It's Going to Happen!
"It's Going to Happen!" | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Undertones | |||||||
from the album Positive Touch | |||||||
Released | 2 May 1981 | ||||||
Format | Vinyl record (7") | ||||||
Recorded | 1981 | ||||||
Genre | Punk rock | ||||||
Length | 3:30 | ||||||
Label | Ardeck-EMI | ||||||
Writer(s) |
Damian O'Neill Michael Bradley | ||||||
The Undertones singles chronology | |||||||
| |||||||
|
"It's Going to Happen!" is a punk rock song originally written and recorded by Northern Irish band The Undertones. The song was written in the winter of 1980 and recorded at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands in January, 1981. The song was the eighth single released by the band, and the second single released to be co-written by lead guitarist Damian O'Neill and bassist Michael Bradley.
Unlike any of the previous singles released by The Undertones, all of which focused on teenage angst and romance, It's Going to Happen! was written in reference to the 1981 hunger strikes in Northern Ireland. The single is also notable for its inclusion of brass instruments in the recording.
The song was released as a single on 2 May 1981, two weeks before the release of the Undertones' 3rd LP, Positive Touch, and reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart on 24 May.[1] The single also peaked at number 7 in Irish Singles Chart, making the single the band's highest positioning single in any Singles Chart.
It's Going to Happen! was performed on Top of the Pops on 5 May 1981, the day one of the hunger strikers, Bobby Sands, died. To mark his death, Damian O'Neill wore a Black Armband.[2][3][4]
Track listing
Side one | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Written by | Length |
1. | "It's Going to Happen!" | Damian O'Neill, Michael Bradley | 3:39 |
Side two | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Written by | Length |
1. | "Fairly in the Money Now" | Tommy Tate & The Torpedoes | 2:34 |
- 'Tommy Tate & The Torpedoes' was a pseudonym used by Damian O'Neill.
References
- ↑ Official Charts.com 24 May - 30 May 1981
- ↑ YouTube.com
- ↑ Martin, Gavin (2002-03-29). "Pop: Songs in the key of real life". The Independent (London). p. 15.
- ↑ O'Hearn, Denis (2006-05-06). "A Hunger for Justice". The Nation.
External links
- It's Going to Happen! lyrics
- The Undertones official website