Sex Pistols - 'Never Mind the Bollocks'

Although this is starting to show its age a bit in terms of production, the sneering, bile-fuelled attitude of this record is such that it still cuts a slice across your face with a jagged blade as soon as the needle hits the opening chords of 'Holidays in the Sun'. It doesn't really matter who played the music (there are rumours that at least half of it was done by session musicians), it's a perfect snapshot of a revolution taking place. And if the late Malcolm Mclaren was a svengali behind it, so much the better - I love a bit of situationism.

This reminds me really vividly of my brother, early 1980s. We had a portable tape recorder (they used to call them boom boxes, you know), and he had a tape of this album in it. He walked into the kitchen with it paused, and said 'Listen to this'. He released the pause, and the stanza of 'Bodies' just after the false ending kicked in. 'FAAHCK AND FAAHCK THAT! FAAHCKING IN THE THE FAAHCKHOUSE, FAAHKING BLACKS!' screamed Johnny Rotten. I looked at my brother, secretly envious that he'd laid his hands on this near-mythical (to a 1t year old) artefact from ancient history, but also appalled that he'd decided to play that bit of it in the kitchen, in front of our parents. Incredibly, they didn't notice, and later Jan confessed that he'd made a mistake by playing that - it was just a coincidence that he'd paused it at that point.

I still can't believe my parents didn't notice. It clearly made quite an impression on me.

Buzzcocks - 'Singles: Going Steady'

Another mid-teens record I bought while living in Salisbury, with no particular memories attached to it. Hanging out with friends Steve and Katie, compiling tapes from John Peel's radio shows.

I think I bought it primarily for 'Ever Fallen in Love?', but it's a solid collection of tunes, particularly the aching, yearning emotions conveyed in 'Why Can't I Touch It?'. But this isn't a critique blog, it's reminiscence therapy, so I'll stop there.

Peter and the Test Tube Babies - 'The Loud Blaring Punk Rock LP'

This is one that I definitely bought while I was still living in Salisbury. I know that because I can remember taping it and taking in to play in the print room at my first job, screen printing fabrics by hand at fashion label Georgina von Etzdorf.

It was typical of the sort of work I've done. We work in absudly hot, filthy conditions, producing incredibly beautiful fabrics that graced the pages of Vogue, Harpers and so on. It was quite pressured, as we were always producing to tight deadlines, and our outlets for this pressure were loud music at work, and drinking lots of ale afterwards. One night after work, I drank a gallon of Tanglefoot - quite an achievement, given that I was probably only just 17 at the time. I'm not saying I was unaffected by it - quite the opposite, I vividly remember being horribly, unpleasantly drunk, and it was one of the very few times in my life that I've had to call in sick as a result of drinking too much the night before.

My most vivid memory of this playing at work was one of the partners, Jimmy, coming downstairs and taking the piss out of me for listening to such a crappy version of punk rock. In my defence, I'd argue that this a very punk record - essentially speeded up pub rock, peppered with distasteful lyrics and a pissed-and-proud attitude. But sadly, Jimmy was right - this actually is rubbish, precisely because of the things that I've outlined above.