1982
Who remembers Los Angeles rockabilly band The Red Devils? Certainly not me. I didn’t even know there was a thriving cowpunk scene, fusing rockabilly and country, in early-Eighties LA.
Here’s a second-wave punk band I don’t remember hearing before, probably because my tastes had evolved by the time they formed in 1981.
I first stumbled across this Bradford band by accident when they supported punk also-rans Chelsea at the Marquee one night in 1981 – billed as “Sudden Death Cult.”
Do You Believe In The Westworld is an epic with its thunderous tribal drums, the mighty clang of that guitar riff, the slightly sinister sax and the dubwise echo that matches the cinematic sweep of Kirk Brandon’s mini-Western in words, carried by his stentorian vocals.
Simultaneously smooth, smouldering AND funky, this tune helped give soul singer Gwen McCrae a second lease of life on the Northern Soul circuit in the UK.
Pete Wylie had his finest moment – and biggest hit – when Wah! released The Story Of The Blues at Christmas 1982, and reached No.3 in the charts.
When The Adverts invited Nico to play her first gig in four years in April 1978 not everyone was excited as me to see the Velvet Underground’s iconic chanteuse in the flesh.
For years I’ve heard people – usually musicians – say that Richard Thompson is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. And for years I’ve struggled to find any records that convince me of that. Until now.
When I first heard Xmal Deutschland in the early 1980s I thought I was listening to something new by Siouxsie And The Banshees. I’m sure I was not alone.
Let’s travel back to Jamaica in 1983 for Sister Nancy’s irrepressible dancehall reggae anthem Bam Bam, bringing a ray of sunshine to a cold winter’s day.