1979 was a bossy year for music. Talking Heads warned us that memories can’t wait, Delta 5 wanted us to mind our own business, XTC was adamant that life begins at the hop, and Crass wouldn’t budge on the issue of whether we were owed a living. In part 2 of our survey of 1979, we’ll hear from those groups, plus the Ramones, Swell Maps, Public Image Ltd., The Jam, The Dickies, Joy Division, Blondie, Madness, The Disco Zombies, Avengers, Bizarros, Wire, Squeeze, Telex, Mental As Anything, and much more.

Playlist

1. The Jam — Burning Sky
2. Black Randy & The Metrosquad — I Slept In An Arcade
3. The Specials — (Dawning Of A) New Era
4. Lori & The Chameleons — Touch
5. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark — Almost
6. Squeeze — Up The Junction
7. Bram Tschaikovsky — Girl Of My Dreams
8. The Beat — Let Me Into Your Life
9. Bizarros — Quiana Girls
10. Public Image Ltd. — The Suit
11. Delta 5 — Mind Your Own Business
12. XTC — Life Begins At The Hop
13. Mental As Anything — The Nips Are Getting Bigger
14. Stiff Little Fingers — Suspect Device
15. The Damned — Anti-Pope
16. The Dickies — (I’m Stuck In A Pagoda With) Tricia Toyota
17. Shoes — Cruel You
18. Telex — Moskow Diskow
19. Talking Heads — Memories Can’t Wait
20. The Pop Group — Thief Of Fire
21. Swell Maps — H.S. Art
22. Avengers — Corpus Christi
23. The Disco Zombies — Drums Over London
24. The Cure — Three Imaginary Boys
25. Wire — The 15th
26. Joy Division — Transmission
27. Crass — Do They Owe Us A Living? / End Result
28. Madness — My Girl
29. Elvis Costello & The Attractions — Green Shirt
30. Joe Jackson — Pretty Girls
31. Generation X — King Rocker
32. Ramones — Rock ‘N’ Roll High School
33. Chelsea — I’m On Fire
34. Blondie — Accidents Never Happen
35. The Slits — So Tough
36. Buzzcocks — I Believe