Like everyone else I know* I discovered Bob Marley when the live version of No Woman, No Cry became a huge hit in the summer of 1975. Then I dug deeper and discovered this tune from five years earlier.

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The Saints, who formed in Australia in 1973, were arguably the first punk band of all – but they always claimed not to be punks. Whatever they were, they were fantastic.

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French vocal trio Belle Epoque had their biggest (and possibly only) hit single in 1977 with disco classic Black Is Black.

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Sibling duo La Bionda were pioneers of the Italo-disco sound in the late Seventies. This was their biggest hit.

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Betty Davis is so hot you might need to stand back. And so is the funky groove of Your Mama Wants Ya Back.

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Holly Beth Vincent combined a feisty punk attitude with a smouldering sexuality and pop tunes you would remember in her short-lived band Holly & The Italians. None more so than this.

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I’ve only just stumbled upon this deep cut from Thin Lizzy, which seems to have been excavated from the vaults at some point last year.

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I should probably have posted this song on New Year’s Day; it’s the ultimate morning-after song. It’s also a bleak portrait of a couple trapped in an endless cycle of bitterness and despair.

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This power pop pastiche of Phil Spector brought pub rockers The Kursaal Flyers their only hit record in 1976. Which is ironic as they had another great song earlier in their career actually called Hit Records.

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This little-known Christmas single by T.Rex may not be a classic, but it’s not bad enough to merit being left on the shelf until long after Marc Bolan’s death.

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