Teenage Kicks–The Undertones
Directed by Tom Collins.
Ireland , 2001, digital video, color, 72 min.
Ireland , 2001, digital video, color, 72 min.
In the late 1980s, Derry rock band The Undertones rocketed to the top of the British charts with a string of hits, beginning with the exuberant youth anthem "Teenage Kicks." That all five band members had come from the war-torn ghettos of the Catholic "Bogside" made their success seem miraculous. But The Undertones were not concerned with making political statements and instead channeled the vibrant currents of a youth culture more attuned to teenage angst than civil and religious liberties. Director Collins captures the innocence of their rebellion as well as the liberating pulse of their music.