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Teenage Kicks: Mickey's true confessions
I haven't copy of Teenage Kicks, says Undertone


By Paddy McGuffin
  05 March 2005

  The bass player with punk heroes The Undertones 
has admitted he does not own a single copy of the 
record that shot the legendary Londonderry band 
to fame.

Teenage Kicks was hailed by the late Radio 1 disc 
jockey and star-maker John Peel as the greatest 
single ever made, but bassist Mickey Bradley has 
revealed that his own collection does not include 
a copy.

His admission came as Sanctuary Records revealed 
that it is to re-press 1,000 copies of the 
Teenage Kicks EP on 7-inch vinyl.

The re-release of the EP is timed to coincide 
with Sanctuary's launch of a new double CD, also 
entitled Teenage Kicks.

A perennial favourite, especially in the band's 
home town, Teenage Kicks catapulted The 
Undertones onto the world stage with more than a 
helping hand from John Peel.

  The enduring popularity of the track saw it 
performed as an encore by R.E.M. when the US 
supergroup played at the Odyssey in Belfast last 
month.

The EP was originally released on the independent 
Good Vibrations label with a wrap-around 
cardboard sleeve, and Mickey would be keen for 
the new release to follow the same format.

"I only just found out about it myself," he said.

  "I don't know what the packaging will be like, 
but I would like to see it packaged like the 
original with the A4 sheet.

  "I'm happy about the re-release because I might 
be able to get my hands on a copy, because I 
don't have one."

Asked whether he felt there had been a renewed 
interest in the band of late, he reflected: "I'm 
not sure whether I would say there's been a 
resurgence, but I have to say that after the 
death of John Peel people seem to be playing it 
more often, which is very sad."

He added: "A couple of people have told me that 
R.E.M. played it as an encore, but I'm not sure 
if Michael Stipe knew the words - I think the 
audience might have had to help him out.

  "The record company missed a trick there - there 
were 10,000 people at that gig . . . they should 
have been selling copies outside."

The four-track EP features four classic 
Undertones tracks - Teenage Kicks, Smarter Than 
U, True Confessions and Emergency Cases.
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