Great Punk Singles

A great single from 1976 was - 

The Runaways - Cherry Bomb 

From way back in the almost pre-punk days of 1976 came this anthem of female teenage rebellion by all-girl group The Runaways. Was it punk? Yes course it was. "Hello daddy, hello mom...I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!!!". Mindlessly magnificent.

Great singles from 1977

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation  

One of the great, ground-breaking US punk songs. For the title alone it should be there in any list of influential punk compositions. Although its iconic title amounted to a lot more than the sum of its parts, it somehow exemplified the seediness of US punk and is surprisingly sloganeering for a song from that sub-genre.

The Saints - I'm Stranded 

An early 1977 surprising offering from Australian punks The Saints. Riffy and hooky, it should have been more of a success.

The Radio Stars - No Russians In Russia 

A band made up of ex-members of sixties psychedelics John's Children and seventies oddball glammers Sparks always seemed to me like gnarled, leery old rockers messing around with punk. That's exactly what they were. The song is hard-hitting, raw-sounding rock with a punk edge to it and an instantly appealing chorus.

The Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer 

Proper US CBGB's punk from these decidedly unsavoury, druggy oiks, led by nihilistic nutter Stiv Bators. Full of verve and punk power. The band were portrayed in the movie CBGB's, with Rupert (Harry Potter) Grint playing one of the band members, surprisingly well.

Celia & The Mutations - Mony Mony 

The Stranglers backed hitherto and subsequently unknown French (or maybe German) singer Celia on this punky, gritty, organ-powered Tommy James & The Shondells cover.

Plastic Bertrand - ça Plane Pour Moi 

Belgium's only punk chart hit, and what a truly great one it was too. It still sounds great today, full of blaring saxophones, killer riffs, frantic vocals and Gallic joie de vivre (or whatever that is in Flemish). 

Great singles from 1978

Rich Kids - Rich Kids 

Ex Sex Pistol Glen Matlock delivers a guitar-driven 'b' list punker.

The Motors - Dancing The Night Away 

This rousing, crashing number was the only half-decent track from plastic punk coat-tail mainstreamers The Motors. They had a guitarist who called himself Bram Tchaikovsky, I recall. Their follow-up hit, Airport, was bloody awful. 

Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World 

A poor man's Elvis Costello-Nick Lowe-Ian Dury (take your pick) who accompanied them on the legendary Stiffs tour. The song is a fine offering of melodic new wave pop, though.

The Only Ones - Another Girl Another Planet 

A surprisingly early poppy post punker that always shows up in people's new wave playlists, including mine. That's all I know abut it, or the group, however. Sorry to all the Only Ones fans, of which there are quite a few still around. They seemed to have a cultish reputation amongst post punk snobs.

Great singles from 1979

Holly & The Italians - Tell That Girl To Shut Up

Excellent piece of girl group-inspired but hard-as-nails new wave housing project poppy punk from a US group that I never heard anything else from.

The Knack - My Sharona 

A drum-powered and horribly snappy new wave number that many people loved but I always found just a bit irritating. It still makes me nostalgic, however, so it makes the list.

Lene Lovich - Lucky Number 

Talking of bonkers - this was a bizarre but utterly memorable, word-definingly quirky one-off hit, complete with singalong "ah-oh, ah-oh" refrain that everyone went around singing at the time, together with silly Lovich moves. 

The Members - The Sound Of The Suburbs 

A number 12 hit for these punk 'c'-listers. It was a tub-thumping, fist-pumping rabble rouser, sung by Nicky Tesco (who named himself after a supermarket).

Great singles from 1980

Martha & The Muffins - Echo Beach 

Full on post punk-ish catchy new wave but without the misery from Canadian group Martha & The Muffins. Again, it is impossibly catchy as so many of the new wave hits were.

Department S - Is Vic There? 
Marvellously minimalist, sparse and extremely atmospheric piece of strangely commercial post punk. The keyboard ruled on this one. Welcome to the eighties.

The Teardrop Explodes - Reward 

No punk here. New romanticism rears its preening head early on in the shape of pretentious singer Julian Cope. It was a great, hooky, brassy song, though.

The Vapors - Turning Japanese 

A new wave classic about masturbation that amazingly got away with it in those censor-happy days. It was one of those utterly singable numbers that remains popular on new wave-inspired radio shows to this day.

The Jags - I Got Your Number 

Another from the Nick Lowe-inspired new wave school, delivered by band members dressed in retro rock 'n' roll-style outfits that thankfully didn't detract from what was a really catchy pop song.

A great single from 1982

Bow Wow Wow - C30 C60 C90 Go! 

At the other end of the timeline is Malcolm McLaren-produced punk-infuenced but not punk strange band Bow Wow Wow, featuring a teenage Burmese lead singer in Annabella Lwin. It has all of punk's frantic, breakneck energy and is irresistibly enjoyable, as well as being completely idiotic.

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