It gave the band a higher profile: The Undertones were more than happy for One Direction to cover Teenage Kicks
The Undertones are one of the most famous and successful bands to emerge from Northern Ireland, and have gone down in rock history thanks to 1970s and 1980s classics like Teenage Kicks and My Perfect Cousin.
But in 2013, a whole new audience was introduced to the music of The Undertones, thanks to One Direction.
That year, 1D mashed up Teenage Kicks with Blondies One Way Or Another for Comic Relief, taking the song to number one.
And while you might assume those behind the punk classic would be annoyed with a boyband taking on their song, The Undertones drummer Billy ODoherty was quite happy with the outcome.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Billy said: John [ONeill] wrote Teenage Kicks, and I think they wanted to use it for Children In Need or Comic Relief – and John didnt know who One Direction were. Andy Ferguson our manager had to persuade John that there was a lot of sense in doing it.
We got a lot of feedback from younger fans because of One Direction. It went to number one in the UK, and it charted all over the world, and the money went to charity. It was good for us, because it gave the band a higher profile than what we had.
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Frontman Feargal Sharkey left The Undertones in 1983, with the Derry-born group disbanding. However, in 1999, they reunited, replacing Sharkey with Paul McLoone, and the band is going strong, although Billy was forced to rethink his career after suffering a stroke and a heart attack.
He told us: You have to have a rethink about your condition, and I was most definitely apprehensive about having to play. But the care I got at the hospital was unbelievable, and they gave me the all clear to play. But even though I was concerned, the guys in the band – they were unbelievably supportive. I knew we were all close, but I didnt realise how close until that. That gave me the boost of confidence that I wasnt going to let anyone down.
Its been 44 years since The Undertones formed in Derry, but time hasnt changed how the band play – in fact, theyre even more fast and furious nowadays.
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Billy, who is playing The Big Feastival this weekend, promised oldies but goldies in their set, saying: If anything, were actually playing faster now than we did back in the seventies. Tonnes of energy, tonnes of enthusiasm, hopefully people will get that vibe from the band. Were all really good mates, we get on really well and we really enjoy it.
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Whenever we play, theres no difference. We kick ass, we dont take prisoners. And people can see the energy and the spirit is still there, we fundamentally believe in what were doing.
The music has become timeless, theres no generation gap between the songs. Kids that were maybe 12 or 13 back in 78, 79, theyre older now so they still remember the tunes, and they might come to the shows with their kids.
And although the band are well seasoned, things dont always go to plan.
We still make mistakes when were doing them. And we still get hung up about it. After the show, we still have debates on what went wrong. But its very constructive. We keep ourselves in check, we dont take it for granted.
The Undertones will be performing at the Big Feastival this August Bank Holiday weekend, tickets available at bigfeastival.com.
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