* Feargal Sharkey (lead vocals),
* John O'Neill (guitar),
* Damian O'Neill (guitar, keyboards and vocals),
* Michael Bradley (bass and vocals), and
* Billy Doherty (drums).
John O'Neill was the original main song writer, with his brother Damian and Mickey Bradley writing in various solo & combined variations for most of the remainder.
Sharkey's power pop tenor was distinctive, and the band regarded a tight ensemble. By 1977 they were performing their own three-chord pop punk material influenced by Nuggets-type material and Ramones, and in 1978 released their debut four-song EP Teenage Kicks on Good Vibrations. It became a hit with support from DJ John Peel, who considered that EP's title song (Teenage Kicks) his all-time favourite. The song has been covered by many including boyband Busted (at the 2003 Brit Awards), American group The Raconteurs, Swedish band [aritst]Sahara Hotnights and French band Nouvelle Vague.
The original band released four studio albums:
* The Undertones (1979)
* Hypnotised (1980)
* Positive Touch (1981)
* The Sin Of Pride (1983).
Falling sales linked to their changing musical direction and tensions within the band, leading to their split in 1983. A compilation album titled All Wrapped Up featured a woman dressed in lunch meats wrapped in clear plastic on the (non band approved) cover. Several other compilations including the superb BBC sessions CD Listening In (named after a song on their first album) (2004) exist.
The O'Neill brothers went on to form That Petrol Emotion. The Undertones reconvened in 1999, initially to play a few shows in their hometown of Londonderry, replacing singer Feargal Sharkey with a similarly warbling new recruit, Paul McLoone. Since this time, the band has continued to play a small number of gigs each year in various places around the world.
The band have also released two further studio albums:
* Get What You Need (2003)
* Dig Yourself Deep (2007)
NOTE: There is another band with this name - The Undertones, a subset of the University of Notre Dame Glee Club who sing a capella arrangements of popular songs. For more information on these guys, check out www.nd.edu/~utones.
I Don't Know
The Undertones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's now in love with a hotel worker
Holiday extended 52 weeks a year
I wish that I never tried to hurt her
I don't know - this is no time to have a parting
Sunday nights in Oscar's Disco
I wish that I had somewhere good to go
I'm on my own so the night goes so slow
I don't know ...
She doesn't want to come back but I happy to stay
She doesn't want to come back but I happy to stay
She doesn't want to come back but I happy to stay
She doesn't want to come back but I happy to stay
Hey hey hey hey hey hey
I don't know ...
The Undertones' "I Don't Know" is a melancholic and nostalgic song about a breakup and the ensuing loneliness. The first verse describes receiving a postcard from Majorca from the singer's ex-girlfriend, who has fallen in love with a hotel worker and has decided to stay there year-round. The singer regrets hurting her and wishes he had somewhere good to go instead of spending Sunday nights alone in a disco. The second verse describes drinking alone and feeling the night pass slowly, and the chorus declares the singer's confusion about the situation.
The song has a simple structure and sparse instrumentation, consisting of a repeated guitar riff and a prominent bass line. However, the melancholic tone of the song is conveyed through the singer's emotional delivery and the evocative lyrics. The postcard from Majorca symbolizes the singer's loss and isolation, and the line "drinking to beat where the happy people meet" highlights his sense of alienation from society. The repetition of the phrase "She doesn't want to come back but I happy to stay" suggests a resigned acceptance of the situation, but it also highlights the singer's loneliness and inability to move on.
Overall, "I Don't Know" is a poignant song about heartbreak and loneliness, capturing a universal feeling of loss and longing.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a postcard from my Majorca
I received a postcard from my ex-lover who is now in Majorca
She's now in love with a hotel worker
She is currently in a romantic relationship with a worker at the hotel she's staying in
Holiday extended 52 weeks a year
She's decided to extend her vacation to last for an entire year
I wish that I never tried to hurt her
I regret causing pain to my ex-lover and wish I had never done so
I don't know - this is no time to have a parting
I am uncertain about our current situation but now is not the right time for us to break up
Sunday nights in Oscar's Disco
Spending Sunday nights at Oscar's Disco
I wish that I had somewhere good to go
I wish I had a better place to spend my time than Oscar's Disco
Drinking to beat where the happy people meet
Drinking to feel better in a place where happy people gather
I'm on my own so the night goes so slow
Being alone makes the night feel longer and slower
She doesn't want to come back but I happy to stay
My ex-lover has no intention of returning, but I am content to stay
Hey hey hey hey hey hey
A repetitive exclamation, possibly expressing frustration or confusion
I don't know ...
Uncertainty about the present situation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DANTE GIZZI, GIULIANO GIZZI, BARRY JAMES O'NEILL, CHRISTOPHER JAMES POTTER, HAMISHALASTAIR ELLIOT FINGLAND, LEWIS ROBERT ANDREW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
anonyarena
It's such a complex song musically for a "pop" song, and yet it all the parts come together and fit so perfectly it all works to brilliant effect.
Aze Vbn
This song is so awesome. Sadly overlooked
rootindogg
Forgotten gem, "drinkin to the beat where the happy people meet"
grayngreen1
Another Rockin Humdinger from Derry ~