The Adverts “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” b/w “Bored Teenagers” 1977. Anchor Records. Brit punks in the mode of The Damned (with whom they toured, promoting the tour with the slogan “The Adverts know one chord, the Damned know three. See all four..”) and the Buzzcocks, “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” was the first Adverts single to chart, reaching #18 in the UK, its controversial lyrics helping to propel interest. (Gilmore was an American murderer executed by firing squad in 1977, his famous last words “Let’s do this.”) “Bored Teenagers” became an anthem for the band and for young punks everywhere.

We’re talking into corners
Finding ways to fill the vacuum
And though our mouths are dry
We talk in hope to hit on something new

Tied to the railway track
It’s one way to revive but no way to relax

We’re just bored teenagers
Looking for love or should I say emotional rages
Bored teenagers
Seeing ourselves as strangers

We talk about the whys and wherefores
Do we really care at all?
Talk about the frailty of words
Is rarely meaningful

When we’re sitting
Watching the planes
Burn up through the night
Like meteorites

We’re just bored teenagers
Looking for love or should I say emotional rages
Bored teenagers
Seeing ourselves as strangers

Bored teenagers
Bored teenagers

[On the TV]

Bored teenagers
Bored teenagers

We’re just bored teenagers
Bored out of our heads
Bored out of our minds