The first time I saw The Fall was at the opening night of The Vortex, a punk club at the top of Wardour Street just off Oxford Street on 4 July 1977. This was their first recording a year later. (more…)

Here’s a sentiment we can all agree with. And a song that ticks all the punk boxes: fast, angry, simple… and only two minutes long. (more…)

In many ways Crass are the quintessence of punk. You might call them punk in excelsis. No band walked it like they talked it with quite so much commitment to the cause of social change. (more…)

The Cigarettes came from Lincoln and dressed like mods but played like punks. Well, it worked for The Jam. It didn’t bring as much success for The Cigarettes but they didn’t have the songwriting skills of a Weller. Then again, not many did. (more…)

Here’s an example of what happened when a hippie group decides to jump on the punk bandwagon in the search for success. (more…)

Akron girl Jane Aire’s star burned briefly but brightly with this compellingly quirky slice of twisted teen-dream Americana. (more…)

I don’t know much about The Bizarros beyond the fact they had one of the standout tunes on Stiff’s compilation of bands from Akron, Ohio. (more…)

The little-known city of Akron – self-proclaimed “Rubber Capital of the World” – had a musical moment in 1977. In fact Ohio had a bit of a moment, if you include Cleveland. Devo were Akron’s biggest export. (more…)

Brainiac 5 are an oddball entity in the annals of punk, post-punk and New Wave, but they left their mark on me with their 1978 Mushy Doubt EP. (more…)

Big in Japan became better known for the subsequent successes of their band members than for their own music. Or, as the Liverpool Echo put it, they were “a supergroup with a difference – its members only became super after they left.” (more…)