Michael Bradley joined his school friends group in Derry, Northern Ireland in
the summer of 1974. They had two guitars and no singer. Four years later the
Undertones recorded Teenage Kicks, John Peels favourite record, and became
one of the most fondly remembered UK bands of the post punk era. Sticking to
their punk rock principles, they signed terrible deals, made great records and had
a wonderful time. They broke up in 1983 when they realised there was no pot of
gold at the end of the rock and roll rainbow.
Bradleys story is a bitter-sweet, heart-warming and occasionally droll tale of
unlikely success, petty feuding and playful mischief during five years of growing
up in the music industry. Wiser but not much richer, Bradley became a bicycle
courier in Soho after the Undertones split. "Sixty miles a day, fresh air, no
responsibilities," he writes. "Sometimes I think it was the best job I ever had. It
wasnt, of course."