Nostalgia isn’t what is used to be — as the saying goes... I beg to differ.

Thirty long years after Northern Ireland’s finest, The Undertones, entertained the young Gould with some of the most wonderful tunes I had ever heard, these same songs still make the hairs on the back of the neck stand up — every time.

And the band are set to re-release these same tracks — without a doubt to the same incredible effect.

The Undertones — a special 30th anniversary 32-track release, including the original self-titled LP plus a whole bunch of bonus classics — is a lesson in the art of unadulterated pop.

It was never about pure punk — despite being pigeon-holed at the time. If anything their ‘punk’ was candy-coated.

Londonderry’s most famous sons were never disparate malcontents in the way the genre’s legendary exponents, the Sex Pistols, were.

The music was never really an expression of angst and social alienation. There were no pointed social critiques, no hidden meanings, posturing or lyrical curveballs. Rather this was an articulation of teenage innocence and lyrics seeking out chocolate and girls, the summer and playing Subbuteo!

They were a breath of fresh air at a time when punk was about to shuffle off its mortal coil and disco was all the rage.

The debut LP was the equivalent of a Greatest Hits collection — a perfect illustration of perfect pop. Boundless effervescence and the enthusiasm of youth prevail throughout.

Every track is a sub-three minute classic — a little piece of simple genius, complete with spirit, insight and schoolyard wit.

The magic of ‘79 is easily recaptured on the 2009 version — simply because the hook-laden songs are so good. Here Comes The Summer, Jimmy Jimmy and the thrilling Teenage Kicks are timeless mini-masterpieces that will always have a special place in this reviewer’s heart. But Family Entertainment, Girls Don’t Like It and True Confessions also still cut the mustard as do bonus tracks such as Get Over You, The Way Girls Talk and Mars Bars.

I’m glad this blast from my past — even without the services of Feargal Sharkey — continues to plough a lone punk-pop furrow. Every generation deserves to hear Teenage Kicks, Jimmy Jimmy etc at least once. Good luck to them!