The title says it all, really!
I slightly regret being just a bit too young to be a Punk. I know some of it was manufactured, but that aside, there is so much energy in Punk. I could never understand then, and I can't understand now, why old codgers say it lacks music. They obviously haven't listened properly.
Forty eight tracks. Obviously I won't write about all of them. However,
- Babylon's Burning -The Ruts: my brother used to love singing this. Indeed, I am sure that somewhere in a drawer at my mother's house is a tape, long forgotten, of Matt aged 4 singing Babylon's Burning. Long forgotten - but wouldn't his wife love to hear it. Blackmail is a nasty word...
- Denis - Blondie I never really classed Blondie as Punk, but I do like them. This charted at just the time I was getting into chart music, and it sounds as raw and fresh 26 (ouch) years on as it did when I was in Junior 3 (what they now call Yr 5).
- Anarchy In The UK - Sex Pistols. Pure incomparable class. I'm thinking of spreading a rumour that Bryn Terfel is set to record a version of this - the ultimate 'crossover', I think. Does anyone want to help spread the rumour?
- My Way - Sid Vicious About twenty five years ago there was a TV programme saying this was the most recorded song of all time. I can't pretend to have heard all versions, but, then and now, I believe this to be the best. Definitely on the shortlist for my funeral music!
- Sound of the Suburbs - The Members Surely the soundtrack to Punk. I had forgotten quite how much I like this!
- Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) - The Buzzcocks - my favourite song by my favourite Punk band. When they performed this on TOTP, I was knocked sideways. Then the Fine Young Cannibals did a pointless and ruinous cover
- Into the Valley - Skids. Two words - Stuart Adamson (the late, great). Swoon! Great song! Also great on TOTP. Especially love the guitar!
- Milk and Alcohol - Dr. Feelgood. I think this was also covered by my brother aged 4. Pauline and I were such bad influences on him as a toddler. (She was more into Heavy Metal, which has never done it for me)
- 2468 Motorway - Tom Robinson. The first pop star I saw in concert - at the Karnival Party in the Portland Building Ballroom at University (look, I've been to very few pop concerts in my whole life...)
- Teenage Kicks - The Undertones - just class
- Deutscher Girls At this moment, I think this is the best Adam and the Ants song. I could change my mind tomorrow...
- We're Only Making Plans For Nigel - XTC. One of the most underrated bands of all time. Always reminds me of this lad on the bus called Nigel. At the time this was in the charts, one of my classmates was seriously after Nigel. And seriously into XTC.
- I am the Fly - Wire: I love the relentlessly grinding guitar. The nihilist lyrics epitomise the appeal of Punk.
- God Save the Queen - The Sex Pistols. Musically, this is really quite dreadful. But lyrically and conceptually, it's epoch-making. 123, all together now: "God Save the Queen, the fascist regime...no future no future no future for you."
- Stop Sobbing by The Pretenders and Is She Really Going Out With Him - Joe Jackson aren't really punk. But they're quite pleasant.
- I never realised at the time that Jilted John was a spoof Punk song - he's John Shuttleworth. I once got 100 lines for singing 'Gordon is a moron' deliberately within the hearing of a teacher whose first name was Gordon.
- It is rare that friendships have an 'our tune' but if it were possible, Magazine's Shot By Both Sides would have served that purpose...if it were not for the existence of Song From Under the Floorboard, which is a terrible omission from this compilation...
Not a turkey on the entire Double CD
