This edition of The Essential 10 , our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features The Psychedelic Furs ; an act that has so far managed eight albums over a career that spanned 1977 to 1991, and then again since 2000 to now. I have trawled the entire catalogue to come up with ten of my favourite tracks by them, including a few surprises (although, if you don’t know much about them, they may all be surprises). The Psychedelic Furs first came into

I am going to add a little preface to my usual opening blurb for this feature... I promised myself that 2026 was going to be full of positivity and goodness, and yet I find myself sitting here surrounded by dark (and often ridiculous) news, oh and I'm on my second cold of the year and January is already 837 days long! So, I needed a blast of music that will be guaranteed to soothe my soul - hence today's choice for the Essential 10. Normal service will now resume. This editio

This edition of The Essential 10 , our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features Throwing Muses ; an act that has managed 11 studio albums and a bunch of EPs and compilations, over a career that spans back to the early 1980s. I have trawled the entire catalogue to come up with ten of my favourite tracks by them, including a few surprises (although, if you don’t know much about them, they may all be surprises). Throwing Muses came into my life l

This edition of The Essential 10 , our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features 10,000 Maniacs ; an act that managed 5 albums over a career that spanned 1981 to 1993 (this is point of Natalie Merchant 's departure - they have been going since then with various line-ups and released 4 more albums). I have trawled the entire catalogue to come up with ten of my favourite tracks by them, including a few surprises (although, if you don’t know much a

This edition of The Essential 10 , our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features The Replacements ; an act that managed seven studio albums over a tumultuous career that spanned 1979 to 1992 (and briefly 2012-2015). The Minneapolis band were well known for their often ramshackle gigs, the lo-fi garage band albums and an almost wilful resistance to make any attempt to become successful (see their shambolic appearance on SNL as an example). 1. I

This edition of The Essential 10 , our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features The B-52s ; an act that has managed 7 albums over a career that begun in 1976 and still continues today (albeit with only three of the originals playing). I have trawled the entire catalogue to come up with ten of my favourite tracks by them, including a few surprises (although, if you don’t know much about them, they may all be surprises). The B-52s came into my l

This edition of The Essential 10, our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features The Clash; an act that...

This edition of The Essential 10 , our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features one of Liverpool's...

This edition of The Essential 10,  our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features The Beach Boys; an act...