The anthem of a generation, 'Teenage Kicks' by the Undertones turns 40 today.
The song, one of the most enduring from the Punk era, was first recorded by the Derry group on June 16 1978 before its release in September the same year.
Famed as the soundtrack to the 1970s, the song burst onto an unsuspecting public when iconic BBC Radio 1 DJ, John Peel played it back to back on its first airing.
Derry’s Undertones sent the song to Peel, never expecting him to play it on his show. But so taken was the presenter, it is said he burst into tears and played it again immediately.
After playing 'Teenage Kicks,' Peel said: “It doesn’t get much better than this.”
At his funeral in 2004, 'Teenage Kicks' was played as he was carried from the church while the song’s opening line 'Are Teenage Dreams So Hard To Beat?' has been inscribed on his gravestone.
However, when first recorded, the song’s writer, The Undertones didn't think it would be a hit. John O’Neill, who wrote the song in the summer of 1977, told the Irish News the band believed that 'True Confessions' which was also on the Teenage Kicks EP was the song that would make them.
“You’d have three chords or two chords and try and write a song with them. We’d written five or six, Damien (his brother) and Mickey (bass player Bradley) wrote some.
“We were surprised when John Peel played it twice. It was a bit of a shock. I didn’t realise that tomorrow’s the 40th anniversary,” the Derry musician said.
In the last 40 years, 'Teenage Kicks' has been recorded in many different forms from a Country and Western version to a Reggae version and even a trad version complete with pipes, fiddle and strings.
According to O’Neill, it’s still the song everyone demands from the Undertones.
“We simply couldn’t do a set without playing it. The cameras come out the minute we start playing it. It’s been my pension for a long time. When the Royalty cheque arrives from the PRS, Teenage Kicks is always where most money comes from.
“I feel so blessed by it,” the song writer said.
