A colossus of country music and a doggone progenitor of rock ’n’ roll, Williams’ first No. 1 single in the US embodies his characteristically emotional, desperately heartfelt approach to singing and songwriting.
Released on the semi-legendary Postcard Records, Orange Juice provided a joyful alternative to the sturm und drang of post-punk’s austere intellectualism. The Edinburgh band’s debut single, Falling And Laughing was a little ray of sunshine; with a young Edwyn Collins at the helm, they sounded every bit as fresh as their name suggested.
The Slits were gobby and fearlessly uncompromising; they also gloriously redef ned the perception of what a girl band could be. Their classic debut single Typical Girls is driven by the band’s distinctive punky-reggae rhythms with a less-than-faithful version of Heard It Through The Grapevine on the B-side. It was the 45 that set the stage for the riot grrrls to come.
The digital bassline of Wayne Smith’s irresistible 45 was the first time computerised rhythms were used in Jamaican recordings and sparked a mini-revolution. It drew dancehall reggae closer to the production values of its cousin, US hip-hop. The rhythm may have been an attempt to recreate Eddie Cochran’s Somethin’ Else.
Lemmy named his post-Hawkwind outf t after a track he’d previously recorded with the druggy space rockers; it was a safer bet than his first choice – the less-than-radio-friendly Bastard. This breakneck ode to speed-freakery bridged the gap between metal/punk and would go on to have a profound effect on any number of bands, including Metallica.
Helmed by Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions bridged the energy of 50s R&B and the increased sophistication of 60s soul. Mayfield was one of the first black songwriters to bring a social and political charge into soul music.
Recorded and released in 1975, this lost treasure of a 45 reveals that somehow Television were post-punk before punk had even arrived. The painfully intellectual art-rockers laid down the foundation for guitar-orientated alt-rock in the US.