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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When Elvis Costello brought out an album of country cover versions in 1981 – remarkably, his sixth album in four years – my music world was turned upside down.

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Little Richard was not just one of the formative figures in the birth of rock’n’roll but an influence on those to follow. Even if he did ‘borrow’ his own sound and look from a little known predecessor.

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People were shocked when Grace Jones performed her “One Man Show” at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in October 1981. Including me.

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The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel was not the first hip-hop hit but it was a landmark in the emergence of rap upon its release in 1981 – and the first hit to use scratching.

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Reggae and blues, country and funk, soul, disco – even jazz in this month’s playlist. Take your pick from vintage Janis Ian to recent Carla Bley (RIP), the best Velvets track ever, and the one decent track from the new Stones album. And much more.

Music, music, music… here is my montly playlist for September. It’s got soul and disco, it’s got country and jazz, it’s got hip hop, folk and country. Or, to put it another way, something for everyone:

Music, music, music… here is my monthly playlist for September. It’s got soul and disco, it’s got country and jazz, it’s got hip hop, folk and country. Or, to put it another way, something for everyone.

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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This song sounds as strange today as it did when I first heard it on the John Peel Show in 1981. It always does. An a capella song eight and a half minutes long, based on an operatic aria from a century earlier, it was the unlikeliest of hit singles. And yet… Such was its unique appeal that it reached No.2 in the UK charts.

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