The Undertones - Positive Touch

Positive Touch is the third studio album by Northern Irish punk-pop and new wave band The Undertones, released on 5 May 1981 through Ardeck Records. Recorded at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands, it marked the final collaboration between the band and producer Roger Bechirian. The album represented a deliberate, creative departure from the fast, aggressive guitar-pop formula of their self-titled debut and Hypnotised. Instead, the band embraced a more complex, softer musical palette, integrating pianos, brass arrangements, xylophones, recorders, and folk-infused textures into their songwriting.

Despite the shift away from their signature sound, the album achieved commercial success, peaking at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. It spawned two notable singles: the politically conscious "It's Going to Happen!", which reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and was famously performed on Top of the Pops with guitarist Damian O'Neill wearing a black armband to protest the 1981 Irish hunger strikes, and the atmospheric "Julie Ocean," which reached number 41. Music critics widely praised the record for its sonic maturity, though the underlying creative friction regarding this new musical direction ultimately contributed to the band's initial disbandment two years later.

Released in May 1981, The Undertones' third album, Positive Touch, stands as a fascinating and courageous turning point in the career of the Derry-born five-piece. Having conquered the UK charts with the explosive, three-chord adrenaline of "Teenage Kicks" and a pair of flawless punk-pop records, the band found themselves at a crossroads common to many late-70s punk survivors. Rather than recycling the Ramones-fueled "ramalama" that made them famous, primary songwriters John and Damian O'Neill steered the group into much deeper, more sophisticated musical waters. The resulting album is a vibrant testament to a young band aggressively outgrowing their own formula and testing the absolute limits of their pop instincts.

Sonically, the record trades their signature wall-of-guitars attack for a remarkably diverse and delicate instrumental palette. Assisted by producer Roger Bechirian and featuring guest keyboard work from Paul Carrack, the arrangements bloom with unexpected textures, including pianos, brass sections, xylophones, and recorders. This dramatic shift from raw power-pop to an eccentric, 1960s-influenced art-pop hybrid initially polarised purists. However, time has revealed these stylistic deviations to be strokes of genuine brilliance. Tracks like the pounding opener "Fascination" and the title track lean into an almost tribal, rhythm-heavy new wave groove that feels entirely distinct from their past work.

What truly elevates Positive Touch from a mere musical experiment into a near-masterpiece is the subtle, pervasive sense of tension running beneath its bright exterior. Feargal Sharkey’s iconic, tremulous tenor vocals operate at absolute peak capacity here, but instead of radiating pure teenage exuberance, his performance is tightly wound and anxious. Even on the acoustic, atmospheric masterpiece "Julie Ocean," an undeniable undercurrent of unease hangs in the air. Lyrically, the album moves away from adolescent romance to touch upon broader, more existential anxieties. Songs like the frantic "Crisis of Mine" and the driving, minor-key psychedelia of "When Saturday Comes" echo with a profound sense of mundanity, longing, and domestic dread.

Ultimately, Positive Touch is a brilliant snapshot of a transitional era, bridging the gap between the furious energy of post-punk and the expansive pop soundscapes of the early 1980s. It delivered highly memorable singles—most notably the brass-heavy, politically adjacent "It's Going to Happen!"—while proving that the band possessed a compositional depth few critics originally gave them credit for. Though the creative friction from this sharp evolutionary turn would sadly sow the seeds for their eventual breakup two years later, the record has aged beautifully. It stands tall as a remarkably bold, mature, and deeply rewarding entry in the post-punk canon.

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1. Fascination

2. Julie Ocean

3. Life's Too Easy

4. Crisis Of Mine

5. You're Welcome

6. His Good Looking Girlfriend

7. The Positive Touch

8. When Saturday Comes

9. It's Going To Happen!

10. Sigh and Explode

11. I Don't Know

12. Hannah Doot

13. Boy Wonder

14. Forever Paradise

15. Fairly In The Money Now (Originally released under the pseudonym Tommy Tate & The Torpedos)

16. Julie Ocean (The extended 7" Single Version)

17. Kiss In The Dark (B-side to the "Julie Ocean" single)

18. Beautiful Friend (Stand-alone single released later in 1981)

19. Life's Too Easy (7" Single Version)