Sharply dressed, socially switched-on and tremendous fun, ‘The Specials’ typified the 2 Tone era and remains relevant in 2019.
Razor-sharp, angry and intelligent, Gang Of Four’s 1979 debut album ‘Entertainment!’ was instrumental in laying down a template for post-punk that still endures today.
While synthesisers had been around for a while by 1979, Gary Numan’s chilly, immersive album ‘The Pleasure Principle’ represented a Year Zero for commercially successful electronic pop.
Four decades on from its release, The Slits’ scintillating debut album ‘Cut’ still blazes a trail for women in the music industry.
Turning his neuroses inwards, David Byrne and Talking Heads delivered their first proper masterpiece in 1979 with third album ‘Fear Of Music’.
One of the most iconic and influential indie albums of all time, Joy Division’s 1979 debut album ‘Unknown Pleasures’ turns 40 years old.
The final part of the fabled Berlin trilogy, ‘Lodger’ is under-appreciated in David Bowie’s discography but provided a bridge to his glittering pop future.
A key marker in the evolution of the British post-punk and goth scenes, Siouxsie & The Banshees’ 1978 debut album ‘The Scream’ is brilliantly and darkly compelling.
The point at which Paul Weller’s muse kicked in to life, ‘All Mod Cons’ was the start of The Jam’s imperial phase, full of incisive social observations and razor-sharp punk.
Popularising new-wave in the American mainstream, Blondie’s third album ‘Parallel Lines’ was a masterclass in aesthetic.