The Flys might not have been able to spell their own name but their debut single is another of my forgotten favourites from the punk era. Listening now, it wouldn’t sound out of place on a Power Pop compilation. (more…)

This isn’t the first recording by The Fall, but it’s the first to have been heard on the radio, when John Peel played their debut session in June 1978. (more…)

The first time I saw The Fall was at the opening night of The Vortex, a punk club at the top of Wardour Street just off Oxford Street on 4 July 1977. This was their first recording a year later. (more…)

I’m not sure exactly when the term New Wave came into common use, or why. It has a sense of “not quite punk but nearly” about it. Advertising were one of the first. (more…)

Here’s a sentiment we can all agree with. And a song that ticks all the punk boxes: fast, angry, simple… and only two minutes long. (more…)

In many ways Crass are the quintessence of punk. You might call them punk in excelsis. No band walked it like they talked it with quite so much commitment to the cause of social change. (more…)

With their jangly guitars and vocal harmonies rubbing shoulders with an, ahem, driving beat, The Motors had were the prototype for Power Pop. (more…)

The Cigarettes came from Lincoln and dressed like mods but played like punks. Well, it worked for The Jam. It didn’t bring as much success for The Cigarettes but they didn’t have the songwriting skills of a Weller. Then again, not many did. (more…)

Here’s an example of what happened when a hippie group decides to jump on the punk bandwagon in the search for success. (more…)

Akron girl Jane Aire’s star burned briefly but brightly with this compellingly quirky slice of twisted teen-dream Americana. (more…)