Purely Perfect Punk Power Pop

While accidently watching MTV today, I noticed a not so recent interview clip featuring Pete 'Shit Arm, Bad Tattoo' Doherty. When asked if there was any song that he wished he'd written, everyone's favourite heroin addict just about managed to reply "'Another Girl, Another Planet' by The Only Ones". Well he may be a skanky twat but he certainly couldn't have picked a more worthy tune.

Released in 1978, it was highly regarded by critics at the time but wasn't a hit. You can now find it on soooo many compilations from that era, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to pick up their debut album, The Only Ones. The group is often referred to as a Punk band but I think their sound has just as much in common with Badfinger and Big Star. The track is 3 minutes of pure pop genius and should be mandatory at every indie disco. In fact it's such a strong track that even Blink 182 didn't manage to ruin it.

Oh, and it's about heroin. Enjoy!

Tell 'em about the Honey Johnny

Seeing John Cooper Clarke again got me reminiscing. He was always cropping up on 80's music or arty programmes and became rather famous considering he was a poet. The 'Bard of Salford', often labelled as a Punk Poet, regularly opened lived sets for the likes of Joy Division, Buzzcocks, The Sex Pistols and The Fall.

Arctic Monkey's hero Johnny Clarke has dated Nico, battled heroin addiction, apparently played himself in the film 'Control' and was probably partly responsible for inspiring Rik Mayall's 'People's Poet' character, but his crowning achievement was no doubt his 1988 appearances in the Sugar Puffs commercials.

Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise to see his 'Evidently Chickentown' being used in the closing scene of a recent Sopranos episode. Taken from his 1980 album Snap Crackle and Bop. I found this clip (not from Sopranos) on YouTube but I have no idea where it was originally from. Hope you like it.