Positive Undertones

BECAUSE WE FELT LIKE IT, WE ASKED THE UNDERTONES’ DAMIAN O’NEILL ABOUT THE NORTHERN IRISH ROCKERS’ OUT-OF-LEFT-FIELD 1981 ALBUM, POSITIVE TOUCH. THANKFULLY, HE OBLIGED US!

- Mark McStea

WHEN THE UNDERTONES released their third album, Positive Touch, in 1981, it marked a distinct change in direction for the Northern Irish punks. They broke through with the all-time punk classic, “Teenage Kicks” in 1978, followed by a string of hits and two albums that were very much in tune with the roughand-ready punk ethos of the era. The Undertones always had strong pop sensibilities, but Positive Touch pushed those elements to the forefront — with an overt Sixties influence in the mix — and is now viewed as something of a lost classic.

The Undertones are still active as a band, touring regularly with all of the original lineup still intact, save for the substitution of Paul McLoone for original vocalist Feargal Sharkey, who left the band in 1983. Damian O’Neill, the band’s lead guitarist, has released a number of solo and collaborative albums since 2000, and is now promoting his recent, largely instrumental solo album, An Crann.

Positive Touch was a substantial stylistic shift for the band. Was that deliberate or just a natural evolution?

We’d just signed a big, new deal with EMI Records after leaving Sire and we thought this album was going to do really well. I think we thought it was almost like a more “grown up” record that was going to propel us to another level. Unfortunately it didn’t, sales-wise. [