When it comes to underrated talents, Shuggie Otis should be one of the first names to come to mind. No less a judge than David Byrne rates his trippy R&B jams as “equal to Marvin and Curtis.”

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Dexys Midnight Runners came along with their energetic soul revival sound in 1979, riding the coat-tails of 2-Tone as the punk revolution began to diffuse into new sounds and hybrids.

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Even in the darkest depths of my lifelong jazzophobia I had a soft spot for Carla Bley. I’m not sure why; maybe because a female jazz musician is such a rarity.

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The Rolling Stones channel their vintage heyday with guest performers Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga on a bluesy gospel-flavoured new tune, Sweet Sounds Of Heaven, from their new album Hackney Diamonds.

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Candi Staton had been singing in gospel groups for years when the future disco diva recorded a solo album of secular Southern soul at Muscle Shoals in 1969.

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Jamaican dancehall star Ini Kamoze started out singing roots reggae long before he topped the charts with his signature song Here Come The Hotstepper.

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Butcher Brown are a self-proclaimed “proud throwback to the progressive jazz-funk bands of the 1970s with a 21st century twist” – a phrase that would once have filled me with horror.

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Here’s an oddity from the depths of my punk-era singles collection. It was only decades later that a friend picked this obscurity out and recognised two of the names on the sleeve – not as musicians, but as music journalists.

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A Taste Of Honey were one of the few disco outfits to write, sing and play their own tunes. This was their debut single – and their only hit.

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Here’s a nice thing by two of the great names in hip hop – DJ Muggs and Kool Keith. It’s the title track from the soundtrack of a new sci-fi film called Divinity by regular David Lynch composer Dean Hurley.

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