Buzzcocks had evolved far beyond the primitive proto-punk and two-note guitar solos of Spiral Scratch by the time they released their third album in 1979. A Different Kind Of Tension was a game-changer of two halves: the first side an unremarkable set of short sharp pop-punk songs.

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Like so many of the great reggae and soul stars, Alphonso “Al” Campbell started singing in church, initially to raise funds for his preacher father.

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One of the few punk bands I never got to see, Swell Maps still left a mark with their Peel sessions and two excellent albums of DIY punk experimentalism.

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Released in October 1978, this was the song that showed The Jam had left their punk roots far behind. As did their third album, All Mod Cons, from which it was taken.

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I don’t know if psychedelic drugs were involved in the making of this song but I would be highly surprised if they weren’t. Then again, just listening to it is a mind-bending trip.

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Los Angeles soul trio Sly, Slick & Wicked are one of two obscure vocal groups to name themselves after a 1970 single by The Lost Generation.

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This is one of the first – maybe even the very first – songs I played for my children when they were very small.

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It’s 50 years since the release of that landmark album Dark Side Of The Moon. I think I first came across this in LA. It goes well with the sunshine and relaxed pace of life in SoCal.

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The two signature songs of Barrington Levy blasted out of every shop and car window in Hackney for one summer in the mid-1980s.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I present for your appreciation and enjoyment a great new single by the UK’s most successful singles artist of the 1980s.

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