This was apparently the first punk single to reach the Top 20 anywhere in the world, when it reached No.17 in the Irish charts in May 1977.

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Looking back at the landmark albums released in 1979, it’s hard not to conclude that it was the best year for music. One of them was Fear Of Music by Talking Heads.

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The Cure made their debut in 1979 with a single containing 10.15 Saturday Night and Killing An Arab, two songs dating back to Robert Smith’s mid-teens.

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This early punk effort is the solitary single by The Rings, a band created by Twink, former drummer with The Pretty Things and Pink Fairies.

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In April 1978 my favourite group of that time, The Only Ones, released their eponymous* debut album. Everyone’s favourite track was Another Girl, Another Planet. Except me.

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I was never too sure about The Depressions. Unconvincing in both look and sound, they were described cruelly but accurately by the NME as being one of the last bands to jump on the punk bandwagon – “just as the wheels were coming off.”

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Elvis Costello’s initial run of singles was as strong as anything in pop history. This is arguably the best of them – the opening single from his third album Armed Forces.

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Sparks are a phenomenon. One of a kind. Or, to be precise, two of a kind. Russell and Ron, the Mael brothers, are still going strong with a combined age of 151.

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One of the great underappreciated bands of the postpunk era, The Sound not only erm, sounded like Joy Division but met a similar fate, with their singer taking his own life.

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Here’s another oddity from the depths of my singles collection. It’s either by Chris Sievey or by The Freshies, depending on how you look at it.

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