it's a fairly healthy thing if we actually have some conviction in what we're playing in the studio at that particular minute in time, and if that comes across on record then I'm very pleased about it because it's something we felt a lot of the previous records had lacked. That thing we get playing live on stage didn't come across the same on record. And we had sat around and talked and thought about it a lot, and gone in and tried to get the same emotion. And call it what you want, I'm very pleased about the fact that it has come across. But I wouldn't call it '60s-I would say more that we're being honest about the whole bloody thing instead of trying to make a contrived record."
"I'm listening to a lot of '60s things now and again," offers Dee who has contributed more to this LP than ever before. "Psychedelia, Nuggets, Left Bank. Some of the songs on the LP, maybe you could tell. As long as you don't do it in the way Mari Wilson does it. My girlfriend's from America and she's very '60s, and I heard her LPs and they're brilliant. 'Sin of Pride', the song, was actually influenced by a Left Bank song called' Pretty Ballerina'. I mean it doesn't sound a bit like it, but it was meant to originally. Someone should cover that song because it's so good."
Why choose to release a cover version, rather than one-of your own songs? "Because we want a hit" is Michael's fast reply.
But it's not that well known.
"Well we're certainly not going to go 'Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey' ..... It's bouncy and poppy. We just picked it."
The reasoning behind the group's lengthy silence depends a lot on who you ask. Feargal: "I think we were right in doing what we did, because I think the LP is really really good. And at the end of the day if the record's good then we made the right decision rather than just doing a rehash of 'Jimmy Jimmy' 12 times, sticking it out and saying this is our new LP folks - rush out in your millions and buy it."
Michael: "It's better being away two years and coming back with something good, than being there all the time and coming up with something shit."
Dee: "It's good for the development of songs. But there's no way it's good to take a year break for any group - it's ridiculous. I think some of us aren't pulling our weight”.
"You can't force it," Michael answers "If you force it you get stuff like 'My Perfect Cousin' ..... "
"I'm not ashamed of that one bit. I think it's great," replies Dee.
"I am,” retorts Michael "It's trite."
Whatever their feelings on the subject, the absence has highlighted their declining popularity.
“Last year when we were doing naff all and nothing was going right, we weren't touring, had no records out, I wrote 'Untouchable', which is just a song about frustration. After 'Positive Touch', 'Julie Ocean' was released and it didn't do very well; and 'Beautiful Friend' flopped .... 'Untouchable' - it's like you can't reach the charts anymore" says Dee.
"Punk has been a waste of time I think," adds John. "We used to make a big deal about us being ordinary people-like we're no different from anybody that buys our records. And we've suffered from it because we haven't sold that many records. Like' Positive Touch' sold less than 'Hypnotised', and 'Hypnotised' sold less than the first LP. People want To have something to look up to. They want to have heroes…. People want glamour, they want all that. And they don't want anything that's sort of down there. Why are working class people voting Conservative and not voting for the Labour Party? Well it's the same thing - you can relate it in the same way.
"It's a pretty sad reflection ..... You have to think about publicity, photographs. I thought that the way we were was good enough that I could relate to it if I wasn't in the group. And I thought that was great. But it's not that simple. This time now though, it's like starting over again. Partly because we haven't toured England for two years, but also because we've put all this effort into it. Plus this LP - well we think it's a great LP. Great songs."
So there's been a bit of smartening up going on. Any other change in attitude'?
"More arrogant," says Dee. "We're definitely more arrogant. "
"I would call It professional," Feargal offers. "A lot of people were saying we're a great band live. It got to the stage probably in the past 18 months, two years, when we actually got a chance to watch other bands and see what the hell they were doing. And as far as playing live goes, we're fairly good value for money, and that's that. We’re not professional to the extent where we say the same ad-lib lines between the songs. We're not that bad!"
"We haven't got slick ," Dee confirms. "You don't see many groups making mistakes and we are one group that makes mistakes - so there's nothing wrong with that .. "
"It's like a built-in safety mechanism, " adds Feargal. "But I don't think we’ll ever get to the stage where it becomes so rehearsed that it's just a bore live. Because if it seems to be heading that way in rehearsals we just pack up and go home. So that when it comes round to playing in front of an audience there is that little bit extra there, for us to grasp at. That's the main thing that I think makes an Undertones concert different from everybody elses; and why people keep coming back."
They clean their teeth, wash their feet and take to the stage like ducks to water. And it seems perfectly likely that people will always keep coming back.
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