The Indie Years 1984

Ah 1984! The Mid-Eighties - when popular songs dealt with the drugs, racism, famine, homophobia, war, the afterlife and going to nightclubs, standing on your own and leaving on your own.  But it wasn't all social commentary and right-on politics some established artists like Paul Weller just wanted to shout to the top in a repetitive manner and the fledgling Red Hot Chili Peppers were just enthusiastic about jumping.  Good times! 

1) Original Sin by INXS

This song is about social conditioning and growing up with the beliefs of your parents. It was produced by Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers who suggested introducing the interracial relationship which in 1984 was considered controversial enough to get the song banned from several US radio stations.  It was a number one hit single in Australia and France and heralded the arrival of their fourth album The Swing.

2) The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen

Echo and the Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch humbly describes this as “the best song ever written”.  Undoubtedly it the best song ever written by him.  He hasn’t described what the lyrics mean preferring to keep it mysterious and allowing the listeners to reach their own conclusions.  Ian said the “Fate up against your will” refrain was influenced by “To Be Or Not To Be”.  Typically Ian thinks his lyrics surpass William Shakespeare’s.

3) Thieves Like Us by New Order
Peter Hook rates this as New Order’s greatest song. Appropriately for a song called Thieves Like Us, Hooky admits he stole the baseline from a 1974 Hot Chocolate song called Emma.

4) Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow by Felt
Felt released ten albums between 1982 and 1989 before they disbanded leaving a distraught cult following.  They were too cult for me so I was unaffected at the time. 

5) Shout To The Top by The Style Council
Paul Weller takes his brand of white soul elevator music and sings "shout to the top" over it.

6) How Soon Is Now? by The SmithsT
his classic Smiths track was originally released as a B-Side to William, It Was Really Nothing.  A distinctive guitar intro displaying some of Johnny Marr's tightest riffs and some of Morrissey's bleakest lyrics.  A firm favourite of bedsitters wallowing in their self imposed isolation.       

7) A Sort Of Homecoming by U2

The rousing opening track from U2’s fourth album.  The lyrics include powerful imagery of bomb-blasts, explosions, fields of mourning and crucially “the land grows weary of its own”.  But the message is of overcoming the troubles tearing down walls and building bridges.

8) Don’t Go Back To (Rockville) by R.E.M.
 The Rockville in brackets could be replaced with any small town and the songs warns against moving backwards, wasting your time and getting stuck in a one horse town.  A sort of homecoming to be avoided. 

9) White Lines (Don't Do It) by Melle Mel & The Furious Five

Grandmaster Flash had already left the group over a dispute about the royalties from their previous hit The Message. Grandmaster Melle Mel, the leader of the Furious Five penned this social commentary on cocaine.  To make it commercially acceptable Melle Mel cynically inserted the “don’t do it” refrain.  Flash called out this hypocrisy saying “Now the guys are saying no to drugs on this new record, but I bet they’re out looking for the dope man just like me.”  The music was a re-recorded cover of a song called Cavern by liquid Liquid.

Incidentally the story about the businessman caught with drugs and released on bail was based on John DeLorean owner of the iconic 80s car. 

10) Born In The USA by Bruce Springsteen
I always used to turn this off thinking it was an awful piece of  jingoistic crap with his arse on the cover.  It was only recently that I listened to the lyrics and realised it was actually a story about the psychological fallout of the kids drafted into the Vietnam War, brutalised  and rejected by their society when they returned - with his arse on the cover.

11) Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat 
An autobiographical story from Jimmy Somerville about getting away from the gay-bashing provinces and seeking a new life in more cosmopolitan city.  

12) Looking From A Hilltop by Section 25
A band five years ahead of their time - the opening beat sounds like The Shamen circa 1990.  This is a Blackpool band on the Factory Records label.

13) I Walk Away by Split Enz
By 1984 Tim Finn had quit the band and his younger brother Neil had taken over as the main songwriter.  I Walk Away was a taken from the final Split Enz album which was only released in Australia and New Zealand.  Neil Finn loved the song but felt it was overproduced and it was re-recorded as a stripped down version two years later and included on the first Crowded House album.  Whilst the best version is obviously subjective, and debate rages in some very nerdy corners of the internet, my preference is the Split Enz version.  

14) The Caterpillar by The Cure

The Caterpillar was the only single taken from The Top - a collection of psychedelic Cure rock songs mixing paranoia, pop and Eastern influences with mixed results.

15) Plateau by The Meat Puppets
A song about searching for the promised land or the afterlife and when you reach it there’s “nothing on top”.  A big influence on Nirvana who later toured together and performed this and two other Meat Puppet songs with them on their MTV Unplugged appearance.

16) Let's Go Crazy by Prince
Prince had a more uplifting view of the afterlife.  Starting with organs and a sermon on never ending happiness in the next life, Prince advised enjoying your mortal life before the grim reaper visits you.

17) 2 Minutes To Midnight by Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden’s song about the Atomic Armageddon Clock and the vested interests of the military industrial complex pushing the nuclear arms race.  It was released against a backdrop of increasing high tension between the West and the Soviet Union in the early eighties.  President Reagan described the Soviets as an Evil Empire after the Russians invaded Afghanistan in 1980 and the US announced the development of a spaced based missile defence system dubbed Star Wars in 1983.  

18) Two Tribes - Annihilation Mix by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Two Tribes covers the same theme with pounding rhythms, American funk, Russian strings and a huge chorus. It spent 9 weeks at Number 1 in the UK and was a global hit.  I had the 12” and liked the air raid sirens, Ronald Reagan impersonations provided by Chris Barrie and apocalyptic yet calming public service announcements about radiation fallout and tagging your dead grandmother. 

19) Get Up And Jump by Red Hot Chili Peppers
This is the debut single from LA punk funk band Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

20) Do They Know It's Christmas Time? by Band Aid

This charity record to raise money for the Ethiopian famine was written and recorded in a rush to be released in time for Christmas.  Midge Ure of Ultravox and Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats collected their pop/rock star friends (Sting, U2, Bananarama, Duran Duran, Boy George) and gave them lines to sing.  The charity record raised over eight million pounds in a month and became the UK’s highest selling single holding that record for 13 years.  They followed Band Aid with the Live Aid concerts in 1985 to raise more funds.

Further Reading...
The Indie Years 1986
The Indie Years 1985
The Indie Years 1983
The Indie Years 1982
The Indie Years 1981
The Indie Years 1980
The Indie Years 1979
The Indie Years 1978
The Indie Years 1977

The Indie Years 1983

The Eighties are well under way here and a strong alternative scene was thriving.  New Order started dancing and fellow Mancunians The Smiths began their five year dominance of indie.  Liverpool unleashed Frankie Goes To Hollywood, from America R.E.M. and Talking Heads led the college radio scene and all around excellent alternative bands were busy releasing yearly albums at a work rate that would shame today's bands.    

1) Blue Monday by New Order (Factory)
New Order still refused to include their singles on their albums so Blue Monday was only available as a single.  The floppy disc sleeve with cut out sections cost more to produce than they sold it for.  It became the best selling 12-inch single of all time selling over 700,000 copies in 1983 and cost Factory Records a fortune.  Created as a song that could be played by the machines while the band went to the bar early it heralded the indie dance crossover and served as the blueprint for Madchester.

2) This Is The Day by The The (Epic)
Another classic song that was not popular at the time but its quality shines through the decades.  Harmonicas were all the rage in '83.

3) Hand in Glove by The Smiths (Rough Trade)
The brilliant debut single by The Smiths released on Rough Trade was not the huge hit single that Morrissey and Marr were expecting.  It reached #124 in the charts.  After it appeared on their debut album and was re-recorded with Sandie Shaw on vocals it did make the charts the following year.

4) Mad World by Tears for Fears (Phonogram)
A new wave hit taken from their debut album.  It was covered twenty years later for the soundtrack of the movie Donnie Darko and it became a #1 single for Michael Andrews and Gary Jules.

5) A New England by Billy Bragg (Utility)
Folk protest singer Billy Bragg wrote this a year before it was a hit for Kirsty MacColl.  This original only had two verses but Kirsty asked him to write another verse for her cover version.

6) This Is Not A Love Song by Public Image Limited (Virgin)
This was Public Image Limited's biggest hit single reaching the top 5 in the UK charts.  PiL were formed by John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten after he left the Sex Pistols.  PiL had started to head in a more commercial direction and this song was written as a response to their fans who believed they were selling out.


7) Dear Prudence by Siouxsie and the Banshees (Polydor)
Their second cover of a Beatles White Album song after Helter-Skelter.  Robert Smith of The Cure had joined the Banshees for two separate tours during their early years and wanted to appear on a Banshees record so suggested they released this cover which became their biggest hit.

8) Sugar Hiccup by Cocteau Twins (4AD)
Scottish rock band drench this track with lush guitars and nonsensical vocals and possibly invent dream pop.  I was listening to this track heavily years later whilst trying to feed my baby son mashed fruit and in my mind the lyrics will forever be "banana throw-up".

9) Burning Down The House by Talking Heads (Sire)
This was the result of Talking Heads attending a Parliament-Funkadelic gig and trying to emulate them.

10) Southern Mark Smith (Big Return) by The Jazz Butcher (Glass)
Name checking the leader of the Fall is one way to remain obscure and the Jazz Butcher achieved this easily.  And they went on to repeat this feat many times resulting in an obscure career.  However some members went on to star in The Woodentops.

11) Radio Free Europe by R.E.M. (Hib-tone)
Their debut single from 1981 re-recorded for their 1983 debut album "Murmur" it helped establish R.E.M. as a big band on the US College Radio circuit.  The lyrics were largely improvised and mumbled which would be Michael Stipe's preferred vocal method until the Mid-80's. 

12) Testify by Stevie Ray Vaughan (T-Neck)
Stevie Ray Vaughan sounds like the Jimi Hendrix of the 1980s and you can see what John Squire was aiming for on The Second Coming.


13) Sixty Eight Guns by The Alarm (I.R.S.)
Originally called The Toilets in 1977 these Welsh punks went through many line ups and several name changes (Quasimodo, Seventeen and Alarm Alarm) before they became The Alarm in 1981.  This was their biggest hit and was inspired by a book on 1960's Glasgow Street Gangs.  The Alarm are still touring and recording music but I've never heard anything else by them.   


14) New Year's Day by U2 (Island)
Taken from the War album, a song about the Polish Solidarity labour union movement which opposed the Communist Government.

15) Temple Of Love by Sisters Of Mercy (Merciful Release)
Gothic rock band formed in Leeds in 1980 who released several singles and three albums between 1980 and 1993.  Their biggest hit was an epic 1992 remix of this early single but here it is in the original form.


16) 99 Luftballons by Nena (Epic)
An anti-war song from West Berlin - It was re-recorded into English as 99 Red Balloons but the original was sung in German and tells a story of 99 air balloons being released on the border of the Iron Curtain which a pilot shoots down and this escalates into a full scale war. 

17) Temptation by Heaven 17 (Virgin)
Formed when some members of The Human League split away. Great dance tune which later featured in the disco scene in the film Trainspotting.

18) The Love Cats by The Cure (Friction)

One of the first happy poppy songs released by The Cure.  Unfortunately if you listen to the lyrics "Into the sea, you and me", is a reference to drowning cats in a bag.  Still they were definitely lightening up and subverting the mainstream.

19) Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (ZTT)
Liverpool's FGTH originally released Relax in October '83.  It would sell millions of copies all over the world and become one of the biggest hits of the decade.  It was the first of their trio of epic singles covering the topical issues of the Mid-Eighties: gay sex, nuclear war and horny vampires.

20) The Trooper by Iron Maiden (EMI)
Maiden's Eighties output was very educational.  This single details the battle of the Balaclava in 1854 with a retelling of Lord Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Further Reading...

The Indie Years 1986
The Indie Years 1985
The Indie Years 1984

The Indie Years 1982

The Indie Years 1981

The Indie Years 1980

The Indie Years 1979

The Indie Years 1978

The Indie Years 1977

The Indie Years 1981

Britain in the Early Eighties enjoyed or suffered a sound track provided by old punks, new wave, new romantics and New Order.  Whilst many in Britain celebrated the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana this occurred against a backdrop of economic decline, unemployment racial conflict and police brutality which sparked riots in the inner cities with Brixton and Toxteth being the most infamous of a spate of unrest from disaffected youth across the UK.  The simmering resentment boiled over into battles with the police, arson attacks and looting.  This spirit was captured in many of the alternative acts of the time.  Whilst The Clash had a full back catalogue predicting a riot, it was ska revivalists The Specials who took their Ghost Town anthem to the top of the charts.


1) Ghost Town by The Specials

Addressing the themes of urban decay of the inner cities and the impact on the people who reside in the towns that closed down.  Named song of the year in 1981 by NME, Sounds & Melody Maker.  

The Specials original lineup split after this record forming Fun Boy Three and The Special AKA.

2) Rise Above by Black Flag
Henry Rollins joined as lead singer in 1981 and Black Flag recorded their debut album Damaged. Black Flag originally formed in 1976 but had issues with their major record company who didn't like their material and refused to release records.  They set up their own influential hardcore label SST to release their confrontational songs.

3) One In Ten by UB40
This song was the ratio for the unemployment figures in UB40's West Midlands during 1981 and is a statistical reminder of a world that doesn't care.

4) I'm In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk by The Freshies
In a change of styles here is an enjoyable song from a Manchester punk band formed by Chris Sievey who would later be known by his stage persona Frank Sidebottom.  Apparently they turned down a 14-year old Johnny Marr for an audition because he was too young. 

5) Pretty In Pink by The Psychedelic Furs
One hit wonders who struggled on for over a decade on the strength of these four minutes of pop genius.  This song didn't even make the Top 40 on its original release until it was rerecorded for a movie soundtrack five years later.

6) I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives by Television Personalities
No hit wonders - Television Personalities were unappreciated by the masses but they recorded excellent quirky songs like this ditty about finding the reclusive former Pink Floyd singer. 

7) Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads 
A sermon about drifting through your own life on autopilot and suddenly having a moment of clarity where you wonder WTF happened?

8) Primary by The Cure
Minimalist punk rock played on drums and two bass guitars.  It was the only single released from their gloomy third album Faith.  One critic panned this records as "hollow, shallow, pretentious, meaningless, self-important and bereft of any real heart or soul".  Can't win them all!  

9) Ceremony by New Order
The debut single from New Order who renamed themselves after the death of Ian Curtis the previous year and handed vocals to Bernard Sumner bringing in Gillian Gilbert on keyboards.  Initially they sounded very similar to Joy Division with dark melodies and Ceremony was originally recorded as a Joy Division song.  The band would travel to New York City later in 1981 where they experienced the dance clubs that provide the inspiration for their future direction.  They also had all their musical equipment stolen and they went shopping for synthesizers.
   
10) October by U2
Haunting piano played by The Edge on this title track from U2's second album.

11) Souvenir by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
OMD from Liverpool were already mixing piano with synthesizers so maybe New Order didn't need to cross the Atlantic to find their new direction.  Souvenir maybe a bit soppy but it successfully tugs at the heartstrings.

12) Idiot Strength by The Nightingales
Formed out of the ashes of Birmingham's first punk band The Prefects, this band had the third highest number of recordings for the Peel Sessions.


13) Rapture by Blondie
Blondie popularizes the New York Rap scene in one of the earliest international hits influenced by the underground.  Deborah Harry raps for the second half of this song.  She name drops Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash but soon runs out of lyrics and rambles on repeating herself and jibbering about the man from mars eating cars.  Rapture has been highly sampled in hip hop tracks ever since. 

14) The Magnificent Seven by The Clash
The Clash had also been influenced by hip hop and they also tried their hand at rapping with greater success in my opinion.  The Magnificent Seven was actually recorded six months earlier than Blondie's Rapture although it had a later release date. 

15) That's Entertainment by The Jam
Back to England and Paul Weller's acoustic song of frustration about city living and is so British it can transport you back with its vivid imagery.  All the way back to a place you'll want to leave!

16) Wunderbar by Tenpole Tudor 
A short lived punk band and another one hit wonder released on Stiff Records

17) Just Can't Get Enough by Depeche Mode
Infectiously catchy and the first sizable hit for Depeche Mode.  Main man Vince Clarke pulled the pin after this success and went on to form Yazoo and later Erasure.

18) One Step Ahead by Split Enz
Neil Finn's composition was a huge international hit which surprised him as he said "it hasn't got a proper chorus".

19) Tainted Love by Soft Cell
Marc Almond and David Ball met at Leeds Polytechnic and formed Soft Cell in 1977 after initial chart failures their record label gave them one last shot.  They recorded a cover originally recorded by Gloria Jones in the 1960's as a Northern Soul anthem.  Gloria was later a member of T.Rex and the girlfriend of Marc Bolan. Tainted Love was a huge international hit for Soft Cell who made a lot of money which went to Gloria as royalties. 

20) Invisible Sun by The Police
Sting's wrote this song about the power that people find to carry on living through war and disasters with Belfast and Lebanon being particular influences.

Further Reading...
The Indie Years 1977
The Indie Years 1978
The Indie Years 1979
The Indie Years 1980
The Indie Years 1982
The Indie Years 1983
The Indie Years 1984
The Indie Years 1985
The Indie Years 1986

Mixtape December 2017

The last monthly mixtape of the year is here for your listening pleasure.  There is no time for me to relax as I must press on with the deliberations of the ultimate end of year polls for best tracks and best albums.  Luckily I enjoy making lists.  But before that time to pick up a few stragglers from 2017...

1)  God Knows by Nic Cester
The singer from Aussie rockers Jet has released an awesome solo album with a mix of rock, soul and hints of trip hop.

2) Doll by Tricky featuring Avalon Lurks
A stripped back cover of the Courtney Love/Hole original.  Always loved this song.

3) Rats by Sloan Peterson
Aussie Garage Rockers Sloan Peterson with a track that was excluded from last month's all Australian collection but worth a mention.



4) Same Same by Winston Surfshirt 
Speaking of which, Sydney's Winston Surfshirt are also excellent deserve to be massive.

5) If Love Is The Law by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 
Third album Who Built The Moon has just been released and this track features a guest appearance by Johnny Marr, a harmonica and suitably festive jingle bells in the mix. 


6) Sweet Harmony by She Drew The Gun
This green cover from the Liverpudlian indie band is a warning of ecological damage being done to the world and the call for all people and nations to come together and fix the problems.  It is still relevant nearly twenty five years later.  The original was The Beloved's biggest hit back in 1993.

7) Phantom by Sarah Blasko
The excellent Sarah Blasko is back with her first track from her sixth album Depth of Field due next year.



8) Golden Slumbers by Elbow
Taken from a Christmas advert in the UK this Beatles Song is perfect for his gravely Manc voice.

9) Room In My House by Shed Seven
A great comeback song taken from the new Instant Pleasures album.  Bluesy guitar riffs announce their first new material in 16 years.  The Yorkshire Britpop survivors even inject some humourous lyrics to help blow off the cobwebs.

10) Rage by Freestylers & Deekline
Loved the Freestylers B-Boy Stance back in the 90's and they have now strayed into dnb territory and I have been playing this track constantly and my kids are now singing the  to themselves.  "On the stage I rage and I'm rollin'."

11) The Next Time We Wed by The Fratellis
The best thing they've done since Chelsea Dagger.  Sounds like the Scissor Sisters if they had just gone through a messy divorce.

12) Like Gold by Vance Joy
Another glorious indie pop song that Vance Joy seems to churn out effortlessly.

13) Would You Be Mine by Turin Brakes
Adopting an electronic vibe this indie folk band are now having new adventures in hi-fi.

14) Friday On My Mind by San Cisco
Fremantle indie band with a cover of a 1966 worldwide hit for Australia's swinging sixties rockers - The Easybeats.  Founding member, songwriter and guitarist George Young died in October. George was the elder brother of AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm.  Malcolm also passed away this year leaving Angus Young in his school boy outfit as the only remaining original member of Acca-Dacca.

15) Pulsar by Ride
Shoegazer legends continue the new music with this single that doesn't appear on their 2017 Weather Diaries album.  This is a single edit so expect the full track to be twice as long.  I was just getting into it when it annoyingly faded out!

16) The Blackout by U2
Every now and then U2 release an interesting record - usually about once a decade.  The dirty bass sound and apocalyptic lyrics raise it above their regular output.  New album Songs of Experience is released on 1st December and it won't be automatically loaded onto every itunes account this time.

17) January 26 by A.B. Original
Trials and Briggs have been picking up awards for their excellent Aussie Hip Hop album Reclaim Australia and this track was released a year ago critical of holding the national day on January 26 - the anniversary of the British Invasion in 1788.  Australia Radio Station Triple J have just announced they are moving the date of their Hottest 100 Countdown to the following day and the culture war shit is just hitting the fan!       



18) Photosynthesis by Frank Turner
The Wessex Boy who proves that if you had an acoustic guitar it meant that you were a protest singer.  He's very angry and he's taking a stand against sitting down, capitalism and the aging process.

19) Tic Tac Toe by Django Django 
First track taken from their third album Marble Skies due in early 2018.

20) Hell To The Liars (Kolsch Remix) by London Grammar
Playing out the year with a 12 minute Danish techno remix that elevates London Grammar's music onto my radar.

The Indie Years 1980

I grew up loving indie music but I couldn't always explain what it meant or where the term came from.  "Indie" can be applied to a wide variety of artists and genres but the term originated in the method of distribution of physical records/ tapes from the recording studio to the consumer.

To explain how the Independent record labels were distinct from the Major record labels in the late Twentieth Century, l have to paint a brief picture of the record industry in the 1970's.  I will keep it brief partly because it is fairly dull and mostly because I am not an authority.

The Major labels had whole corporations set up to produce, package, distribute and promote popular music if they believed they could could make huge profits. This was when people paid for music before the internet, downloading and streaming destroyed the profitability of the record industry. Therefore the music that appeared on the Majors was generally the established mainstream artists where the audience was known and financial risks were low.  The Majors had contracts with the artists and they wanted each album to be, as Kurt Cobain put it, a "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter".

The Majors would often pay radio stations to play their latest singles on heavy rotation to promote the accompanying albums.  Most radio stations rely on commercial money so needed to kelep audience numbers high.  As a rule most people who tuned in to the stations wanted songs they knew to hum along to whilst they got on with their day.  These factors meant that the airwaves were full of middle of the road adult orientated rock and probably still are, on the whole.

There was very little chance of new unknown and unsigned bands playing experimental music and inventing new sub-genres from breaking into such a market.  The Majors would only be interested if they could see something they could flog by the container load to the youth market. 

Some punk and new wave bands were "picked up" by the Majors, (or "sold out") however, in exchange for huge advances, they usually lost their artistic control.  The Clash and the Sex Pistols both signed with Majors in the 1970's and were both majorly pissed off with the interference that was exerted on them.  The songs Complete Control and E.M.I. were written in  reaction to The Man.  

So if you wanted to remain as an independent artist in control of your destiny and record a triple album of techno, jazz and punk then generally you needed to find or form an independent label.

The Do It Yourself spirit extended beyond playing the music to recording it, mixing it, creating the record sleeves, promoting it and delivery.  

The music charts in the UK were made up from the sales returns of the chain record stores so if independent labels weren't getting their records into the high street shops then they were also excluded from the charts.  In 1980 the first Independent Music Chart was compiled by the independent record stores consisting of any genre of music that was released on the independent label.  The term Indie music came into popular usage in the 1980's.  It has also been associated with a style or sound but the term was more about independence or lack of commercial appeal!

In this blog I am selecting twenty Indie tunes from the year 1980 and explaining why I think they are ace. I'm also not being overly fussy about whether the record was originally released on a Major or Independent label - if it has the spirit of Indie it's in.  To borrow the quote from Primal Scream's Come Together...

"Today on this program you will hear gospel and rhythm and blues and jazz.  All those are just labels, we know that music is music..."

The Indie Years 1980 Spotify Playlist

1) Love Will Tear Us Apart (Martin Hannett Sessions) by Joy Division (Factory)
Joy Division's biggest hit with a singalong chorus is a tale of Ian Curtis's marital breakdown
Producer Martin Hannett recorded and remixed multiple versions trying to find the perfect definitive mix.  He encouraged Ian Curtis to croon the song like a punk Frank Sinatra. Synthesizers replaced Bernard Summer's guitar and indicate the musical direction that the band were heading in.
Ian committed suicide soon after the single was released and their second album Closer made the Manchester band world famous and successful commercially.  The Joy Division story is told in the excellent film 24 Hour Party People.  

2) Final Day by Young Marble Giants (Rough Trade)
From out of Cardiff comes this song about a woman preparing her home and family against the onslaught of nuclear Armageddon in a short minimalist masterpiece accompanied by synthesized whines and a picked guitar.  The final day promises total devastation followed by peace at last.

3) Redemption Song by Bob Marley and The Wailers (Island)
The reggae is gone in Bob Marley's classic acoustic lament beloved by the campfire guitarists of the world.   The song's message is to strive to overcome hardships with faith, courage and self belief.
Bob had been losing a battle with cancer when he recorded what would become the closing song on his final album before he died in 1981.  He implores the listener to take up the causes he believed in after his time. "Won't you help to sing these songs of freedom?"

4) A Forest by The Cure (Fiction)
Robert Smith took tight control of the The Cure's direction for their second album.  Where Three Imaginary Boys had been a compilation of material written over their formative punk years, the new album Seventeen Seconds would be a more considered offering of minimalist atmospherics, sketchy instrumentals and some standout songs like this haunted gem.

5) D-7 by The Wipers (Park Avenue)
I don't understand the lyrics to Dimension-7 but this punk song is awesome.  The Wipers were formed in Portland, OR by guitarist Greg Sage who craved the underground and stayed well below the radar.  D-7 was covered by Nirvana which is the only reason I have even heard of the band.

6) Police On My Back by The Clash (CBS)
In 1980 The Clash were calling the shots and released Sandinista, a triple album with thirty-six songs influenced by hip hop, dub, jazz, folk, and every type of world music.  For me they went too far and the quality suffers but there are a handful of tracks that cut through including this anti-police rocker sung over a siren.  Career Opportunities played on a xylophone and sung by some kids is another highlight on the album.

7) Echo Beach by Martha and the Muffins (Dindisc)
A song from a Canadian band daydreaming about escaping the drudgery of the life as an office drone to return to a fantastical beach paradise that seems faraway in time.  

8) Ace Of Spades by Motorhead (Bronze)
The jewel in the crown of Motorhead's career is the gambler's anthem The Ace of Spades.  With its tumbling drums, dirty guitar riffs and howling vocals of the filthiest rock n rollers on the planet it became an instant "live fast, die young" classic.

9) Cool by Pylon (dB)
Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Pylon played jagged guitar music with a yelping female vocalist.  This was their debut single.  Two obscure 80's albums were released and if it wasn't for R.E.M. championing them and their cover of Crazy on Dead Letter Office then I wouldn't have heard of them either.


10) People Who Died by The Jim Carroll Band (Atco)
Jim Carroll was a New York poet who briefly formed a band and recorded this vicious album.  This song is a tribute to all his friends that had died too soon.  Jim's autobiography "The Basketball Diaries" was made into a film in 1995 starring a very young Leonardo DiCaprio and is well worth watching.  (Rotten Tomatoes disagrees 46%).





11) Shark Attack by Split Enz (Mushroom)
Another gem from Split Enz.  Comparing his love to a deadly shark that will chew you up and spit you out. Contains the best lyrics ever written about being nibbled by sharks.

12) Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps by Splodgenessabounds (Deram)
A joke that wears thin on repeat listening but I recommend listening at least once a decade.

13) The Earth Dies Screaming by UB40 (Graduate)
This was the third single from UB40 in 1980 released on the independent Graduate label.  The British Reggae band went on to become one of the biggest Reggae acts in the world from humble beginnings on the doll in a Birmingham bedsit.


14) Sketch for A Summer by The Durutti Column (Factory)
Manchester guitarist Vini Reilly released the debut album with a sandpaper record sleeve so it would destroy the other records in your collection.  "It's good music to chill out to", says Steve Coogan in Twenty Four Hour Party People. Vini would later work with Morrissey on his debut album after the break up of The Smiths.




15) I Will Follow by U2 (Island)
Early track by U2 taken from their debut album Boy.  I Will Follow has been their most played song through their live career according to some statto with far too much time on their hands.


16) Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except For Me And My Monkey) by The Feelies (Stiff Records)
The New York band played frantic jittery guitars released the Crazy Rhythms album in 1980 which includes this Beatles' cover.  The Feelies album cover looks like Weezer's Blue Album but pre-dates it by 15 years and don't they look like a Mid-Nineties Blur?  The record stiffed on release and the band resisted pressure to make commercial hits and split up instead.  They reformed for a follow up in 1986 produced by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck who was another Feelies fan.

17) World Up My Ass by Circle Jerks (Frontier Records)
I discovered this L.A. hardcore punk band whilst compiling this blog and I did LMAO when I heard this defiant blast of extreme noise terror.  Well worth seventy-two seconds of your day.

18) There Goes Concorde Again by ...And The Native Hipsters
A home recording that took the ear of DJ John Peel and entered the Independent charts in August 1980. They recorded further material but not even I've ventured that far left-field. (lol)



19) Baggy Trousers by Madness (Stiff)
Beloved by 80's school kids a nutty song about getting through school (teachers and pupils) and much more fun than Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall. Madness were massive in the early 80's and had many hits between 79 and 86.  They reform all the time and still release new music to their hardcore fanbase.





20) Going Underground by The Jam
Rivaling Madness in UK chart success were The Jam who released singles ever few months and a new album every year.  Going Underground went straight to number 1 on its first week of release.
This is a rant about turning your back on society and literally going underground and leaving the politicians, the media and the general public to deserve each other.


Further Reading...
The Indie Years 1977
The Indie Years 1978
The Indie Years 1979
The Indie Years 1981
The Indie Years 1982
The Indie Years 1983
The Indie Years 1984
The Indie Years 1985
The Indie Years 1986