Feargal Sharkey

Feargal Sharkey (born Sean Feargal Sharkey, 13 August 1958, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK) is a British singer, who first found fame as the lead vocalist of pop punk band The Undertones, famous for the hit single "Teenage Kicks", discovered by John Peel.

The Undertones

John Peel famously said in an interview, "Teenage kicks came on the radio, and I had to pull the car over to the side of the road. There's nothing you could add to it or subtract from it that would improve it." Feargal was notable for his high, tremulous voice with its undisguised Derry accent, which can be heard in other hit songs such as "Here Comes The Summer", "My Perfect Cousin", "Wednesday Week" and "It's Going To Happen". Before his solo career took off he was also the singer of the one-shot group The Assembly with ex-Yazoo supremo Vince Clarke in 1983 (with their UK Singles Chart number 4 hit, "Never Never").

olo

His best-known solo material is the 1985 UK chart-topping single penned by Maria McKee, "A Good Heart", which went to number one in several countries. His solo work is significantly different from the semi-punk offerings of The Undertones. He also got UK number 5 in 1986 with "You Little Thief". Both "You Little Thief" and "A Good Heart" have a common link. "You Little Thief" was written by Benmont Tench, a member of Tom Petty's band, about his relationship with Maria McKee in response to Maria McKee writing "A Good Heart" about him. His debut single was a collaboration with Madness member Cathal Smyth titled "Listen To Your Father", and it reached #23 in the UK in late 1984.

Business

Starting in the early 1990s Sharkey moved into the business side of the music industry, initially as an A&R manager for Polydor Records, and then as Managing Director of EXP Ltd. He was appointed a Member of the Radio Authority for five years from December 1998 to December 2003. He then became Chairman of the UK Government task force the 'Live Music Forum' in 2004. He has a son by his wife Ellen.

In 2007, Sharkey was appointed as the CEO of British Music Rights, replacing Emma Pike. [cite web
url = http://www.britishcopyright.org/page.asp?site=main&pagetype=newsstory&id=34
title = BMR APPOINTS FEARGAL SHARKEY AND ANDY HEATH
accessdaymonth = 24 September
accessyear = 2008
work = British Copyright Council
publisher = British Copyright Council
location = United Kingdom]

Discography

Albums

* "Feargal Sharkey" (1985)
* "Wish" (1988)
* "Songs From The Mardi Gras" (1991)

ingles

*1984 "Listen to Your Father" UK #23 (collaboration with Madness and written by Cathal Smyth of Madness)
*1985 "Loving You" UK #26, Switzerland #23
*1985 "A Good Heart" UK #1 (2 weeks), US #74, Australia #1 (1 week), Austria #13, Norway #6, #3 Switzerland
*1986 "You Little Thief" UK #5, Australia #4, Switzerland #27
*1986 "Someone to Somebody" UK #62
*1988 "More Love" UK #44
*1991 "I've Got News for You" UK #12

References

External links

* [http://www.youlittlethief.com Youlittlethief.com] a Feargal Sharkey fan site