Teenage Kicks

"Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Irish punk rock/new wave band The Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by the band's principal songwriter, John O'Neill, the song was recorded on 16 June 1978 and initially released that September upon independent Belfast record label Good Vibrations, before the band—at the time unobligated to any record label—signed to Sire Records on 2 October 1978. Sire Records subsequently obtained all copyrights to the material released upon the Teenage Kicks EP and the song was re-released as a standard vinyl single upon Sire's own label on 14 October that year, reaching number 31 in the UK Singles Chart. The single was not included upon the original May 1979 release of the band's debut album The Undertones; however, the October 1979 re-release of this debut album included both "Teenage Kicks" and the Undertones' second single, "Get Over You". Influential BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel is known to have opined "Teenage Kicks" to be his all-time favourite song from 1978 until his death in 2004. "Teenage Kicks" was acoustically covered by Snow Patrol in tribute to John Peel, and was played at his funeral. Bands that have performed this song also include Razorlight, Ash, Skunk Anansie, The Pink Spiders, Busted, Groovie Ghoulies, Sahara Hotnights, The Saw Doctors, Therapy?, Buzzcocks, Nouvelle Vague, Green Day, Boom Boom Kid, Thee Headcoatees, Franz Ferdinand, Supergrass, The Young Fresh Fellows, Snow Patrol, KT Tunstall, The Coral, The Raconteurs, Violent Delight, Criminal Mischief, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Beatsteaks, Seabear, Maroon, Every Dirty Street and Pelucas Rosas. The riff for "Teenage Kicks" is almost identical to the riff for "Some Kinda Hate" by The Misfits. Both songs were recorded in the same year, 1978. In 1978, John Peel played the song twice in a row on his Radio 1 show. Peel often rated new bands' songs with 1 to 5 stars. He liked "Teenage Kicks" so much he awarded 28 stars. In 2001 Peel had written in The Guardian that apart from his name all he wanted on his gravestone were the words, "Teenage dreams, so hard to beat", from the lyrics of "Teenage Kicks". In February 2008, a headstone engraved with the line was placed on his grave in Great Finborough, Suffolk. In May and June 2007, Irish radio station Today FM, acknowledging the Undertones original as the best version, held a competition to find "the second best version." The winner was the band Prison Love, who won with a bluegrass version. In December 2008, radio2XS listeners voted the song the best all-time rock single. The station allowed votes for any rock track from 1956 to 2008, except Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', DJ Jeff Cooper claiming that "no-one in their right mind would ever want to hear that pretentious twaddle again"! Fans of Derry City F.C. regularly sing the song during the team's games. Teenage Kicks - The Undertones is a 2001 documentary film directed by Tom Collins.

[Verse 1] A teenage dream's so hard to beat Every time she walks down the street Another girl in the neighbourhood Wish she was mine, she looks so good [Chorus] I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night [Verse 2] I'm gonna call her on the telephone Have her over 'cause I'm all alone I need excitement, oh, I need it bad And it's the best I've ever had [Chorus] I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night All right! [Verse 1] A teenage dream's so hard to beat Every time she walks down the street Another girl in the neighbourhood Wish she was mine, she looks so good [Chorus] I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night [Verse 2] I'm gonna call her on the telephone Have her over 'cause I'm all alone I need excitement, oh, I need it bad And it's the best I've ever had [Chorus] I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night All right! [Guitar solo] I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night All right!