This was my introduction to the weird and wonderful world of The Cramps. They came along at exactly the right time with their decadent and pervy punk-adjacent rockabilly.

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This is one of the classic reggae songs. And like so many classic reggae songs, it’s been covered many times in many different versions. And, for that matter, several different titles.

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I’ve always hated Supertramp… except this song. Which is ironic. Because it’s illogical.

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I can’t pretend I was listening to disco music in 1979: I was parading around in a leather jacket festooned with badges proclaiming punk bands and anti-social slogans.

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In the pantheon of disco music there are two moments that tower above all others. The first is Donna Summer’s I Feel Love – surely the greatest disco song of all time – and this is the second.

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Here is another slice of white reggae from the dusty depths of my singles collection. I remember the cover art – by Ralph Steadman – as well as I recall the single.

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Oh how I love this single, from the opening keyboard run to that rat-a-tat-tat drum figure… and Julian Cope’s exuberant vocal. Then the breakdown with the burbling bassline and skittering hi-hats when he sings “It’s true.”

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Like so many punk groups, The Ruts were inspired to become a band after singer Malcolm Owen saw The Sex Pistols, but as their short career progressed, they increasingly incorported reggae into their sound.

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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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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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