Top Of The Box

The Undertones - Teenage Kicks, 1970’s
John Peel was possibly right when he said Teenage Kicks by The Undertones was the perfect pop song.  Here’s the original promo video of the band miming to one of the best pop songs of all time.

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Adam & The Antz - Plastic Surgery
Before Stand & Deliver and Goody Two Shoes, Adam & The Antz were a powerful post-punk rock group.
The original line up played a cameo role in Derek Jarman’s 1977 film Jubilee. Though miming, this energetic & powerful performance is one of the best recordings of the original Adam [...]

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Sonic Youth - Death Valley 69, live in 1985
In 1985 Sonic Youth had released Death Valley 69. The single didn’t work for me and so when I went to see them supporting The Jesus & Mary Chain at The Hammersmith Palais, I wasn’t expecting much. They walked onto the stage,turned to each other and [...]

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Orange Juice - I Can’t Help Myself, Whistle Test, 1982
First shown on 22nd February on BBC4, last night I watched a very moving documentary about Edwyn Collins on BBC2, Edwyn Collins: Home Again.  It followed Edwyn’s continuing recovery from a brain haemorrhage that was the result of two strokes and contracting MRSA  in 2005.  Last [...]

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Magazine - Motorcade Live in Manchester (originally shown on Granada TV’s So It Goes), 1977
In 1977 Howard Devoto left the commercial-bound Buzzcocks, a group he had formed only one year previously with Pete Shelley. Devoto said he had outgrown Buzzcocks; and watching this wonderful live performance of Motorcade in Manchester in 1977 you can [...]

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