I have never been to Nigeria but I feel as if I’ve spent time amid the hustle and bustle of Lagos while listening to sound artist Emeka Ogboh’s album 6°30’33.372″N 3°22’0.66″E.

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I went to see Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers for the first time at Hammersmith Odeon in the summer of ’77 and he sang Ice Cream Man – six times in a row.

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I never thought I’d be singing the praises of disco tunes, least of all from a period when I was plunged deep in punk and post-punk. Until I remembered this hit by Odyssey.

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Song of the Day

With its spooky folk-horror video and creepy choral vocals by the Mediaeval Baebes, Orbital have created a post-pandemic anthem that fuses their characteristic dance rhythms with the playground song Ring A Ring O’Roses.

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London collective Hi-Tension flew the flag for the disco offshoot of Brit-funk with their self-titled hit single. I have to confess the song – and entire genre – passed me by completely at the time.

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You didn’t have to like disco to like Chic, who always claimed to be a rock band for the disco generation. And you didn’t have to like Le Freak to find yourself singing along.

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It’s hard not to shudder when you hear the words ‘girl group’ and ‘Phil Spector’ in the same sentence these days but The Paris Sisters seemed to survive the experience.

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Two members of The Blockheads were responsible for the biggest gaffe of my entire career at Dury’s funeral in April 2000. Well, them…. and me. 

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In that early post-punk universe of new sounds and new ideas, Bela Lugosi’s Dead was an important landmark. The nine-minute single was the first recording Bauhaus ever made – as a demo – just six weeks after forming in Northampton in 1978.

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I can’t pretend i was ever a big Fleetwood Mac fan.
So the death of Christine McVie didn’t resonate with me as strongly as with those millions who bought Rumours. But the outpouring of love and sadness for her death is a poignant reminder of the unifying power of music.

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