There were a couple months in 1978 when a scuzzy little band from Surrey seemed to be the saviors of punk rock. The Sex Pistols had just broken up that January. The editor from Sniffin’ Glue magazine, Mark Perry, had announced that punk rock died the day the Clash signed to CBS Records.

What was a boy to do? I had recently thrown away all my KISS records and cut off my Robert Plant goldilocks. I had just converted over to punkism, and now it was dead? Fortunately, I soon heard Tell Us the Truth by Sham 69, and I knew there was still hope. Or so I thought.

Sham 69 s classic debut came busting out of the gate like a running riot. The music was so jumpy and shouty that it seemed like you were actually at a live concert (maybe side 1 being recorded at a gig might have had something to do with it), but it didn’t matter—this wasn’t The Song Remains the Same. Hell, this was something new for a punk record!