Breakdown – Buzzcocks
It's just a brilliant song with great guitar riffs and lyrics. It reminds me of 1976-77.
Cyber Insekt - The Fall
The amount of stuff they've written is huge. I know quite a bit of it but there’s still loads I’ve not heard. Mark E Smith is totally unique and that signature voice is something else. This track is amazing.
The Man In Me Lyfe - Moonlandingz
Lias and Saul from the Fat White Family’s alter ego. It’s manic and it’s them all over.
Tied Up In Nottz - Sleaford Mods
This band are the torch bearers of the underprivileged. Telling it how it is for a lot of people in ‘modern Britain’. Jason is a champion of the underclass. He’s a modern day poet talking in the language of today. The eloquence of his words and the unyielding metre of his sentence structure over the backdrop of Andrew’s amazing beats make them irresistible.
CID - UK Subs
This was one of the first punk albums I bought after The Clash and Sex Pistols. I've known Charlie for over 30 years and he's one of the heroes of the industry. He's 72 and still going strong, gigging and staying up late to put on amazing shows. The perfect British icon.
Uber Capitalist Death Trade – Cabbage
I love just about everything I’ve heard from Cabbage. I think they are great. Would love to see them live
Europe Is Lost - Kate Tempest
The album this comes from is brilliant. It was hard to pick a track from Let Them Eat Chaos but I chose this because I agree with all of its sentiment and so admire people who can deliver it so powerfully
Oh Bondage Up Yours - X-Ray Spex
It's always hard to choose just one of their songs because I love Poly. Not that I knew her, but I loved her voice and her band.
54-46 Was My Number - Toots and the Maytals
I like a bit of reggae. I saw them here with my dad on a reggae lunchtime show at the club in '77. They were unbelievable. I saw them again back in 2012, I just love them.
Ref 41 Degrees N 93 Degrees W – Wire
It's their 40th anniversary this year and this song has a strange title, but it's beautiful with great harmonies and lyrics. They are one of the most underrated bands ever.
Israel - Siouxsie and the Banshees
One of the most iconic women in music ever. There were some amazing one’s from this era from Poly to Debbie Harry to Pauline Black. Viv Albertine, Ari Up, Pauline Murray….But I had to have a Siouxsie track. It could have been any one of 20, but stuck a pin in this one.
Complete Control – The Clash
The Clash, for obvious reasons. Joe was my hero as a 16-year-old and remained so until he died, and still is. I love this band. Everything about them worked. The songs, lyrics and they looked like a band. All the parts equalled the sum a bit like the Small Faces. And the were clever enough to develop their sound away from just being a punk band. They still kept their stellar reputation throughout in my opinion.
Spit it Out – Slaves
I love them, so full of energy. They are jaw dropping when you see them live. They've got that punk ethos.
Mother – Idles
These guys are from Bristol, some of their stuff I really like. This song is brutal, in fact, the album it's from is called Brutalism. It's basically working class mums and it's angry. It takes you back to '76 but they’ve put their own handle on it.
Yuri-G - PJ Harvey
Simply the greatest female artist these shores have ever produced along with Kate Bush IMO. The female version of David Bowie.
Queen Bitch – David Bowie
Talking of which... There’s been a huge outpouring of love for Bowie since he died. But IMO he was vastly underrated outside of his (admittedly huge) fanbase in wider, more purist circles. A genius. Could have chosen any one of 50 songs. Literally. Did the stick a pin in a list trick with this again.
Sketch For A Summer - Durutti Column
If it's possible to have love song without any lyrics, then I'll choose this one. It's beautiful. If I could be with someone who I love now, this is the soundtrack, this is what I'd put on. I'm not great with slushy lyrics, but music is my words. That's enough for me.
Enjoy Yourself – Specials
This is my final track and it's not the original, but of all these tracks, this should be the one that you live your life by.
If you have any moral compass you'll be pissed off with the world and all of its injustice, but the bottom line is: Life is short, you only get one go at it. I'm very lucky and I never forget it.