When you think about songs that epitomise youth… not just your youth, but the entire experience of youthfulness, only a handful emerge. Sonic Youth’s Teenage Riot must surely have a claim, Ash’s Oh Yeah perhaps, with its sense of yearning almost palpable and, of course, Teenage Kicks by The Undertones. A truly timeless piece of music, it has that rare power to transport the listener back to their teenage years, and it is easy to see why the late, great John Peel would have taken those words to his grave.

While The Undertones are much feted, and rightly so; for various reasons, their post-reunion output has received scant attention, despite the band putting out two albums (2003’s Get What You Need and 2007’s Dig Yourself Deep). It is for this reason that Damian O’Neil got together with producer Paul Tippler, remixed the best moments from both albums and put together the exquisite compilation Dig What You Need (given a glowing review here). A brilliant blast of timeless Undertones anthems that sit comfortably alongside anything from the band’s perceived golden period, it does a great job of not only highlighting the band’s strengths as songwriters, but also the great vocalist they have in Paul McLoone.

To celebrate the release, we caught up with genial lead guitarist Damian O’Neil, the guiding hand behind the compilation, to guide us through the record.

One of the big things of my youth was listening to John Peel – it was one of the ways that I discovered new music that, in the pre-internet era, was hard to find anywhere else and there was a period, in the mid-90s I think…

…You’re too young! [Laughs]

…When John was playing Teenage Kicks pretty much every week. So, The Undertones became this legendary band and I wondered if, when you reformed, you had any sense of, maybe, living up to that legacy.

No. Not at the start. Especially the first couple of years, when we reformed. In fact, I’d definitely say that we (the four original members) didn’t appreciate how good we were, or how good those songs were, or how much we were loved by a lot of people. We didn’t appreciate it and it wasn’t until we reformed, and then a couple of years after that, that we started to get it. It took a long time to sink in. And, of course, when John Peel passed away, which was just terrible, it sort of made Teenage Kicks become more special to some people. And it’s such a shame it took his death for that to happen, but you know, it suddenly became this iconic song that you remember John Peel by and we’re really proud of that – that John championed the song, and it was his favourite. And he took the lyrics for his epitaph, for his gravestone. So, yeah – sort of going off the track of your question – what was it again?

Well, you’ve covered a lot of it for sure, but it was really, how much you realised what your music already meant to the next generation of music fans.

No, we really didn’t. You know, the first years that we started playing again, the people who came to see us were the people who came to see us back in the day. It was more reliving their youth type of thing. But then, gradually, we noticed a lot of younger people started coming as well. Maybe the kids of our fans, or the people who couldn’t see us in the first place. So, we got a younger audience more and more, which was great, so we knew we were reaching out to different generations, and that was really positive.

Thinking about the lyrics of Teenage Kicks, it really does inhabit a sense of youth.

Obviously, it does, because we were all teenagers. John was twenty when we recorded that and he was a teenager when he wrote it, so it captures a certain time for us, yeah.

Is there a sense of reinhabiting that mindset when performing that song now?

We still do. I mean, if you’d told me back then that we’d be performing this at the age of sixty, I’d have scoffed. I would probably have been horrified! [Laughs] It’s a timeless song, you don’t have to be a teenager to get it – it’s such an exuberant song, it just hits the right nerve for everyone. And we never, honest truth Phil, we never get bored of playing it. It’s funny. When we were first going, back in the day, with Fergal, I think by 1982 or something, I think we might even have dropped it for a few shows, because we were bored with it, but we wouldn’t dream of doing that now. It means so much to people, and we’re glad. We’ll always do it until one of us croaks, or whatever. [Laughs] It means a lot to us, even playing it in our sixties.

So, to bring us forward to the present day, obviously you released two albums in the wake of the reunion and now you’ve put together this compilation. First and foremost, was that a way to re-evaluate those records, because it’s been a while since they came out.

Yeah. Yeah, when those two records came out, we put them out by ourselves, really, and they didn’t get much press. They got hardly any reviews or anything and for years… you know, I’m the driving force behind this compilation… but yeah, for years, I felt they’d been underestimated and there were great songs on each album and a few that were… well, they’re OK, but I knew that between the two, we had a really fantastic best of compilation. So, I persuaded the band that we should put up some money and do it. It was also worth revisiting some of the mixes and getting the tracks remixed as well. I knew this guy, Paul Tippler, who’s a really great mixer. He was mixing really great bands in the 80s and 90s and whatever, so, me and Paul basically did it together. We got hold of the master tapes and we remixed the tracks – just to make it sound better, crisper and more up to date. The whole band picked their favourite songs, and I think it just represents what we’ve done since Paul joined us.

The compilation is really fantastic and I’m really glad you took that decision to remix it because it makes it flow in a way that it wouldn’t necessarily have done otherwise,

Thank you. Yeah, it really does. I totally agree, it’s much more cohesive and it’s the best songs. We did argue a little over certain songs. There are a couple of songs on there are a couple of songs on there that I probably wouldn’t personally have picked, but we’re a democratic band, so we went by the majority rule thing. It’s definitely cohesive and it’s the kind of record I wanted Get What You Need, the first album, to be. I kind of wish it was all those songs, because that would really have made a great statement as a comeback record – “hey, the Undertones are back, with a different singer, but listen to this!” You know?

For me, the two things that got me… on the one hand, you’ve got those timeless punk rock songs that catch people, but then there are tracks like Fight My Corner, which have a totally different dynamic.

Totally different, yeah. A bit more experimental and also Winter Song, which I think is on side two. That’s John again – John and Mickey actually wrote most of these songs. Mickey’s songs are more what you’d call older Undertones’ songs, kinda more poppy. Mind you, Thrill Me is John’s song, and to me that’s up there with the best of the old Undertones for sure. It’s timeless, we could have done that on the Hypnotised album back in 1980. But yeah, there’s different elements. It’s not just punk stuff or pop stuff. It’s also a bit more experimental and obviously we’re older, and we’ve got different tastes now, so we wanted to throw a few of those tracks in as well.

And it works really well, especially for the vinyl format, which has that A side B side, so you’ve got that calmer moment near the end of side A, with Fight My Corner and then you come back swinging on side B. I love that.

Thank you, yeah. Again, vinyl is king. Back to the old days, before CDs, you had to change the side and it made sense. The sequencing was so much more important – you had the first song and last song of side one and the first song and last song of side two – really, really crucial. You don’t get that with CDs, obviously. So, yeah, it was so important that we put this out on vinyl as well as download and CDs.

CDs are a very different journey, aren’t they, because it’s very linear, whereas with vinyl you have to stand up halfway and flip over, so you have to make each side a complete statement.

Yeah. It’s just a wonderful thing. I’m so happy it’s made a comeback over the years because CD was king for a long time and they’re horrible, shiny wee things and they’re so expensive in this country compared to America or whatever, although the prices have gone down now. But yeah, I just find CDs a rip off, and they took the beauty out of it. The whole thing about having an LP, there’s just something wonderful about a vinyl album.

Listening to the album, you put it on and you hit side one, and you mentioned Thrill Me already, but I love those sweet backing vocals and it really is timeless music – it’s a bit pop, a bit punk and a bit gritty, but also I think you’re lyrics have evolved with the listeners, so it feels like we’re kind of growing with the band.

Yeah, I’d say there are different techniques – you can tell which ones are Mickey’s really. Mickey is more cynical [laughs] he was always a bit more cynical, while John’s more straight forward pop lyrics – Thrill Me, Winter Sun… but Mickey – a great example of Mickey’s lyrics are on the song Oh Please

I was going to ask you about that one!

Yeah?! That’s one of his best because it takes aim at certain bands, but it’s also really funny because Mickey’s a really witty person as well as being cynical, so it sums up Mickey in a nutshell.

I kind of regret – those first two albums that we did, I didn’t really contribute much myself in terms of song writing, unlike the first round of The Undertones with Fergal. That’s my only regret with this compilation. Even though I was the one driving the band to get it out, I only co-wrote one of these songs actually.

I think it’s hard as a musician, when you’re in a band dynamic, it’s very difficult sometimes, if you don’t have that creative urge at that point in time, it feels like the other members of the band have overtaken you, which can be demotivating.

And also, I kind of know why – I live in London now, and I’ve lived in London for years, and they’re all in Derry (well, Paul’s in Dublin), but I think they get together more and have more chance to get together and rehearse, so I think that’s the reason why John and Mickey were coming up with more songs, and I kind of took a back seat in a way. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go for various reasons. But I’m not complaining, because there’s a great collection here, there really is.

Yeah, it is and I’m glad you mentioned Oh Please, because it’s really close to the bone, but at the same time it feels like you’re laughing at the self-importance of bands in general, so it doesn’t feel too harsh.

Well, that’s what it is. Yeah, I mean it’s obviously… it’s pretty obvious that it’s Mickey having a go at Bono. I think, at the time, Bono had met the Pope while wearing sunglasses, or some stupid statement, so it’s Mickey’s dig at that. And I think it’s also a dig at Manic Street Preachers. They went to Cuba for some show and a photo op. I don’t mind – I quite like the Manic Street Preachers – but there’s something about it as a publicity thing and so we included that. Yeah, we never really took ourselves too seriously – pretentiousness never really sat very well with us. We were never pretentious.

I think the reason that song works so well is that it feels self-effacing, and it touches on the industry as well – “no more CDs” – so, it’s much more than having a dig, it’s really self-aware and a great melody too.

Yeah, it’s a great melody and we still do that – it’s one of our favourites. I think it’s one of Mickey’s best songs ever. Me and Mickey used to always write together in the early days, I would come up with the music and he would write the lyrics, because I was never that good with lyrics. So, we were a good team in that way but, again, like you said earlier, maybe it’s because I live here in London and he’s over there, he started just coming up with things himself. He bought himself a little eight track recorder, so he could come up with the goods by himself and he didn’t need me! [Laughs]  

These digital recorders have changed everything because you can hammer something out and present it to the band in a way that was impossible just a few years ago.

That’s it, it kills creativity [laughs] No, I use home recording all the time, so you don’t need a band anymore! So, I’d be a hypocrite if I was too hard on all of that.

Speaking of killing creativity, you were well into your fortieth anniversary tour when COVID hit and basically wiped out the entire scene – how badly did that affect you and your plans?

Well, like every band, it made it impossible for us and for the arts in genera. We had tours lined up – we were supposed to go to America, we had some UK shows and Europe, but it was all put on hold, then postponed and then postponed again. I forget how many times we were supposed to be doing tours of Europe that kept getting pushed back and pushed back. So, yeah, it was awful, and the worst part was we’d been building up this really good momentum as well. It had taken us years, but we were starting to really sell out shows – on the tour before that in 2019, we were doing great. So, now it feels like we almost have to start again because the momentum’s been lost. But it’s not just us, it’s most bands as well, but yeah – it was tough. For me personally, I was just writing instrumental tracks, because I’ve got a new instrumental LP coming out soon.

Oh cool!

So, yeah, I spent the time being a little bit creative. My brother John is doing a collaboration with this artist friend of his, that he worked with before, so he’s going to put out some music as well Soon. So, it wasn’t completely lost – it was creative as well.

Can I ask you about this instrumental project – do you mind?

Yeah, of course. So, a couple of years ago, I put out a solo record – my second really. I did one (we’ll have to go back further), I put one out on Alan McGee’s label, Poptones, and he put out mine and I did a sort of instrumental, folk kind of music and he put it out on CD only. So, that was my first solo thing and then, a couple of years ago in 2017, I put out an LP which was half instrumental, half songs, where I revisited some Undertones songs that I co-wrote or wrote. That came out on Dimple Discs, (the same label that the new compilation record is on). In fact, my solo record was the first release they put out. Damian O’Neil and the Monotones was the moniker that it came out under. That worked quite well… I made my money back [laughs], and that gave me the confidence to produce more new material, but this time all instrumental. No songs because I just find it really hard singing. I’m not a great vocalist, so I know my limits, and I’m not a great lyricist either, so it’s just easier to stick to what I do best, which is instrumental stuff.

I really like that, because I think it’s such a different skill set, because you can take the listener on a totally different journey.

Yeah, and also… well, it’s also a lot easier to do whatever you’re inspired by at the time. A lot of this is quite mellow. It’s ethereal, it’s calm and it’s all real instruments. There’s no samples or anything. It’s more organic and it’s quite Irish themed. There’s Mandolin, so it’s a bit folky as well… Guitars, organ… yeah, it was good to do.

The art of songwriting is endlessly fascinating and, in particular, in thinking about how to create emotions without a vocalist directing the attention in a specific way.

Totally. I totally agree. It’ll take you different places, for sure.

I have just one last question, which is with a tour coming up and with this compilation coming out, you said yourself you were the driving force, so do you see a chance that there’ll be some new music.

Ohhhhh – I knew you were going to ask that one!

Ha-ha – predictable I know!

No, it’s a good question… God, I can’t really answer. I don’t know. I don’t really know where… we’ll wait and see. I mean, I think it would be great if we could even…. Maybe not do an album but to do a single again with a couple of new songs. The last new release we did was in 2013, I think it was Much Too Late, a song that I wrote. That came out and yeah, we haven’t done anything since and we’re well, well overdue. So, let’s just say hopefully! Geography doesn’t help either, because Paul’s in Dublin, the rest are in Derry and I’m over here… Well, we’ll see.

Thank you so much, I’ve loved talking to you and I had a blast reviewing the compilation – for me, it was like listening to John Peel, and it feels like timeless music. It’s such a cool impact that music can have, so thanks for taking the time out to speak about it.

Thank you so much.

The Undertones Live Shows 2022

March
10 – Sheffield, Leadmill, England – Special guest Neville Staple Band-Tickets
11 – Northampton, Roadmender, England – Special guest  Hugh Cornwell Electric-Tickets
12 – London, Electric Ballroom, England – Special guest  Hugh Cornwell Electric-Tickets
17 – Brighton ,Chalk ,England – Special guest  Hugh Cornwell Electric-Tickets
18 – Frome, Cheese & Grain, England – Special guest  Hugh Cornwell Electric-Tickets
19 – Cardiff, Cardiff SU Great Hall, Wales – Special guest  Hugh Cornwell Electric-Tickets
31- Newcastle, Boiler Shop, England – Special guest  Hugh Cornwell Electric-Tickets

April
01 – Manchester, Academy, England – Special guest  Hugh Cornwell Electric-Tickets
02 – Liverpool O2 Academy, England – Special guest  Hugh Cornwell Electric-Tickets
08 – Leipzig, Werk 2, Germany – Tickets POSTPONED New date tbc
09 – Munich, Feierwerk, Germany – Tickets POSTPONED New date 5 May 2023
10 – Weinheim, Cafe Central, Germany – Tickets POSTPONED New date 13 May 2022
22 – Dublin, The Academy, Ireland – Tickets

May
13 – Weinheim, Cafe Central, Germany –  Tickets (Rescheduled from 10 April. Bremen show now on 3 December)
14 – Düsseldorf, Zakk, Germany – Tickets
15 – Hamburg – Markethalle, Germany – Tickets
17 – Malmo, Plan B, Sweden – Tickets
18 – Oslo, Vulkan Arena,  Norway- Tickets
20 – Göteborg, Pustervik, Sweden –  Tickets
21 – Stockholm, Slaktkykan, Sweden – Tickets
22 – Copenhagen, Pumpehuset, Denmark – Tickets

June

03 – Wychwood Festival, Cheltenham Racecourse – Tickets
04 – Coventry, HMV Empire Tickets
17 – Derry Millennium Forum (rearranged show) – Tickets
24 – Glastonbury Festival – Acoustic Stage
26 – Retro C Trop Festival, Tilloloy, France – Tickets

July
01 – Lincoln, The Engine Shed, England – Tickets (Replaces the original show 29th October 2021 – Tickets still valid)
02 – Hertfordshire, Sign of the Times Festival South, England – Tickets
09 – Novi Sad, Serbia. Exit Festival Tickets 
15 – Sunderland – Tickets
16 – Naas, Ireland – Forever Young Festival – Tickets
23 – Soria, Motorbeach Festival, Spain – Tickets

August
05 – Blackpool, Rebellion Festival – Tickets
06 – Hampshire, Wickham Festival – Tickets
20 – Belfast, Custom House Square – supporting Stiff Little Fingers Tickets

September
29 – Birmingham, O2 Academy 2, England – Tickets
30 – Castleton, The Devils Arse at Peak Cavern, England – Tickets

October
01- Holmfirth, Picturedrome, England – Tickets
06 – Southampton, 1865, England – Tickets
07 – Oxford, Academy,England – Tickets
08 – Lytham, The Lowther Pavilion, England – Tickets
20  – Norwich, Waterfront, England – Tickets
21 – Bury St Edmunds, Apex ,England- Tickets
22 – Bexhill, De La Warr Pavilion, England – Tickets
29 – Old Army Airport, Sint Truiden, Belgium –Tickets

December
03 Bremen – Kulturzentrum Lagerhaus, Germany – Tickets