Sold Date: March 1, 2021
Start Date: January 25, 2021
Final Price: £16.20 (GBP)
Seller Feedback: 275
Buyer Feedback: 97

THE UNDERTONES THE UNDERTONES DEBUT '79 LP ARDM 1647391 '83 RE VG+/VG+. Condition is "Used".

FREE FOR UK - Will Post Worldwide, but only International Tracked & Signed - I’ve put 25 Pounds as a benchmark price Worldwide - But contact me first before paying to let me know where you are in the world and I will work out a price for you and change the price accordingly.
 
(Posted using Record Mailers)

General description of Record Collector grading = Vinyl

Very Good Plus (VG+)

A Very Good Plus record will show some signs that it was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. Defects should be more of a cosmetic nature, not affecting the actual playback as a whole. Record surfaces may show some signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don't affect one's listening experiences. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are "OK". The label may have some ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable. Spindle marks may be present. Picture sleeves and inner sleeves will have some slight wear, slightly turned-up corners, or a slight seam split. An LP cover may have slight signs of wear, and may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation, or cut corner.

PLEASE SEE PHOTOS AS PART OF DESCRIPTION

I have cleaned and play-tested both sides of the record and it plays really well and still sounds great!

I'm selling a lot of my vinyl and CD collection, because the kids are getting bigger and the house is getting smaller! Basically, it was either the kids or the records, sadly the coin came down tails...Thanks for looking!

Here's a link to John Peel playing The Undertones Teenage Kicks twice in a row in 1979 - for those not acquainted, John was a legendary Radio 1 DJ, who almost single-handedly changed the face of British music with his ground-breaking programmes over several decades. This was his favourite song of all-time and was played at his funeral in 2004. He remains very much missed, by me at any rate. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPzyN8Qq5XA

ONLINE REVIEW:
"....The Undertones released a timeless and near-perfect pop album, which should be heard by as many people as possible. It will brighten up your day anytime (at least a little bit) with its naive teenage enthusiasm...."
If you have to credit the punk movement in the seventies for one thing, it's that it caused a welcome return of interest to the 3-minute pop song. The early seventies' music charts were dominated by the musical dinosaurs that were Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Yes and so many others, who apparently couldn't write a song if it wasn't over 9 minutes long. But all that changed when the Ramones entered the scene in '76. In their wake, a whole new type of bands, who weren't very technical in their guitar playing, arose to the scene and songs could again be short and have catchy choruses. One of these bands was The Undertones and their debut album came out in May 1979 (and already re-released in October of the same year, to include the successful singles Teenage Kicks and Get Over You).

The Undertones scored big time with their first single Teenage Kicks, a punk anthem if there ever was one. It was fast, loud, had a massive sing-a-long chorus and most of all: it was fun. Instead of criticizing the politics, society or whatever - as most punk bands did those days - the song described the joys of teenage love and wanting to hold the hand of a pretty girl, how sweet. The following singles Get Over You and Jimmy Jimmy were equally as fun and fast, and The Undertones had found their niche. So a debut album was recorded and released in May 1979.

Here we have that very same debut album, and it must be said: the album has aged very well. These are very simple, 4 chord punk tracks, but executed with so much enthusiasm, you cannot help but smile all the way through. Not much variation in arrangements is to be found here (obviously), but as the album finishes around 30 minutes of playing time, let's not consider that a negative factor. That said, there is some form of rudimentary experimentation or sound evolution from the first singles present: the synthesizer is introduced in a couple of tracks, most notably on the best song of the album Here Comes The Summer. It's cheesy as hell, but at least it doesn't sound gimmicky, as opposed to the saxophone on the debut of X-Ray Spex.

As stated previously, the lyrics aren't very smart or sophisticated, but who cares anyway. The choruses will get stuck in your head for days, together with the doo-doo-doos of the backing vocals (Wrong Way, Listening In). The voices of the band members (like The Beatles, each member sings on different songs) are clean and poppy, but still have bit of roughness in them, perfectly fitting the music.

All in all, The Undertones released a timeless and near-perfect pop album, which should be heard by as many people as possible. It will brighten up your day anytime (at least a little bit) with its naive teenage enthusiasm.
Tracklist A1 Family Entertainment Written-By – * A2 Girls Don't Like It Written-By – * A3 Male Model Written-By – *, *, * A4 I Gotta Getta Written-By – * A5 Teenage Kicks Written-By – * A6 Wrong Way Written-By – * A7 Jump Boys Written-By – * A8 Here Comes The Summer Written-By – * B1 Get Over You Written-By – * B2 Billy's Third Written-By – * B3 Jimmy Jimmy Written-By – * B4 True Confessions Written-By – *, *, * B5 (She's A) Runaround Written-By – * B6 I Know A Girl Written-By – *, *, * B7 Listening In Written-By – *, *, * B8 Casbah Rock Written-By – *