Taking a break from the New Wave casualties of the Á¢€â„¢80s (and there are more to come), letÁ¢€â„¢s get something truly decent and sadly Lost in the Á¢€Ëœ80sÁ¢€¦former Undertones lead singer Feargal SharkeyÁ¢€â„¢s debut solo single, Á¢€Å“A Good Heart.Á¢€
The Undertones scored a few UK hits from 1978 through their breakup in 1983, most notably Á¢€Å“Teenage Kicks,Á¢€ a song famously championed by the legendary DJ John Peel. After the bandÁ¢€â„¢s dissolution, Feargal provided the vocals for The AssemblyÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“Never Never,Á¢€ a one-off collaboration with Depeche Mode/Yaz/Erasure muso Vince Clarke. 1986 saw FeargalÁ¢€â„¢s first proper solo album, a nicely produced affair with EurythmicsÁ¢€â„¢ Dave Stewart. Á¢€Å“A Good HeartÁ¢€ was a fine choice for a lead-off single, an excellent tune written by Lone JusticeÁ¢€â„¢s Maria McKee which nicely showcased FeargalÁ¢€â„¢s soaring, warbly singing style. While Á¢€Å“A Good HeartÁ¢€ topped the charts in the U.K., it sputtered in the States, an audience nearly completely ignorant of the Undertones and FeargalÁ¢€â„¢s overseas chart pedigree. The follow-up single, Á¢€Å“You Little Thief,Á¢€ made even less a splash.
Sharkey went on to release one more album, 1988Á¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“WishÁ¢€. Since then, The Undertones have reformed and re-recorded without him and heÁ¢€â„¢s been relatively quiet. Seems a good band these days is hard to find.
Á¢€Å“A Good HeartÁ¢€ peaked at #74 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986.
Feargal’s two solo CDs are out of print, but you can find them used on Amazon
(just be ready to pay big for the debut). However, the entire Undertones catalog is more readily available.
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