Here is Jay Ferguson with his US hit Thunder Island, built around a riff that will be familiar to Rolling Stones fans.

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Peter Gabriel performed A Whiter Shade Of Pale as a punk parody – or was it a tribute? – at Knebworth in the summer of 1978.

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I know there are people – many people – who hate this prime fillet of cod reggae. They probably hate cricket too. In both cases they are mistaken.

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I really tried quite hard to like Nina Hagen, the so-called Godmother of German Punk. She was beautiful, glamorous and a little bit frightening – like a grown-up Toyah.

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Here is some rare footage of the last time Sting took public transport, way back in 1978, before The Police had had a hit single, and before Sting bought a lute.

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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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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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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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