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.
‘Chairs Missing’, the second of Wire’s holy trinity of late ’70s post-punk classics, turns 40 years old.
‘The Man-Machine’ was the second of Kraftwerk’s holy trinity of influential masterpieces, and one that gradually opened them up to a wider audience.
‘This Year’s Model’ is the sound of Elvis Costello perfecting his art at a precociously young age, with a backing band that acts as an efficient vector for his caustic humour and barbed cynicism.
Key progenitors of no-wave and synth-punk, New York duo Suicide made their confrontational and divisive appearance on the city’s underground scene 40 years ago.
Seething with a creativity and artfulness that set it miles apart from British punk in 1977, Wire’s debut album ‘Pink Flag’ remains a totem for indie culture.
A watershed moment that personified the punk explosion in Britain, the Sex Pistols’ debut album is one of the most iconic pop culture events of the 20th century.
The second of the so-called ‘Berlin trilogy’, “Heroes” is one of the most complete works of Bowie’s illustrious and varied career.
Ian Dury’s debut album ‘New Boots And Panties!!’ often sounds rather dated 40 years later, but was one of the surprisingly few great albums of first-wave British punk.
