"It's Going to Happen!" is a
new wave song originally written and recorded by Northern Irish band
the Undertones
The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...
. The song was written in the winter of 1980 and recorded at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands in January, 1981. "It's Going to Happen!" 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, the majority of which focused on teenage angst and romance, "It's Going to Happen!" was partly written in reference to the
1981 hunger strikes
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Cat ...
in Northern Ireland. The single is notable for its inclusion of
brass instruments
A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin ...
in the recording.
The song was selected by
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
to be released as a single before the Undertones' 3rd LP ''
Positive Touch'' and was released on 21 April 1981, two weeks before the release of ''Positive Touch''. The single reached number 18 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on 24 May, and would also reach number 10 in the
Irish Singles Chart.
Sleeve artwork
The artwork for the single sleeve was designed by Bush Hollyhead. The front of the sleeve depicts an image representing a
tightrope walker
Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
beginning to fall to the ground; the image on the rear of the sleeve depicts the band standing before a backdrop of icons representing each of the songs on their album ''Positive Touch''. This particular photograph was taken by Mervyn Franklin.
Top of the Pops
"It's Going to Happen!" was performed on
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
on 7 May 1981, shortly after one of the hunger strikers,
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison M ...
, died. To mark his death, Damian O'Neill performed the song on Top of the Pops wearing a
black armband. The Undertones also performed the song on the 21 May 1981 edition of Top of the Pops.
Track listing
* Tommy Tate & The Torpedoes was a pseudonym used by Damian O'Neill.
References
External links
* It's Going to Happen
lyrics* The Undertone
official website
{{authority control
1981 singles
1981 songs
Music controversies
Music videos directed by Julien Temple
Sire Records singles
The Undertones songs