The Tubes on The Tube

Believe it or not “The Tube” went out live every friday teatime. Channel 4? No warning messages or disclaimers needed about what you were about to see in faraway 1983 when the UK was still a normal place to live in.

Fave 45s

Now that I find myself inhabiting the C21st and I don’t play actual records any more I have framed some of my favourites and put them on the wall.They’re not rare or valuable but they just bring back great memories of people and places in my past. The Sex Pistols deserve to be remembered for this storming anthem if nothing else. When they weren’t just trying to be outrageous they were a great rock and roll band. The “b” side shows who they’d been listening to.

People who say that music in the 1970s was dire and in desperate need of the emergence of punk in 1976/1977 to shake it up evidently weren’t listening to the same stuff as me; The New York Dolls, Iggy and the Stooges and The Tubes (Their first two albums at least.) The 45rpm single of “White Punks on Dope” misses out the swear word that’s on the album version. But considering the subject matter of the whole song did they really think it would ever be played on daytime radio back then anyway? The “b” side contains two more classics.

I’ve decided that one of the best singles ever released (in my humble opinion) is “You’re History” by Shakespear’s Sister despite my original trepidation that half the group consisted of an ex-Bananarama !! This disc also has a wonderful “b” side containing a live version of “Dirty Mind”. If you haven’t heard these tunes (why not??) I’m sure they are all still easily available from the usual sources and all get a “Highly recommended” from me.