I don’t normally go for novelty songs because they quickly get on your nerves even when they’re not awful in the first place. In this case that’s true of the former but not the latter; probably because it was on Stiff Records.

Lene Lovich actually wrote Lucky Number as a B-side after getting a deal with Stiff for her cover of I Think We’re Alone Now.

I assumed she was a complete unknown when it reached No.3 in early 1978 after being re-recorded as an A-side.

In fact, she had previously penned the lyrics for French disco artist Cerrone’s big hit Supernature.

She had also worked in film sound production, dubbing screams on horror movies – which may well have influenced this song’s quirky chorus.

She grew up in Detroit but when she was 13, Lili-Marlene Premilovich’s family emigrated and settled in Hull.

Five years later she moved down to London to attend art school and grew her trademark plaits – initially to keep her hair out of the clay while sculpting.

She had spent ten years working in all sorts of jobs – singing, dancing, busking, acting, writing and of course screaming – before her own lucky number came up.

When her old band The Diversions broke up she wrote to radio DJ Charlie Gillett asking if he knew a band she could join as a sax player.

He didn’t, but they kept in touch and she sent him her demo of I Think We’re Alone Now.

He took it to Dave Robinson at Stiff… and the rest is history.