The Undertones — It's Going to Happen!

JUL 01 1981 · 12:00

The Undertones — It's Going to Happen! (1981) Director: Julien Temple Era: Post-Punk / New Wave Transition (1981) - The cusp between UK punk's raw energy and the polished, concept-driven music video era catalysed by early MTV and Top of the Pops promotion culture. High. A rare, director-confirmed 1981 UK promo by Julien Temple at a pivotal moment in his career and in music video history, tied to one of the most politically charged singles of the post-punk era. The video's comedic surface tension against its politically loaded musical content makes it an exceptional document of the ambivalence faced by Northern Irish pop acts during The Troubles, and of the emerging grammar of the concept music video format. Context: Released 21 April 1981, weeks before Bobby Sands died during the IRA hunger strikes on 5 May 1981, this single occupied a uniquely charged political moment for a band from Derry, Northern Ireland. The song was partly written in reference to the 1981 hunger strikes, a radical departure from the Undertones' trademark teen-pop subject matter. The video's decision to deploy broad physical comedy rather than political imagery reflects the tension the band navigated between pop accessibility and Northern Irish political reality — a tension documented in subsequent retrospectives. The video was directed by Julien Temple at a moment when the UK promo-clip industry was accelerating rapidly ahead of MTV's August 1981 launch, and Temple was among the small cohort of British directors defining what a music video could look and feel like. Director notes: Confirmed via IMDb (tt7566948) as director of this 1981 promo, released April 1981 in the United Kingdom. Production company listed on IMDb as Millaney Grant Production. Runtime approximately 3 minutes. Shot in colour. The video has been characterised by contemporary observers as a high-concept comedic piece drawing on silent-film and slapstick traditions, consistent with Temple's playful early-1980s promo aesthetic developed through his Sex Pistols and emerging new wave work. The single was released on 21 April 1981, and the promo supported chart promotion including Top of the Pops appearances.