Mary Gauthier keeps it real in a way few others have ever dared to do in her autobiographical coming-of-age song Drag Queens In Limousines. (more…)

Babybird, aka Stephen Jones, had been making home demos for five years without a record deal when You’re Gorgeous shot into the chart.

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John Douglas was a founder member of The Trashcan Sinatras, playing guitar and singing harmonies with the Glasgow band since 1986.

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Hey Joe is not just a classic, but a genuine rock standard, with at least a hundred versions. This is one of my favourites, by blues guitarist Roy Buchanan.

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British DJ Dave Clarke teamed up with German electroclash ensemble Chicks On Speed on this banger, with a Bauhaus sample to boot.

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Sigue Sigue Sputnik arrived in an explosion of silly hair and sci-fi costumes as a postmodern pastiche of the ultimate Eighties band.

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When I first heard the adrenalin rush of those guitars at the start of Girl From Mars, I was instantly transported back to the first wave of punk in 1977.

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Saint Etienne changed direction from their ambient dance style to a retro Sixties vibe on You’re In A Bad Way.

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The Beta Band burst on to the music scene in 1997 with the first of their three EPs, kicking off with this tune, Dry The Rain.

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The Flaming Lips sang this poignant, melancholic and beautiful state-of-the-world ballad on their third album back in 1990.

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