The late BBC DJ John Peel insisted that The Undertones’ ‘Teenage Kicks’ was the best song he had ever heard. Its first line is inscribed on his tombstone. I’ve heard it hundreds of times, and it’s hard to disagree. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Some good folks in the city of Derry bought me near-lethal quantities of Guinness when they discovered that I knew the words to this song. They’re rightly proud of their boys.

The Undertones came out of the Bogside neighborhood in Derry, at a time when the streets were patrolled by armored troop carriers and one could scarcely walk down the street without being stopped by the RUC. There’s a surprisingly good documentary about them, Teenage Kicks: The Story of the Undertones.

Here’s another video, this time with some good analysis and footage from the recording studio. You get a good chance to hear Feargal’s unusual vibrato.