My Perfect Cousin
Encyclopedia
"My Perfect Cousin" is a punk rock
song originally written and recorded by Northern Irish
band The Undertones
. The song — inspired by an actual male cousin of one of the band members — was written at the end of 1979.
My Perfect Cousin was the first of two singles to be released from the band's Hypnotised
LP (the second being Wednesday Week), and was released on 28 March 1980. The single reached number 9 in the UK
charts
- making it The Undertones' only Top 10 single.
The song was the sixth single released by The Undertones and the first single to be written by band members Damian O'Neill
and Michael Bradley
.
The song was performed on Top of the Pops
on two occasions: 3 April and 10 April 1980.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
song originally written and recorded by Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
band The Undertones
The Undertones
The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones , Hypnotised , Positive Touch and The Sin of Pride — before disbanding in July 1983.Music guide Allmusic...
. The song — inspired by an actual male cousin of one of the band members — was written at the end of 1979.
My Perfect Cousin was the first of two singles to be released from the band's Hypnotised
Hypnotised
* Under The Boardwalk was a cover of The Drifters' 1964 hit.-Personnel:* Feargal Sharkey * John O'Neill * Damian O'Neill * Michael Bradley * Billy Doherty...
LP (the second being Wednesday Week), and was released on 28 March 1980. The single reached number 9 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
- making it The Undertones' only Top 10 single.
The song was the sixth single released by The Undertones and the first single to be written by band members Damian O'Neill
Damian O'Neill
Damian O'Neill is the lead guitarist in the pop-punk band, The Undertones. He joined the band following the departure of his older brother, Vincent, in 1976, and remained with the band until their break up in 1983...
and Michael Bradley
Michael Bradley (musician)
Michael "Mickey" Bradley is the bassist for Northern Ireland pop-punk band, The Undertones. He also is a radio producer for BBC Radio Foyle. Bradley presents a one hour programme on Radio Ulster, "After Midnight with Mickey"...
.
The song was performed on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
on two occasions: 3 April and 10 April 1980.