Vinyl Record
The Undertones - Positive Touch
The Undertones - Positive Touch on LP vinyl. A 1981 record available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel, Ireland.
LP ยท 1981
Available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel.
Buyer notes: 1981 LP, currently available from the Kilmorna Collection vinyl shelf. Pay for pickup in Listowel or ship within Ireland for EUR 5.50.
Positive Touch is The Undertones refusing to remain a perfect teenage machine. Released in 1981, the band's third album keeps the melodic rush that made them beloved, but it opens the windows: horns, keyboards, brighter arrangements and a broader lyrical gaze enter the room. It's Going To Happen! is the boldest signpost, a song whose buoyant surface carries political anxiety and communal unease. Julie Ocean, Fascination, Life's Too Easy and the title track show the group softening the edges without losing the gift for quick, memorable song shapes. Feargal Sharkey's voice still has that unmistakable tremble, but the band around him sounds more curious, less bound to the short-sharp formula of the early records. Positive Touch matters because growth does not arrive here as solemn maturity. It arrives as colour, texture, questions and nervous optimism. The Undertones stay catchy, but the songs begin to notice a wider world pressing against the chorus.
Positive Touch matters because it is the album where The Undertones most clearly outgrew the idea that they were only a teenage punk-pop band. It adds political unease, brass, keyboards and wider pop craft while keeping the group's instinct for concise hooks intact.
For collectors, this is the adventurous middle Undertones album and a crucial step between Hypnotised and The Sin Of Pride. It is especially rewarding for listeners who already know the early singles and want to hear the band become more colourful and socially alert.
Bright new wave and pop-rock with punk-pop roots, brass accents, keyboards, chiming guitars, quick hooks, nervous optimism and Feargal Sharkey's expressive vocal tremor.
Recommended for: Collectors exploring The Undertones beyond the first two albums; Fans of It's Going To Happen! and Julie Ocean; Listeners who like punk bands growing into sharper pop arrangements.
When was Positive Touch released? Positive Touch was released in 1981 as The Undertones' third studio album. What makes Positive Touch different from early Undertones records? It broadens the band's sound with brass, keyboards and more varied songwriting while keeping their melodic directness. Which song best introduces Positive Touch? It's Going To Happen! is the clearest entry point because it combines the band's pop energy with a more politically charged undertone.