NA Europe: Teenage Kicks

Something funny’s happened to “Teenage Kicks” in the last few years. The Undertones’ first single has always been a strange beast, combining punk’s jittering attack with pop’s shiny-shiny – after all “Teenage Kicks” crystallised the weird adolescent state where even boredom feels anticipatory, but it was also the one punk song your mum liked. But over the last four years the 1978 single has developed even more of a dual nature.

John Peel was probably the Undertones’ most famous and most vocal fan. In 2001 he wrote in the Guardian that the only things he wanted written on his tombstone were his name and the song’s opening lyrics “Teenage dreams, so hard to beat.” When Peel sadly died in 2004 he got his wish. The song was not only engraved on his headstone, but became his epitaph in more than one way. The Undertones now appear every time Peel is mentioned, and in any context.

And it’s expanded. “Teenage Kicks” – or at least the first 30 seconds of it - pops up everywhere. It’s a shorthand for punk; for festivals; for disaffected youth; for happy youth; for anything indie and for all kinds of record collecting. Most of this is obviously down to unimaginative TV and radio producers, but poor old “Teenage Kicks” is cracking under the weight. Now the song has to carry the standard for everything alternative, while at the same time suffering from severe levels of exposure – as if Mark E Smith suddenly had the tabloid presence of Britney Spears. You can get sick of the sound of it, even though you know, technically, it’s a great song.

And now it’s here on eMusic. And listening to it all the way through, without the accompanying flickering images or the gobbling of presenters, is a joy. It’s sharp and punchy. The guitar hook is crunchy and Fergal Sharkey’s vocals quaver with intensity. The whole two-and-a-half minute package really is hard to beat. Rediscover it now.