The new work by Karl Porter of UV Arts is located on the gable wall of Greg McCartney’s and Kevin Casey’s solicitors’ offices at Castle Gate and looks onto the Derry Walls and Magazine Street.
It is based on the cover art from The Undertones’ eponymous 1979 debut album that gave the world the pop-punk classics Get Over You, Jimmy, Jimmy, Here Comes the Summer, Jump Boys, Male Model and True Confessions.
Reacting to the mural’s unveiling Mr. Sharkey tweeted: “WOW! How fantastic is that? What an absolute honour. My applause and appreciation to everyone involved, never thought for one second I would ever see myself staring down from Derry walls. Totally brilliant bit of work.”
The black and white painting is based on photographs taken by the late former Derry Journal photographer Larry Doherty for the band’s seminal debut album.
It depicts founder members John O'Neill, Feargal Sharkey, Billy Doherty, Mickey Bradley and Damian O'Neill perched on a wall in Bull Park. just yards from Sharkey's then home on Marlborough Terrace and the O'Neill brothers' house on Beechwood Avenue.
The grayscale image of the band sitting atop brickwork in the Bogside park is said to have been taken in part homage to a photograph of the Ramones standing against a wall in the Lower East Side that featured on the front cover of the New York punk band’s eponymous 1976 album.
The completion of the mural comes as the band marks the 45th anniversary of the release of their classic debut single Teenage Kicks with a series of sell-out shows, including a gig in the Millennium Forum on November 24, with special guests Neville Staple, The Outcasts and Terri Hooley.
Among those hailing the latest edition to Derry’s expanding open air gallery of street art was another local institution, the Credit Union.
“It is great to see the unveiling of another new mural in our city! Part of the legend of the Undertones is that it was a loan from Derry Credit Union back in the 70s which financed the purchase of their first drum kit, setting the band on its path to stardom!” it tweeted.
Derry City FC, whose players take to the field at the Brandywell to the unmistakeable chords of Teenage Kicks, stated simply: “Teenage dreams so hard to beat.”
1. The mural is based on the cover art from The Undertones’ eponymous 1979 debut album that gave the world the pop-punk classics Get Over You, Jimmy, Jimmy, Here Comes the Summer, Jump Boys, Male Model and True Confessions.
The mural is based on the cover art from The Undertones’ eponymous 1979 debut album that gave the world the pop-punk classics Get Over You, Jimmy, Jimmy, Here Comes the Summer, Jump Boys, Male Model and True Confessions. Photo: Kevin Mullan
2. The grayscale image of the band sitting atop brickwork in the Bogside park is said to have been taken in part homage to a photograph of the Ramones standing against a wall in the Lower East Side that featured on the front cover of the New York punk band’s eponymous 1976 album.
The grayscale image of the band sitting atop brickwork in the Bogside park is said to have been taken in part homage to a photograph of the Ramones standing against a wall in the Lower East Side that featured on the front cover of the New York punk band’s eponymous 1976 album. Photo: Kevin Mullan
3. The new mural depicts founder members John O'Neill, Feargal Sharkey, Billy Doherty, Mickey Bradley and Damian O'Neill perched on a wall in Bull Park just yards from Sharkey's then home on Marlborough Terrace and the O'Neill brothers' house on Beechwood Avenue.
The new mural depicts founder members John O'Neill, Feargal Sharkey, Billy Doherty, Mickey Bradley and Damian O'Neill perched on a wall in Bull Park just yards from Sharkey's then home on Marlborough Terrace and the O'Neill brothers' house on Beechwood Avenue. Photo: Kevin Mullan
4. The black and white painting is based on photographs taken by the late former Derry Journal photographer Larry Doherty for the band’s seminal debut album.
The black and white painting is based on photographs taken by the late former Derry Journal photographer Larry Doherty for the band’s seminal debut album. Photo: Kevin Mullan