hey, look! It’s me!
When I was asked to compile a list of my top 10 favourite bands of all time, it felt like a near insurmountable task. I say this because after sitting down to brainstorm I came up with about 24 right off the top of my head. So, at least to me, being asked to pick 10 isn’t too far away from being asked to pick your 10 favourite grains of sand on a beach.
That said, I did give it a go. I had to seriously think about it, but I think I’ve come up with a list that not only is accurate, but also hopefully gives an idea of the breadth of my taste as well.
So, in no particular order, and with some cheeky shoutouts to Slipknot, John Paul & Rat, PinkPanthress, System of a Down, Black Sabbath and Rage Against the Machine (among many, many others), let’s do this!
Elbow
Elbow were my first real love in music. My dad had copies of ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ and ‘build a rocket boys!’ that he would play on long car trips, and I was absolutely enamoured. Granted, my dad’s fandom of The Lemonheads didn’t translate in the same way (even though he named me after the singer), but I’m glad this did. It was, and still is, some of the most beautiful music I’d ever heard. It took me to a whole other world of sonic possibility. Not only were Guy Garvey’s vocals incredible, but the melodies, rhythms and string arrangements I still think remain near unparalleled.
The musical nerd-dom catalyst – my dad
As I grew older, I only got into their catalogue more, with albums like the incredibly underrated ‘Take Off and Landing’, as well as 2021’s wonderfully quaint ‘Flying Dream 1’ amongst my favourites. Not only could they write fantastically ornate songs like ‘Mirrorball’ at the drop of a hat, but could also pen a mean stomper too (hello ‘Grounds For Divorce.’)
It’s music that has helped me through every facet of life. It’s always been there, and always will. Sometimes its beauty is beyond words. Quite often honestly it’s been known to leave me in tears, even after all this time, and that really is quite something. In fact, Elbow’s music is behind perhaps one of the most oddly touching stories about my life.
The recollections on this are different, but my mum reckons that before I had an operation on my spine, a weird quirk I had was that I seemed to be physically unable to sing to things (my dad thought it was a form of tinnitus or something). Then, after the op, she said we were in the car one day, and the ‘Seldom Seen Kid’ album came on, and low and behold, for the first time, I started singing. I really want that to be true, because if it is, then that’s pretty special I think you’ll agree.
All I know is, whenever they drop, it’s guaranteed to be AT LEAST a top 10 album for the year (including their newest one, of course). They might not be the band that made me point blank “fall in love with music”, although they could make a case, but they were absolutely the first band that really made me sit back and go “maybe there’s more to this whole “music” thing than the ‘NOW!’ compilations…” Thanks dad.
The Fall
From one Manchester band to another, I had to give Prestwich post-punks The Fall a shoutout. Despite being a band I discovered essentially by accident, I was so glad I did. Mark E Smith was one of the most magnetic frontmen in rock.
His delivery was incredibly sharp, commanding, and expressive, and his lyrics were a mix between everyday gritty mundanity, dadaism, personal grievances and H.P Lovecraft novels. It was that kind of subversive, offbeat intelligence I was absolutely ready for at the time.
Another thing about The Fall is that Mark, while often not able to keep them for two long, put together some fantastic musicians. Bass extraordinaire Steve Hanley, his brother Paul, Craig Scanlon, of course Brix, Eleni Poulou, Pete Greenway, Si Wolsencroft. I could go on.
Never content to sit in one place, The Fall also travelled wide across the musical map. Noise rock, punk, rockabilly, cowboy music, musique concrete, pub rock, metal, nothing was off limits. So wherever you start in their 31 album-long discography (which I made a whole series covering), you’ll almost never be bored. He is not appreciated!
Billy Nomates/tor
It wouldn’t feel right to not mention Billy. Tor Maries AKA Billy Nomates came to my attention through her floating around 6 Music circles, and over the last few years has impressed me time and again.
Growing out of the post-punk scene, her debut showed characteristic spikiness, defined by many of the same diatribes about shitty England over dirty, D.I.Y. beats, but set apart by an amazing talent for melody and harmony on tracks like ‘Supermarket Sweep’ or ‘Hippy Elite.’ Then on her follow up EP, she branched even further into full, soulful electronic alt-pop. I knew she was on the cusp of something amazing.
Then, after seeing a few of her live shows, and particularly with the release of her two albums in 2023 (one under just ‘tor’), I came to a realisation. She was easily one of the most compelling and original artists and performers I’d ever heard. Full stop. It had everything: the punk spike, quaint production, melodic panache, the soul-bearing emotion, the impeccable songwriting. I was beyond impressed. Hell, there’s a reason her album ‘CACTI’ was my #1 of 2023, and easily at that.
Tor is an absolute force of nature live
She recently retreated mostly from the public eye, citing abuse following her great Glasto set. To that, I only have one response. Tor, fuck those pricks. You’re amazing.
Happy Mondays/Black Grape/Shaun Ryder
Alright, put your pitchforks down, people. I know this is technically cheating, but come on, it was so hard! Besides, Shaun Ryder is maybe one of the only artists I can think of with a close to flawless track record across 3 projects, no easy feat.
Emerging as the de facto king of dance-rock, the Happy Mondays had an incredible three album run, ending with the immortal, ecstasy fuelled classic ‘Pills N Thrills…’ in 1990. Of course Shaun’s razor sharp voice and colourful lyrics played a big part, but the backing band of Paul Ryder, Paul Davis, Gaz Whelan and Mark Day was absolutely unapproachable. Not to mention Rowetta’s incredible backing vocals, or dancer Bez’s endless charisma.
After the implosion of the Mondays, Shaun and Bez formed Black Grape with rapper Kermit, and producer Danny Saber (though they team up with Youth nowadays). Here, they took the Mondays’ well loved dance-rock into new territory. It was grittier, funkier, rockier, more hip-hop, arguably more debauched, and I loved it. They don’t have a bad album to their name, or even close to it, their most recent LP ‘Orange Head’ currently holding the top spot for 2024.
That’s not all, he also has two brilliant solo albums: the futuristic, psych-rave of, ‘Amateur Night in the Big Top’, or the fun-loving, musical melting pot of ’Visits From Future Technology’. A few people have told me they think Ryder is spent creatively. If you can’t tell, I couldn’t disagree more.
Kate Bush
When I told a few people about my love for the truly prodigal songwriter Kate Bush, they seemed shocked. I think they already pigeon holed me as the edgy, punky weirdo or something, but oh how wrong they were.
The only word I can ever think to describe Kate Bush’s music is “unbelievable”, but honestly, words themselves are inadequate (as they are with many on this list incidentally). Starting out with her fantastic early soft rock records ‘The Kick Inside’ and ‘Lionheart’, she truly found her footing with 1980’s ‘Never For Ever’, an absolute marvel of production, songwriting, and pure creativity. Her first true masterpiece. She expanded into even bolder territory on ‘The Dreaming’, and later released what many consider her best: the absolutely incredible ‘Hounds of Love.’ To me, her greatest work came later.
After a very enjoyable, almost straight pop record with ‘The Red Shoes’, Kate went on hiatus, the album she returned with 13 years later ‘Aerial’, absolutely blew my head off when I first heard it. It was just the most beautiful, endlessly optimistic, immaculately produced, masterfully written pop album I ever heard. It gives me a state of pure serenity I can’t even begin to describe. I could talk about it for hours, and have. Add to that the utterly excellent follow up, ‘50 Words For Snow’, and there you have the all-time greatest track record in pop music. If you think you could come up with a pop songwriter that even comes close, trick question. You can’t.
The Residents/Hardy Fox
At first I hated The Residents. I heard ‘Constantinople’ and thought it was a load of pointlessly weird, tuneless mush. I just didn’t understand it. Then, I watched their ‘Theory of Obscurity’ documentary, and it all made sense. Actually, it was genius. I realised almost instantly just how boundlessly creative and innovative their music was.
Using their naivete and sheer ambition to their advantage, they crafted some of the most inventive and interesting music (and other multimedia projects) of the 20th century. From abstract 60s bubblegum chart collages, to demented pop ditties, or even genuinely touching reflections on love and loss, The Residents consistently paved new ground with each release, of which there are numerous, and influencing thousands. Excitingly, their new project promises to be very interesting.
I went to a Residents gig last year, thought I’d make the effort
The beauty of the music was that it was often deceptively simple, and yet could turn the most alien of sounds and sourest notes into deeply memorable, striking compositions. The beauty of the lyrics and vocals was that on one hand, they could be brilliantly absurd and vivid and completely dada, but also had the ability to be incredibly well written and thoroughly conceptual. Plus, with a world of technology at their fingertips, the vocal (and indeed musical) possibilities were Put it this way, if a band’s level of creativity makes you re-evaluate music at a molecular level, that’s quite something.
Importantly, all of The Residents’ members are anonymous. That was until Hardy Fox revealed himself as their primary composer shortly before his death. To me, Hardy is a legend. Not only was his Residential work astounding, but his solo output is on another planet. He recorded a lot of great stuff under the Charles Bobuck moniker, yet it’s his self-named output I find most incredible.
Recorded in the last 12 months of his life, not only is it unwaveringly strange and creative, but also deeply personal, profoundly beautiful, and genuinely sob-worthy. A fitting end to the career of one of music’s true originals. There’s a quote of his I always come back to: “If you can’t draw a horse, don’t draw a horse. You cut out pictures, glue them down, and make something cool. Because that’s all that matters: that it turns out cool.”
Sleaford Mods
Sleaford Mods are perhaps the most British thing ever, and I love it. After discovering them through a couple high profile guest spots, I figured out very quickly I’d probably like their own stuff. If it’s any indication, listening to ‘Divide and Exit’ for the first time was the only time I can remember falling out of my chair in laughter at music. At the same time I thought, “woah, this is awesome.”
The combination of Andrew Fearn’s skeletal, bassy post-punk beats, and Jason’s raging, sarcastic working class vitriol, descriptive, hilarious lyrics, and his seemingly magical ability to craft unlikely catchy refrains from thin air, was unlike anything else I’d heard prior. These guys didn’t give a fuck, and it was the better for it.
The cool thing about Sleaford Mods is, despite their seemingly incredibly linear sound, the musical progression they’ve made over the years is really cool. Their flirtations with new wave on ‘Eton Alive’ sounded great, as did their experimenting with IDM and glitch music on ‘Spare Ribs.’ Then of course you have their most recent, and possibly best work, ‘UK GRIM’, easily their most blatantly hip-hop leaning record yet. So there’s honestly endless possibilities.
Jason’s made huge strides as a vocalist too. Not only are his rants and lyrics just as awesome, but they’re also a lot more multifaceted, as well as his more melodic sung vocals being incredibly catchy and well done, yet still with that trademark raw edge. They got a lot of rather lazy Fall comparisons early on in their career, but I think it’s fair to say they’ve well and truly transcended that, becoming bonafide post-punk legends of the modern age.
Underworld
Everyone knows Underworld for their global club banger ‘Born Slippy .NUXX’, arguably the single defining track of the UK 90s rave scene. What you need to know about me though, is that when I discover a new artist, I go straight for the deep cuts. With Underworld, the rewards were endless.
Under the veil of other big hits like ‘Cowgirl’, ‘Dark Train’ and ‘Two Months Off’, I found a near flawless discography, containing some of the best dance music of all time. Rick Smith is an absolute wizard of production. His beats thump with the force of 1000 bulls, and yet his melodies are often utterly euphoric and otherworldly, allowing you to truly get lost in the rave haze. He’s far from one dimensional though, as a number of lighter tracks also display his mastery of dynamics, atmosphere and textural intricacy.
Their live shows really are something else
Then, on the other side you have Karl Hyde, one of the UK’s all time most magnetic frontmen. His truly unique, stream-of-consciousness lyrics paint an incredibly intricate and bizzare picture in the mind of the listener, in the best way. Whether he’s monologuing, rapping, or even gently crooning, he has me instantly enraptured from the first note. His charisma, panache and general aura are truly magnetic.
Both when I watched their Glasto set on TV in my living room, and witnessed the spectacle live in Manchester recently, it felt genuinely transcendental. The moment that first kick hits, I’m off. It might be one of the few instances I’ve had of a near out-of-body experience. The fact their music can do that must count for something.
Sex Pistols/Public Image Ltd.
Many people rightfully attribute John Lydon with changing the face of music with The Sex Pistols. What many people forget is that he did it all over again with PiL. The Sex [istols were a shockwave to the UK rock scene. Steve Jones’ roaring, raucous guitars and Paul Cook’s thunderous drums, combined with Glen Matlock’s knack for composition acted as the perfect backdrop for John to spit his venomous, unfiltered lyrics, terrifying toffs in droves as he went.
The Sex Pistols unfortunately imploded as quickly as they formed, but John wasn’t done. Very quickly he formed Public Image Ltd, and this time, he had much grander ambitions. Keith Levene’s metallic, shrieking tone and Jah Wobble’s rumbling bass were a radical alteration, but an awesome one, and Lydon’s tirades against religion, unlikeable arseholes, and life itself, were potent as ever.
I’ve seen PiL live a few times. They never disappoint
One thing PiL resolutely did not do is stay in one place. They developed the sounds of the debut into truly avant-garde territory on the incendiary ‘Metal Box’, but everytime you think you can pin them down, they switch it up. They experimented with heavy use of rhythm and ghostly atmospheres on the next two albums to brilliant eerie effect, while their output in the 80s and 90s showed us they could also just be a wicked, anthemic rock band.
Perhaps the best incarnation is the current one, where seemingly all previous influences and incarnations are blended into a beautiful musical melange, with an awesome backing band to boot.
Throughout all this John has remained unwavering, still remaining as acerbic, biting and acid tongued as ever, while also greatly expanding his emotional range from his 70s debut. The most stark example has to be ‘Hawaii’, an utterly beautiful track John penned to his late wife Nora. People often say life imitates art, and John exemplifies that, in the absolute most awesome way. Keeping it real, with a brilliant band in tow.
The Prodigy
I know I said no particular order, but this is a choice that will forever be set in stone. In my opinion, The Prodigy are, and always will be, my favourite band of all time. Despite discovering them through slightly odd means, I found the image of a spiky haired Keith Flint in the ‘Firestarter’ video truly mesmerising. From that day, my life was changed forever. I soon discovered there was much more to the Essex electro-punks than met the eye. For one, not only was Keith Flint an incredible frontman, but Liam Howlett was a production mastermind. The further I delved into their discography, the more sides of them I saw, the more obsessed I became.
best £50 I ever spent
With their debut ‘Experience’, they created the defining album of the rave scene, bubbling over with breakneck beats, masterful sample flips and arena sized melodies. Then, on the follow up, and best album of all time ‘Music For the Jilted Generation’, things took a darker, gnarlier turn. Their rave roots were hijacked by punk guitars, grimy synth layers, booming hip-hop beats and psychedelic textures, representing everything I love about music in one, 80-minute, gnarly auditory bomb. Fuck yeah.
Their punk sensibilities reached fever pitch with the iconic ‘Fat of the Land’ in 1997. The beats were bigger, the riffs were darker and meaner. It had pure, seething “FUCK YOU” energy. Catharsis in its most awesome form, with some amazing deep cuts too. It also saw Keith Flint making his vocal debut on a number of key tracks, like the iconic ‘Firestarter’, thus carving in stone the mythical legend of the UK big beat scene as we know him today. Props must be given to MC Maxim Reality though, of course. His ability to hype up a crowd is absolute insanity, rivalled only by his fellow band mate, along with his own, truly entrancing demeanour and performance style.
Some may say their follow up, ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’ is a low ebb, and while I agree it may be bottom of the pile, it’s still a very impressive piece of work. I don’t think Liam gives himself nearly enough credit for this, but the fact he was able to coalesce hip-hop, punk, electro, world music, glitch and pyschedlia, while having it still sound distinctively Prodigy is a serious achievement.
Throughout the rest of the 2000s, the trio only went on to define and cement that true Prodigy sound. ‘Invaders Must Die’ was a record as utterly thumping and brash as it was celebratory and epic, giving way to incredible, festival-sized singles like ‘Omen’ and ‘Take Me to the Hospital.’
‘The Day Is My Enemy’ is perhaps the most “Prodigy-y” Prodigy record, seeing the energy, darkness, and pure violence amped up to immense levels for 60 straight minutes. The results are glorious. Then, most recently, you have ‘No Tourists’, in my opinion their best album of the 2000s. Not afraid to take cues from the past, they gave their rave roots a much welcomed, modern, sharp-edged spruce up, and my god this thing hits like a fucking bus from start to finish. I can’t get enough of it.
Keith Flint tragically passed away in early 2019, leaving behind him a legacy as one of the world’s most magnetic performers. A rebel, an original, and THE Firestarter. In the years since, the remaining guys have done him proud. I went to see them in 2022 and 2023, and not only was it an unbelievable, unforgettable experience every time, but Maxim really stepped up to the plate, and the laser light tribute really was incredibly special. With new music on the horizon, hopefully to be premiered live next month, I’ve no doubt it’ll be worth the wait.
Their recent ‘Army of the Ants’ tour was beyond incredible
I was incredibly lucky to see The Prodigy in 2018 before Keith’s passing. Like with Underworld, it was an utterly transcendent experience. The energy was electric, the bass felt like it shook the earth to its core, and you could feel the scent of sweat in the air. It was without question, the best moment of my life, and seeing the man himself perform the song that truly made me fall in love with music (sorry Elbow) before my very eyes is a moment that’ll stay with me until my dying day. I truly mean that.
He was my hero. Always has been, and always will be. Their music has been with me through thick and thin, and will continue to be. So there you go. The Prodigy is the best. That’s fucking it. Don’t fight me. Rave on Keef! WE LIVE FOREVER!
It took a lot of effort, and a few loopholes, but those are my top 10(ish) bands and artists of all time. If you could take anything away from this article, I’d hope you’d take away two things. Firstly, listen to The Prodigy. Secondly, and most importantly, let it be this: I often find that way too many people, intentionally or not, box themselves in in terms of music.
“That’s just noise”, “all pop music’s crap”, “that’s well weird, ew”, “I’m a REAL metal fan”, “jazz is for wankers and old people”, yada yada yada. To me, none of this is helpful at all. If I’ve learnt one thing in the last 5-6 years, you’re much better off just giving stuff a chance, whatever it is. That way, the more chances you have to discover really cool new stuff you might love, and surely that’s a net positive whoever you are. Anyway, that’s my two cents of wisdom for the day. Peace. \m/
