The Undertones return to the charts with "My Perfect Cousin"

The Undertones : My Perfect Cousin

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On March 30, 1980 The Undertones posted a new single in the UK charts. "My Perfect Cousin" made its debut at #51. It would reach #9 in both the UK and Irish charts and rank #30 in the 1980 NME Singles of the Year poll.

Directed by Julien Temple ( who would go to work with David Bowie and the Rolling Stones), the classic music video features the Undertones roaming around Derry and playing tabletop football at the O'Neill house.

The song is apparently about a real life cousin if a band member who is not really named Kevin, and has nothing to with The Who's Tommy character "Cousin Kevin". It's another band that gets a mention:

His mother bought him a synthesizer 
Got the Human League into advise her 
Now he's making lots of noise 
Playing along with the art school boys

Bassist Michael Bradly tells Penny Black Music:

There is a theory that ‘My Perfect Cousin’ was a hit because there was a strike at ‘Top of the Pops ‘that spring, so people didn’t realise how ugly we were and we didn’t put people off! No, we had a great year. The record we were really proud of. I remember when the LP chart positions came out we were at the O’Neill’s house in Derry.

Feargal came in after being on the phone and he said “Number 6!” and it was just a huge deal for us. We were just in Derry and we weren’t even doing anything. These days a band would be doing every hamster promotional wheel out there. We were in Derry just going “Ah, the record’s out today, great!”

Writing for Smash Hits David Hepworth sez :

The lyrics are lovely and it's delivered with the kind of spirit that you naturally associate with the Undertones, but I can't help wishing they'd let us hear some of the slower, more satisfying material that they've got stashed away.

The new album, Hypnotised, is just three weeks away.