Another ubiquitous band in those early days of punk was The Cortinas, flying the flag for Bristol.
Largely forgotten now, their debut single Fascist Dictator was nevertheless a minor classic of the genre – and one of the first to be released.
Formed when they were schoolboys in 1976 (aged 15 and 16), they lasted just two years. This was their first single, on Miles Copeland’s label Step Forward, run by Mark P of the fanzine Sniffin’ Glue.
The Cortinas played the Roxy on a regular basis though their biggest gig was probably when they supported Television and Blondie in their hometown.
After a Peel session they released a second single, Defiant Pose, memorable for its cover photo, designed (by prog sleeve artists Hipgnosis) of a middle-class couple looking dismayed and disapproving while, behind them, their teenage son vomits copiously at the kitchen table.
Belatedly signing to a major label, their debut album, True Romances, came out on CBS in 1978 and displayed a band moving away from shouty punk towards what would become Power Pop.
This time the song titles were more memorable than the songs themselves – Ask Mr Waverly and I Trust Valerie Singleton – and it was all too little too late.
When it failed to sell in significant numbers, the band disintegrated and bass player Dexter Dalwood went on to study art at St Martin’s, becoming a leading YBA.
Dalwood was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2010 and acted as a trustee for both the Tate and the National Gallery, as well as keeping up a sideline in music, performing with Barry Andrews of XTC.
Guitarist Nick Sheppard replaced Mick Jones in The Clash on their final album Cut The Crap, before moving to Australia and opening a clothing store in Perth, while their other guitarist, Mike Fewings, joined Essential Bop.
Vocalist Jeremy Valentine spent time briefly in The Glaxo Babies and Maximum Joy and is now a university lecturer in media studies in Edinburgh, while drummer Daniel Swan went to America and worked for the management of Green Day before opening his own booking agency in San Francisco.