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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Mud took a sideways turn from Glam stompers to celebrate the Christmas of 1974 with an hommage to Elvis Presley – and a bizarre TOTP appearance.

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I fell in love with Ellen Foley’s album Night Out the moment I heard this bombastic and blissful opening track – We Belong To The Night. With its piano runs, crunchy guitars, loud drums and epic Wall of Sound production, it could have come from a female-fronted remake of Born To Run.

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Here’s a deep cut from Santana… No, it isn’t. It’s by a school band from Nigeria called Ofege, recorded back in the early ’70s.

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Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark came up with their eco-anthem Electricity, the foundation stone of synthpop, in the summer of 1979.

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Bob Dylan’s delivery drips with sarcasm on the opaque lyric of Idiot Wind, from my favourite album Blood On The Tracks, but the meaning remains elusive.

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Diana Ross will always enjoy a special place in my affections – the Queen of Motown sang the first song on the first album I ever bought.

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Chicago blues and soul man Lou Pride recorded this Northern Soul favourite after moving down south to El Paso in 1972.

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Here’s a tune from the early days of reggae by Nora Dean, who earned herself a place in the niche genre of “naughty” reggae, best known for her saucy hit Barbwire (In His Underpants).

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