I’ve never heard of Area Code 615 though I do know one of their songs without even knowing it – their number Stone Fox Chase is the theme music of the Old Grey Whistle Test. 

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Funny old time, the late 1960s. The British blues boom was coming to an end and bands were turning those 12-bar tunes into heavy rock.

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This strange but fascinating instrumental is a real one-off. I defy anyone to tell me what genre this should be filed under in a record shop. It’s got a dramatic, atmospheric vibe, as befits its status as library music, but there’s also funk lurking in there somewhere; just don’t try dancing to it.

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Lizzy Mercier Descloux was one of the first artists to make a mark on the Ze label as the No Wave movement gathered momentum in New York.

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When it comes to underrated talents, Shuggie Otis should be one of the first names to come to mind. No less a judge than David Byrne rates his trippy R&B jams as “equal to Marvin and Curtis.”

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Dexys Midnight Runners came along with their energetic soul revival sound in 1979, riding the coat-tails of 2-Tone as the punk revolution began to diffuse into new sounds and hybrids.

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What a classic this is! It’s one of those songs that lifts your spirits the moment you hear those opening chords. American Girl’s got one foot in the past (the jangly guitar of The Byrds) and one foot in the present (the driving rhythms of the New Wave). On top of that, it’s just a stone-cold classic.

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Over the years there have been songs that caught my imagination without the artist ever finding a place in my musical life. This is one of those songs – and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band are one of those artists.

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Here’s an oddity from the depths of my punk-era singles collection. It was only decades later that a friend picked this obscurity out and recognised two of the names on the sleeve – not as musicians, but as music journalists.

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A Taste Of Honey were one of the few disco outfits to write, sing and play their own tunes. This was their debut single – and their only hit.

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