By Jan 
The fuse has been lit and the cord is on fire! It does something to a person: on my 72nd birthday, of all days, I get to announce that, back in August ’76 — or half a century ago — the age of bluntness dawned on the musical front, and that pop music would never again be without artists packed with highly flammable kerosene!! From this month onwards, punk will pull no punches! Directness rules!
And the fact that it happens to be a couple of mad Dutchmen adding extra explosive force to the detonation can only make the fun even greater! “I Wanna Fuck You” (#1) by Koot and Bie, as Simplistisch Verbond, is the B-side of the “De Nee-Reggae” single. Both tracks were taken from De Tweede Langspeelplaat van het Simplistisch Verbond.
Before the final four months of 1976 (2026) have passed, we’ll still be devouring debut singles by The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Saints, The Vibrators, Richard Hell and a whole bunch of other ugly mob who claim they can — and above all, are allowed to — sing, scream, strum or whistle whatever the hell they want, simply because they feel like it! Hitting the right notes is secondary, as long as they know how to hit the right nerves, figuratively speaking! Virtuoso whizz-kids or talentless rage monsters, baldheads or otherwise, everyone equal before the law! History has proved many of them right!! And in the process, many of them actually learned how to make music!
Now back to that first list, which houses more than ten enthusiastic semi-amateurs (twelve, to be precise), and in doing so demonstrates a substantial contribution to musical renewal. The era that was thoroughly trampled underfoot by musical mastodons throughout the first half of the decade (1970–75) may never disappear for good. But it did give birth, with a primal scream, to a flourishing, completely opposite kind of “fire”.
The following artists in the list are the ones I’m talking about: Ramones (#8), Flamin’ Groovies (#10), Jonathan Richman (#11), Count Bishops (#15), Greg Kihn (#19), Wayne County & The Electric Chair (#21), Be-Bop DeLuxe (#22), Artful Dodger (#24), Arms & Legs (#26, featuring a very young Joe Jackson among their ranks), Eddie & The Hot Rods (#40) — and by all means add madman Lewis Furey (#3) and the “pure pop for now people” wonder Nick Lowe (#13) to that list as well!
Back to the eclectic top three! Jamaican-born-and-bred Max Romeo managed to climb to second place with “Chase The Devil”! Most people will probably know the track through The Prodigy. They sampled a substantial part of the song for their signature tune “Out of Space”. You know the bit: “I’m gonna put on an iron shirt and chase the devil out of earth…”
War In A Babylon is the impressive album from which this track was lifted. A magnificent record, produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry and featuring his Upsetters as the backing band.
Canadian Lewis Furey, with “Lullaby” (#3), is probably the least familiar name in the top three! Over the coming months, a handful more songs from the hilarious, outrageously funny second album The Humours of Lewis Furey will make an appearance here. Furey made his biggest mark in the second half of the seventies with three unheralded masterpieces, only to sadly disappear into obscurity afterwards.
Only after that trio do we return to the top 10 and the usual suspects of the month: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Warren Zevon, The Stones, Steve Miller, Gordon Lightfoot, etc…
And now I’m off to celebrate and skate: my 4 x 18 summers on this rollercoaster of a life! I’m never going to grow up anyway! And thankfully so!
(Jan VH)
Playlist
1 – Simplistisch Verbond – I Wanna Fuck You
2 – Max Romeo – Chase The Devil
3 – Lewis Furey – Lullaby
4 – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Blinded By The Light
5 – Warren Zevon – Carmelita
6 – Rolling Stones – Hey Negrita
7 – Steve Miller Band – Rock’n Me
8 – Ramones – Let’s Dance
9 – Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
10 – Flamin’ Groovies – Yes It’s True
11 – Jonathan Richman & Modern Lovers – Here Come The Martian Martians
12 – Boston – More Than A Feeling
13 – Nick Lowe – So It Goes
14 – Eric Clapton – Sign Language
15 – Count Bishops – Train Train
16 – Peter Frampton – Do You Feel Like We Do (Live)
17 – Beggars Opera – I’m A Roadie
18 – Stills-Young Band – Long May You Run
19 – Greg Kihn – Don’t Expect To Be Right
20 – Rod Stewart – The Killing Of Georgie Pt 1 & 2
21 – Wayne County & The Electric Chairs – Max’s Kansas City Pt 1 & 2
22 – Be-Bop Deluxe – Kiss Of Light
23 – Ian Hunter – Letter To Britannia From The Union Jack
24 – Artful Dodger – Honor Among Thieves
25 – Bryan Ferry – Shame Shame Shame
26 – Arms & Legs (Joe Jackson) – Heat Of The Night
27 – Gallagher & Lyle – Breakaway
28 – ABBA – Dancing Queen
29 – Delbert McClinton – Blue Monday
30 – One Hundred Ton And A Feather – Don’t Forget Me When You’re On Your Island
31 – Little River Band – It’s A Long Way There
32 – The Who – Slip Kid
33 – Burning Spear – Man In The Hills
34 – Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
35 – Klaatu – Sub-Rosa Subway
36 – Tjens Couter – Asking Myself All Day
37 – Joan Armatrading – Love And Affection
38 – Boxer – Hey Bulldog
39 – Jon Anderson – Flight Of The Moorglade
40 – Eddie & The Hot Rods – Get Out Of Denver