The Best Gig I Never Went To

Hunting through my old junk I came across this bit of paper torn from "Sounds" from sometime in 1976, I had fancied going to this gig as I had been to a couple of shows at the Kursaal Southend before and at the time was trying to see at least one band a week as I had just started earning.
The Pistols turned up on Janet Street Porters Sunday morning show "the London Weekend Show" and thought I've gotta get along to that.
A little later they appeared on TV with Bill Grundy and the rest is history as they say.
The gig was cancelled and at the time it seemed like no big deal as most of the bands I saw at the time were never heard of again, but with hindsight it would have been amazing to have been there if it had gone ahead - The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash and Johnny Thunder all playing here in Southend.
I think I ended up going to see the Shadows at the Cliffs instead!! very punk of me haha

Various Artists - Cover Versions

I tend to either love or hate cover versions, if they are too similar to the original I'll label them as shite, or if a band has put their own distinctive mark on them I usually love them.
Here is a totally random selection, by no means the best and probably not even including all my favourites (just ones that sprung to mind without having to search too hard).
A lot with punk influence but enough of other genres to make it interesting.
Everyone has their favourites and their own opinions I looked up a couple of articles on top rated covers and to be honest hated most of them.

Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
Anti Nowhere League - Streets Of London
Bad Manners - The First Cut Is The Deepest
Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust
Beat - Tears Of A Clown
Blondie - Hanging On The Telephone
Bomb The Bass - Say A Little Prayer
Clash - Police And Thieves
Cramps - Route 66
Damned - Ballroom Blitz
Devo - (I Can't Get Me No) Satisfaction
Dickies - Nights In White Satin
Echo And The Bunnymen - People Are Strange
Elbow - Independent Woman
Fall - Gotta See Jane
Flying Lizards - What's New Pussycat
Green Day - Working Class Hero
Green Jelly - Three Little Pigs
Jam - Batman Theme
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers - Wheels On The Bus
King Kurt - Ghost Riders In The Sky
Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes
Madness - It Must Be Love
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Leaving On A Jet Plane
Modettes - Paint It Black
Motorhead - God Save The Queen
Muse - Feeling Good
Ramones - What A Wonderful World
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground
Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Saints - Lipstick On Your Collar
Sid Vicious - My Way
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Helter Skelter
Slits - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Television Personalities - Mr Brightside
Tenpole Tudor - Rock Around The Clock
Tori Amos - Rattlesnakes
Toy Dolls - Blue Suede Shoes
White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
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Abrasive Wheels - Jailhouse Rock
All Seeing I - Beat Goes On
Amateur Transplants - London Underground (Going Underground)
Amy Winehouse - Cupid
Avalanches - Do You Know The Way To San Jose
B52's - Downtown
Billy Bragg - She's Leaving Home
Bjork And PJ Harvey - Satisfaction (Live)
Buzzcocks - Ballroom Blitz
Cult - Born To Be Wild
Dead Kennedys - Viva Las Vegas
Devo - Working In A Coalmine
Eddie And The Hot Rods - Gloria
Elvis Costello - She
Farmer's Boys - In The Country
Fatima Mansions - Everything I Do
Flying Lizards - Sex Machine
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Suffragette City
Fun Lovin Criminals - We Have All The Time In The World
Ian Brown - Billie Jean
Judge Dread - Al Capone
Kate Bush - Rocket Man
Little Nell - Fever
Manic Street Preachers - Suicide Is Painless (Theme From Mash)
OK Go - Ant Music
Plastic Bertrand - Sha La La La Lee
Presidents Of The USA - Video Killed the Radio Star
Rezillos - Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight
Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding
Rocket From The Crypt - Press Darlings
Sex Pistols - (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone
Specials - Return Of The Django
Splodgenessabounds - Two Little Boys
Stranglers - 96 Tears
Thirty Nine Lyon Street (Billy McKenzie) - Kites
Vice Squad - Teenage Rampage
Vinnie Jones - Wooly Bully
Wall Of Voodoo - Ring Of Fire
Weezer - Uptown Girl
Who - Summer Time Blues (Live)
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Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias - Anarchy In The UK
Bad Manners - Wet Dream
Beautiful South - Everybody's Talking At Me
Billy Bragg And The Blokes - Billericay Dickie
Carter USM - The Impossible Dream
Count Bishops - Route 66
Damned - Eloise
Dickies - Paranoid
Divine Comedy - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Faith No More - Easy
Fratellis - Solid Gold Easy Action
Jane Aire And The Belvederes - Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache
Jet Bumpers - Radar Love
John Otway - Space Oddity
Leningrad Cowboys - These Boots Are Made For Walking
Manic Street Preachers - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World (Unplugged)
Offspring - I Wanna Be Sedated
Radio Stars - Dear Prudence
Ramones - Baby I Love You
Rezillos - I Like It
Selecter - James Bond
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Delilah
Sex Pistols - Substitute
Sexgang Children - As Tears Go By
Sham 69 - You're A Better Man Than I
Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Passenger
Snow Patrol - Isolation
Soft Cell - What
Specials - Double Barrel
Spizzenergi - Virginia Plain
Splodgenessabounds - Wiffy Woman (Pretty Woman)
Stranglers - Walk On By
Stray Cats - Something Else
Suggs - Cecilia
Vandals - Hocus Pocus
Vic Reeves - Born Free
Wedding Present - Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Wreckless Eric - Clever Trevor
XTC - All Along The Watchtower
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Ataris - The Boys Of Summer
Billy Idol - Mony Mony
Bjork - You Only Live Twice
Blue Rondo A La Turk - I Spy (For The FBI)
Blues Brothers - Rawhide
Bronski Beat - It Ain't Necessarily So
Clash - I Fought The Law
Colourfield - Windmills Of Your Mind
Decemberists - Human Behaviour
Human League - Get Carter
J Church - Girlfriend In A Coma
Jam - David Watts
Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros - Redemption Song
Kaiser Chiefs - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Keane - With Or Without You
Killers - Shadowplay
Kirsty MacColl - A New England
L7 - Hanging On The Telephone
Lawnmower Deth - Up The Junction
Manic Street Preachers - Umbrella
 -------------------------------------
Marianne Faithfull - The Ballad of Lucy Jordan
Marilyn Manson - Down In The Park
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Seasons In The Sun
Mint Royale - Singin' In The Rain
Morrissey - That's Entertainment
Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes
Nazareth - This Flight Tonight
New York Dolls - (Give Him A) Great Big Kiss
No Doubt - It's My Life
No Way Sis - I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing
Rubinoos - I Think We're Alone Now
Siouxsie And The Banshees - This Wheel's On Fire
Skids - All The Young Dudes
Stranglers - All Day And All Of The Night
Suggs - Alright
Supergrass - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
Terry Hall - Music To Watch Girls By
The King - Come As You Are
Toyah - Echo Beach
U96 - Das Boot
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VA - Flesh Fangs And Filigree

The label says "50 songs of darkness and torture by the original artists".
It's not as depressing as it sounds.
Tracks from The Damned, Stranglers, Penetration, Marc Almond, Iggy Pop, Nico, Bauhaus and many others make this a worthwhile compilation.

Disc 1
01 - Notwist - Torture Day
02 - Nico - Femme Fatale
03 - Sex Gang Children - Ecstasy And Vendetta
04 - Lydia Lunch - Stinkfist
05 - Mission - Stars Don't Shine
06 - Dominator - Swallow Me
07 - Alien Sex Fiend - Class Of 69
08 - Electric Sex Circus - Spanner Badge
09 - Blood Red Dogs - Lizzy Gone Bad
10 - Gene Loves Jezebel - Sweet Rain
11 - Scarehead - Plague Bones
12 - Morgans - Red Or Dead
13 - Christian Death - The Nascent Virion
14 - Specimen - Sharp Teeth Pretty Teeth
15 - Dark - The Pleasure Is Pain
16 - Iggy And The Stooges - Cock In My Pocket
17 - Damned - Torture Me

Disc 2
01 - Bauhaus - Boys
02 - Rita Lynch - Baby I Wonder
03 - Thirty Nine Clocks - Psychotic Louie Louie
04 - Penetration - Free Money
05 - Furyo - Legacy
06 - Sally Timms And Marc Almond - This House Is A House Of Trouble
07 - Skeletal Family - Alone She Cries
08 - Ghost Dance - Heart Full Of Soul
09 - Swarf Sisters - Pallastine
10 - Play Dead - Final Epitaph
11 - Ritual - Mind Disease
12 - Bone Orchard - Kicking Up The Sawdust
13 - Sunglasses After Dark - Morbid Silence
14 - Into A Circle - Seraphin Twin
15 - Drill - Uniforms
16 - Psychic Tv - Horror House

Disc 3
01 - Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Beating My Head
02 - Stranglers - Peasant In The Big Shitty
03 - Creaming Jesus - The Skinny Head Fuck
04 - Actifed - Crucifixion
05 - Marionettes - Death Of A Friend
06 - Slug Bait - Karren Brady
07 - Lucyfix - Simon Says
08 - Baptism - Sex Hangover
09 - Die Lady Di - House Of Come
10 - March Violets - Essence
11 - Theatre Of Hate - Judgement Hymn
12 - Band Of Pain - The Correction Of Jennifer
13 - In Exelsis - Carnival Of The Gullible
14 - Bomb Party - Harry The Babysitter
15 - Zero Le Creche - Last Years Wife
16 - Pauline Murray - Screaming In The Darkness
17 - Screaming Dead - Creatures Of The Night

Various - Loud Proud and Punk

Another punk compilation, 16 tracks all from the right era this time with the exception of the NY Dolls track.
Mainly picked this up to get a decent copy of "Holiday in Cambodia" which I only had on tape before.
Nice choice of tracks and probably worth the £3.99 I paid for it.







01 - The Jam Eton Rifles
02 - Sham 69 Borstal Breakout
03 - New York Dolls Personality Crisis
04 - Buzzcocks Harmony In My Head
05 - The Damned Love Song
06 - The Adverts Gary Gilmore's Eyes
07 - Stiff Little Fingers Alternative Ulster
08 - The Undertones Get Over You
09 - The Only Ones Lovers Of Today
10 - Eddie and The Hot Rods Teenage Depression
11 - The Vibrators Automatic Lover
12 - The Adicts Love Sucks
13 - Uk Subs C.I.D
14 - Angelic Upstarts Police Oppression
15 - Dead Kennedys Holiday In Cambodia
16 - Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers Roadrunner

Various - Lost Property

Lost property is a compilation of "Post Punk" tunes that everyone should have.
I bought this before I had a computer and it contains some of the best songs from the period of 79-92 that I'd only had on vinyl before.
2 Discs 37 tracks with very few off moments.







Disc 1
01 - Joy Division Love Will Tear Us Apart
02 - The Cult She Sells Sanctuary
03 - Public Image This Is Not A Love Song
04 - New Order Blue Monday
05 - The Smiths This Charming Man
06 - Echo & The Bunnymen The Cutter
07 - Sisters Of Mercy Temple Of Love
08 - Bauhaus Ziggy Stardust
09 - Depeche Mode Never Let Me Down
10 - Psychadelic Furs Pretty In Pink
11 - Iggy Pop Lust For Life
12 - Simple Minds I Travel
13 - Electronic Getting Away With It
14 - Gang Of Four I Love A Man In Uniform
15 - The Wonder Stuff Size Of A Cow
16 - Lotus Eaters First Picture Of You
17 - B 52's Rock Lobster
18 - The Clash Magnificent 7

Disc 2
01 - The Jam Going Underground
02 - The Dammed Eloise
03 - Wire I Am The Fly
04 - Magazine A Song From Under The Floorboards
05 - The Birthday Party Release The Bats
06 - Theatre Of Hate Do You Believe In The Westworld
07 - Spear Of Destiny The Wheel
08 - The Pixies Monkey Gone To Heaven
09 - Teardrop Explodes Reward
10 - Primal Scream Loaded
11 - Jesus And Mary Chain April Skies
12 - Happy Mondays Step On
13 - James Sit Down
14 - Jane's Addiction Been Caught Stealing
15 - The Farm All Together Now
16 - Morrissey Everyday Is Like Sunday
17 - Dexy's Midnight Runners Geno
18 - Waterboys Whole Of The Moon
19 - The Specials Ghost Town

New Wave - Various Artists

This was the first Punk (New Wave) compilation I ever bought, released around 1978 on the Vertigo label.
Although some tracks don't fit the general pattern it's an excellent collection.

The Damned and Boomtown Rats are the British representatives amongst a mainly American line up including The Ramones, Dead Boys, Richard Hell, Patti Smith etc.
 Aussie band The Skyhooks is an odd inclusion but it's a great track.
 Highlights for me are Piss Factory by Patti Smith, Shake some Action by the Flaming Groovies and New Rose.
It also includes 2 tracks by the New York Dolls which were released several years earlier but are a welcome addition.

1. Ramones - Judy Is A Punk
2. Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer
3. Patti Smith - Piss Factory
4. New York Dolls - Personality Crisis
5. Runaways - Hollywood
6. Skyhooks - Horror Movie
7. Richard Hell And The Voidoids - Love Comes In Spurts
8. Little Bob Story - All Or Nothing
9. The Boomtown Rats - Lookin' After No. 1
10. Talking Heads - Love Goes To Building On Fire
11. The Damned - New Rose
12. Ramones - Suzy Is A Headbanger
13. Dead Boys - All This And More
14. Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action
15. Runaways - Cherry Bomb
16. New York Dolls - Who Are The Mystery Girls?