Artist · chart history · #301 in alternative artist polls
The Untouchables
Band Silver Lake United States Formed 1981 mid 80s US ska/mod revival band
The Untouchables formed in 1981 in Silver Lake, United States. The Untouchables has 12 chart appearances on 9 radio countdowns from 4 stations on RockLists, spanning 1984–2024. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Free Yourself”, which appears on 5 lists with a best position of #62. The station that charted The Untouchables most often is KROQ (Los Angeles, CA), with 6 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1984.
The Untouchables came out of the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles in 1981, soul and mod revivalists whose original lead singer, Kevin Long, summed them up as mods who happened to play ska. They're credited as the first ska band in America, and they played it with a big, sweaty crew: Clyde Grimes on guitar and lead vocals, Chuck Askerneese on vocals, Josh Harris on keyboards, Danny Moynahan on saxophone, Caine Carruthers on bass and Jerry Miller on timbales, among a long roll call of members over the years.
Live and Let Dance, in 1984, is where the party got onto vinyl. "Free Yourself" is a skanking, horn-stabbed stomper, and "What's Gone Wrong" came along with it. Agent Double O Soul followed in 1988, its title track playing up the band's secret-agent cool, and "I Spy" kept the spy games going. It's music for packed, sweaty clubs, and it still sounds like a good night out.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The Untouchables on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Free Yourself | 5 | #62 | – | 1984 | |
| 2 | What's Gone Wrong | 3 | #18 | – | 1984 | |
| 3 | Agent Double-O Soul | 2 | #103 | – | 1989 | |
| 4 | I Spy | 1 | #1766 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 587 | Agent Double-O Soul | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs |
| 2003 | 1305 | Free Yourself | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) |
| 2003 | 1766 | I Spy | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) |
| 2002 | 406 | Free Yourself | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) |
| 1992 | 317 | Free Yourself | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) |
| 1989 | 103 | Agent Double-O Soul | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1989 |
| 1989 | 224 | What's Gone Wrong | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) |
| 1989 | 458 | Free Yourself | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) |
| 1989 | 98 | Artist ranking | Live 105 Top 105 Artists of All-Time (1989) |
| 1988 | 361 | What's Gone Wrong | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) |
| 1984 | 18 | What's Gone Wrong | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984 |
| 1984 | 62 | Free Yourself | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984 |
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