Top 5 British Punk Singles

I wouldn't say I had a sheltered upbringing but growing up in a small village in the heart of the Surrey commuter belt was never going to make me into a street wise trend setter. The only knowledge I had of popular culture came from the TV and in particular Top Of The Pops. This is why I spent several months believing Pink Floyd were one of those Punk Rock bands I kept hearing about. By the time I knew what Punk was about it was all over.

1. Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK" (1976) - The Sex Pistols were almost certainly the first punk band I ever heard and have defined my idea of what punk should sound like. I remember someone bringing a single into school and playing it on a small portable record player over lunch. It might not have had an instant affect on my musical tastes (which up to that point were rooted in The Beatles & The Carpenters) but there was a definite frisson of excitement in hearing a "banned" song played. "Anarchy" is the band's debut single and one of a handful of cracking tunes the Pistols managed to release before imploding in a style completely appropriate for the genre. I spent a good 20 years mishearing the lyric "I want to destroy the passer-by" as "I want to destroy, possibly" which puts an entirely different perspective on John Lydon's rage.

2. The Damned "New Rose" (1976) - I have only recently got into The Damned having previously been more aware of their mid-eighties Goth period. Their first few albums were proper punk though and "New Rose" became the first punk single released in the UK beating the Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK" by a month and a few days.

3. Stiff Little Fingers "Suspect Device" (1978) - One of my favourite bands. Whilst they've never veered too far from their original style, they have written some brilliant tunes. Jake Burns lyrics, born out of living in Belfast during the height of the Troubles, set them apart from other bands of the time. I discovered them thanks to a 1981 episode of the BBC's Play For Today series. Jake Burns made his acting debut as Ducksey in "Iris In The Traffic, Ruby In The Rain" which also saw the rest of the band playing themselves and a SLF heavy soundtrack.

4. Buzzcocks "Orgasm Addict" (1977) - I spent far too long only knowing Buzzcocks for the (admittedly excellent) "Ever Fallen in Love". "Orgasm Addict" was released as a 7" shortly after Howard Devoto had left the band to form Magazine and filled the gap between the seminal "Spiral Scratch EP" and their debut full length album "Another Music in a Different Kitchen".

5. Alternative TV "Action Time Vision" (1978) - Alternative TV were formed by Mark Perry, the founding editor of the influential punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue. I think the best Punk records blur the distinction between trashy D.I.Y. rock and perfect Pop and this gets that combination spot on.

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Top 5 Bands named after fabric

A quick topic this week for no particular reason other than it made me happy. I was listening to Marc Riley a few weeks back and he played Corduroy's cover of Motorhead by Motorhead. I think it's a great name and it got my mind thinking.

1. Denim - Nineties Glam Rock revivalists formed by Lawrence from Felt.

2. Suede - Bowie influenced Brit-Pop upstarts.

3. Felt - Eighties Indie band who released 10 albums & 10 singles in 10 years. Led by Lawrence from Denim.

4. The Chiffons - All girl vocal group from the early sixties.

5. Corduroy - Nineties acid-jazz quartet.

Thanks to those of you on Twitter that helped me find a few more.

Black Lace - Novelty euro-pop horrors.
Cotton Mather - Indie rock outfit from Austin, Texas.
Denim - American party rock band from the early seventies
Nylon - Apparently Iceland's most successful, singer/songwriter girl-band.
The Nylons - Canadian a capella group
Poly-Esther - Possibly just a 5olly joke but I did find a brief mention of a Canadian band with this name. (UPDATE: It wasn't a joke he meant this band The Polly Esthers, check 'em out and let me know what you think)
Silk - American R&B group from Atlanta, Georgia
Cheryl Tweedy - Maiden name of former Girls Aloud singer
Wool - melodic punk-rock band from Washington D.C.

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Top 5 Bands

1983 was my year zero for music. The point at which I started to take an interest in music beyond what I heard on Top of the Pops and that I found in my parents record collection. Since then I've always maintained a mental list of my favourite bands. In fact this was probably the beginning of my obsession with top fives. By the end of that year my Top 5 Bands list would have looked something like this;

1. Status Quo
2. Marillion
3. Iron Maiden
4. Pink Floyd
5. Big Country

My musical tastes remained fairly set for the best part of ten years. These bands were set in stone. Somewhere around the early nineties my musical horizons began to expand. I went to the Reading Festival and saw six bands in three days, my mental list began to unravel as I discovered new bands, new genres and new friends.

I thought it was time for me to have another go. It wasn't as easy as I thought it might be. My top two are pretty set but beyond that I've changed my mind at least ten times since I started to put this together. So, currently, my favourite bands/artists are thus.

1. Pixies

2. Johnny Cash

3. The Specials

4. A Silver Mount Zion

5. Arcade Fire

This will almost certainly change next week.

Top 5 Gigs of 2009

My lowest gig tally for some time, I think I only managed 8 or 9 all told. The quality remained high though so there were no shortage of contenders for the final five. All gigs were in that there London unless stated.

1. Dananananaykroyd (Hoxton Bar & Grill) - So, if I was being strictly accurate the 'Naykroyd would be at numbers 1 and 2. I saw them twice and they were head and shoulders above any band I've seen in the past ten years. Possibly ever. The Hoxton show edged out the Scala show by a gnat's whisker. It was the first headline show I'd seen them do and a cracking night for many other reasons. If you like your music at the spiky end of the scale do yourself a favour and see this band live.

2. Bill Callahan (Union Chapel) - First time I'd seen Bill live and first time I'd been to the Chapel. Bill was on brilliant form, playing songs mainly from his 2009 album (2nd in my albums of 2009) as well as a nice mixture of old favourites. The Union Chapel is a proper working church, which means it's first come first served for the best spot on the pews. I'm at an age where I can enjoy a venue that provides cups of tea in a proper mug and has little tubs of ice cream on sale.

3. Neko Case (Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth) - Likewise, this was my first live experience of Neko Case. Alternative country if you don't already know. Neko has a stunning voice which was all the more impressive in the cosy environment of the Wedgewood. It seemed a little like this was a warm up for the following nights show at the Barbican but the relaxed atmosphere only aided my enjoyment. A cracking mix of new songs from "Middle Cyclone" and the best of her back catalogue.

4. Pixies (Brixton Academy) - Playing the whole of "Doolittle" in order plus a selection of b-sides from the same era and some old classics. Fantastic show which I slightly regret being too drunk to fully appreciate. Thankfully they're selling live CD's of the tour so I still have the chance to listen to the show more attentively. Despite my state of sobriety I had a fab time and thoroughly enjoyed the night.

5. Stiff Little Fingers (The Forum) - I haven't seen the SLF for a very long time so having heard they were touring again was keen to check them out. This was the night after the eventful evening in Hoxton (see above), so I was a little jaded and not particularly expecting to enjoy it. However, Jake Burns and the boys blew me away. They played a cracking set of greatest hits that sounded as good as I have ever heard them before.

Top 5 Bands I've seen play live most frequently (and other stats)

Or, in other words, an excuse for me to reel off some stats that I've found out since I discovered the wonders of Song Kick.

This is my gigography a record of every gig I've been to. Currently that's 382 according to my SongKick profile although that doesn't include "pub gigs" which brings my official tally to 402. That might sound like a lot but it is over 23 years and if I have discovered anything from using SongKick it's that I'm small fry compared with some people!

Of course, I knew how many gigs I'd seen already but Song Kick provides a smart front end that lets users add set lists, reviews, photos or video as well as a facility to track venues or artists you want to see live. All brilliant fun for a list nerd like me and the latest reason I've found to be sitting on the computer when I really should be doing something more useful with my time.

So, who are the bands I've seen live the most? I don't think there will be any surprises here for anyone who knows me well. My music tastes have changed over the years but this nails me down to the 4 or 5 years when I was enjoying the twin benefits of living at home and working, which just happened to coincide with "The Prog Years".

1. Marillion (32 times)

2. Status Quo (30 times)

3. Fish (21 times)

4. Jethro Tull (20 times)

5. IQ (8 times)

An added bonus, as it's been a while since I did a top five, these are the venues I've visited the most.

1. Town & Country Club/London Forum (51 times)

2. Hammersmith Odeon/Apollo (47 times)

3. Wembley Arena (32 times)

4. Brixton Academy (22 times)

5. London Astoria (19 times)

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Top 5 Incidents with my Glasses at Gigs

OK. Something a little different this week. I hope this might act as a useful reminder to myself that a) I am stupid, b) Beer only serves to make me more stupid and c) I should NEVER wear my glasses down the front at a gig - it's only going to end one way. I guess anyone who knows me has a pretty good idea where this is heading. These are in chronological order.

5. Pendragon at The Marquee (Late 80's)
I was a big fan of prog rock at the time and a regular at The Marquee when it was based in Charing Cross Road. It was a popular venue for the new wave of prog bands that continued to eek out an existence in the shadow of the mini-revival boom that had been stoked by Marillion. For all their faults you could rely on a prog band for a good bit of pogo-ing down the front. It was in the midst of one of these nights that my specs came off. This was the first time it had happened and I remember shouting "No! My Glasses!" as they tumbled in slow motion through the air. Amazingly the people nearest to me heard and we were able to create a small pocket of space in the surrounding chaos. There on the floor, almost lit from above like some holy grail, were my specs. I scooped them up, stuck them in my pocket and we all carried on bouncing. Huzzah!

4. The Georgia Satellites at The Town & Country Club (Early 90's)
I was being careful. I'd learnt my lesson. I stayed further back and avoided the tempting crush down the front. Nodding my head to the music what could go wrong. Then the music got to me and my head nodding became more rigorous. One big flick and - ping! - glasses gone. I turned around to find where they'd fallen and saw the bloke behind me holding them in his hand. Gratefully retrieved my specs and shuffled off quietly to the bar.

3. The Phantoms at The Fighting Cocks, Kingston (12th May 2004)
Watching some mates play what may have been their first proper pub gig I was somehow goaded into making things a bit more lively. Following my last incident I'd purchased one of those spongy straps to keep my specs on at gigs and for a while they did the trick. They did make me look a bit spoddy though, so by the early 2000's I was wearing them less. This was just a pub gig anyway so I wasn't expecting to get involved. In the midst of a jumping frenzy I "sensibly" decided to tuck my glasses out of harms way by placing them just behind one of the front monitors. Perfect. All went well until the gig finished. I'm chatting with a mate and one of the guitarists comes over to say hello. As he stepped off stage there was a crack under his foot and my glasses were no more.

2. Detroit Cobras at ULU (8th September 2004)
Note the date. A mere four months after my previous incident. New specs in place. This was a cracking gig. I was well sozzled by the time the Cobras hit the stage and there was no way I could resist the lure of their blend of classic soul and garage rock. Mid-pogo my glasses did that familiar mid air somersault off my nose and disappeared into the dark below. Unlike the Pendragon gig I couldn't find them. They had completely vanished from view. Enjoying the rest of the gig I had a minor epiphany - realising that if I'm moshing about down the front I didn't actually need to be wearing my specs at all. When the bands had finished I had a root about to see if I could locate my specs and found just one single lens. It was heavily scratched and not much use but I took it home as a reminder that I needed to be more careful in future.

1. Dananananayroyd at Hoxton Bar & Grill (2nd April 2009)
This was a fun evening of beer and hijinks, missed last trains, an overnight stay in that there London and getting trapped in a corridor the following morning. Five years on and it looked like I'd got the message. I took a hard case to most gigs and stuck my specs away if I felt the urge to mosh. The specs I'd got after the Cobras gig were still going. They were a great pair of glasses, the coolest I'd ever owned, but were a little bent out of shape from the normal rigours of family life. That's no excuse though. I should have taken them off before the music took control. We'd had a fair bit to drink and not very much to eat. We'd come up straight from work and I'd forgotten to bring my case. The music started, the crowd went wild, I couldn't resist. Thirty seconds in and - spoing! Another pair of glasses hit the deck and disappear for ever. Another brilliant gig means I'm having too much fun to care. Again one of my mates went in search of my ruined glasses and amazingly found them amongst the dust and detritous at the front of the stage. They weren't in good shape.

This doesn't read too well for me does it. Over twenty five years attending gigs and I still haven't learnt my lesson. I'm over forty now, a father of two, I really should know better. Despite that, these were all great nights out. Maybe I just have to accept that this is inevitable. I also know that I should try contact lenses. I have had a couple of aborted attempts but it's the whole sticking your finger in your eye thing. Its just unnatural.

The shattered remains of my lovely OWP spectacles.

Top 5 Gigs of 2008

Managed fourteen gigs last year, all good nights. Near misses included The Godfathers & The Jim Jones Revue at Islington Academy, Youthmovies at Kingston Fighting Cocks, The (legendary) Sonics at The Forum and the Black Lips at the 100 Club.

1. The Dirtbombs (University of London Union) - OK, so I was a fairly sozzled by the time they reached the stage. An afternoon in the pub followed by a few at the venue had me in a very good mood and ensured I spent most of the time pogoing like a maniac. The Dirtbombs would make my top five current live acts and I'd recommend seeing them at every opportunity.

2. A Silver Mt. Zion (Scala) - Post rock live isn't always the most enthralling of prospects but ASMZ continue to amaze me with every tour. This was the best show I've seen them do and the last few have all been excellent as well.

3. British Sea Power (Koko) - A packed out Koko and BSP at the height of their powers, built to a magnificent conclusion with the guitarist Noble climbing the walls.

4. Les Savy Fav (Astoria) - First time I'd seen them live and they lived up to their reputation. It's all about front man Tim Harrington who really steals the show spending as much time in the audience as he does on stage. An icon for fat bald blokes everywhere.

5. Johnny Foreigner/Dananananaykroyd/William (Madame Jo Jo's) - A triple bill of new Indie bands which provided another, slightly alcohol fuelled, great night out. William and Jo Fo were decent enough but it was Dananananaykroyd who stole the show. Another sweaty night for me including being right in the middle of the "wall of cuddles". Top time.

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Top 5 Tribute Band Names

Tribute bands were a 90's phenomenon. It all seemed such a brilliant idea when they first started appearing. A chance to see bands you'd never seen who'd split up or passed on playing all your favourite songs in a small venue. Typically things eventually got out of hand. Now tribute bands are playing larger venues and becoming almost as popular as the artists they are honouring. I feel there ought to be Tribute Band legislation to sort the wheat from the chaff. Thou shalt not form a tribute band of anyone who has not had a career lasting at least ten years. Thou shalt not play a venue bigger than 500 capacity. Thou shalt not employ a member of the band you are trying to impersonate. You get the idea.

1. By Jovi - Hands down, out and out winner. This is a genius name, in fact a name worthy of forming a Bon Jovi tribute band just to use. I can't think of many other reasons why you'd want to form a Bon Jovi tribute band. One day I will go and see them just so I can say that I have. http://www.byjovi.com/

2. aRe wE theM - For some reason this makes me laugh. A lot. Really needs the capitalisation to get it but brilliant none the less. http://www.myspace.com/nexttry

3. Nearvana - I never saw Nirvana live. Had a close miss which I regret not taking, so this lot are as close as I'm likely to get. http://www.myspace.com/topnirvanatribute

4. Beatallica - Ok, not just a straight tribute band but a cunning combination of the Beatles and Metallica. When I first discovered this thought it was a smart idea. They used to offer their music for free but now seem to be charging for everything. Guess they worked their way around any potential law suits. Not sure what's going on with their image on the front page of the website - that guy in the middle looks more like King Diamond than any 'Tallica or Beatles member. http://www.beatallica.org/

5. Geneside - The one band I've actually seen live. Geneside were an early Genesis tribute band. They were great actually, although I saw them far too many times to be healthy. Had to change their name (to the rather bland ReGenesis) when they realised most people thought they were a Death Metal band. I think they've been surpassed of late by a host of other early, mid and late Genesis tribute bands, but for me they were the first and the best. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~andyrh/

A special mention for The Remainz who are the exception to the not using ex-band members in your line-up rule. They featured Dee-Dee and Tommy Ramone and there's a sort of tragic humour to the name. Also Lez Zepplin who are an all-female Led Zep tribute (obviously!). I'd rather go and see them than watch Zoso and Percy drag themselves around enormo-domes for the price of a small mortgage.

Top 5 ... and the ...'s

Needed something quick and easy as yet again, despite planning on getting something written well in advance of Friday I find myself late on Thursday night with nothing prepared (a trend that probably explains quite a bit about my general direction and path through life so far). My top 5 "something and the something" bands.

1. Booker T and the M.G.'s

2. Iggy and the Stooges

3. Link Wray and the Raymen

4. Sly and the Family Stone

5. ? and the Mysterians