1930s singer and yodeller Van Dusen (real name George Harrington) was aged 83 when this 1937 recording became a freak Christmas hit at the end of1988 after a music publisher found his original record on a junk stall and instigated a re-release.

Singles

IT'S PARTY TIME AGAIN (Bri-Tone 7BT 001)

14

2

7/1/89

VARDIS

West Yorkshire-based heavy metal power trio comprising Steve Zodiac (vocals & guitar), Alan Selway (bass) and Gary Pearson (drums).

Singles

100 MPH (EP) (Redball RR 017)

32

2

26/1/80

IF I WERE KING (Castle HMCQUEL 2)

17

12

29/3/80

THE VARUKERS

Politically-motivated (in their protest-style lyrics, anyway) punk quartet from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. Line-up was Rat, Brik, Andy and Damion.

Singles

PROTEST AND SURVIVE (Inferno HELL 1)

31

5

13/3/82

DON'T WANNA BE A VICTIM (Inferno HELL 4)

15

9

3/7/82

DIE FOR YOUR GOVERNMENT (Riot City RIOT 27)

5

7

13/8/83

LED TO THE SLAUGHTER (Riot City RIOT 29)

24

5

3/3/84

ANOTHER RELIGION ANOTHER WAR (Riot City 12RIOT 31) (12" only)

47

2

25/8/84

MASSACRED MILLIONS (Rot ASS 16) (12" only)

30

4

22/12/84

Albums

BLOOD SUCKERS (Riot City CITY 005)

8

4

15/10/83

THE VASELINES

1987-formed boy/girl pop/rock duo from Glasgow, comprising Frances McKee (vocals) and Eugene Kelly (guitar & vocals). Originally planning a fanzine, the pair found themselves making music instead of writing about it.

Singles

SON OF A GUN (53rd & 3rd AGARR 10)

26

5

12/9/87

DYING FOR IT (53rd & 3rd AGARR 17)

11

3

2/4/88

CHAMPION DOUG VEITCH

Scottish house-painter who made country records which merged into reggae and odd-ball interpretations of cajun material. He dubbed himself The King Of Caledonian Cajun Swing.

Singles

ONE BLACK NIGHT (Drum RUM 6)

45

1

17/8/85

VENOM

Geordie heavy metal trio who became hugely popular in Germany, Holland and Scandinavia, where their brand of noise terrorism was a formative influence on the black metal genre. Line-up was Cronos (vocals & bass), Mantas (guitar) and Abaddon (drums).

Singles

DIE HARD (Neat NEAT 27)

27

6

20/8/83

WARHEAD (Neat NEAT 38)

34

5

10/3/84

NIGHTMARE (Neat NEAT 47)

29

4

28/9/85

THE VERY THINGS

Redditch, Worcestershire-based alternative band who were part of the Dadaist organisation DCL, alongside the Cravats. Line-up was The Shend (vocals), Robin R. Dallaway (guitar), Fudger O'Mad (bass) and Disneytime (drums). The Shend later became an actor.

Singles

THE BUSHES SCREAM WHILE MY DADDY PRUNES (Reflex RE 5)

21

14

28/7/84

MUMMY YOU'RE A WRECK (Reflex 12 RE 9) (12" only)

11

8

31/8/85

THIS IS MOTORTOWN (Electric DCL Recordings DCL 1)

14

8

1/11/86

LET'S GO OUT (One Little Indian 7 TP 8)

22

5

26/9/87

THE VIBES

60s-style garage/trash rockers fronted by vocalist Gaz Voola, with Johnny "Mother" Johnson (lead guitar), Fuzz Fury (guitar), Lloyd (bass) and Johnny J. Beat (drums).

Singles

CAN YOU FEEL … THE UNDERESTIMATED MAN (Big Beat SW 99)

26

7

24/11/84

THE INNER WARDROBES OF YOUR MIND (EP) (Chainsaw TEX 4)

6

9

23/3/85

Albums

WHAT'S INSIDE (Chainsaw ATEX 6)

6

8

7/9/85

THE VIBRATORS

70s rockers who noted punk's arrival and adapted their sound to fit. The initial line-up was John Knox (guitar and vocals), John Ellis (guitar), Pat Collier (bass) and John "Eddie" Edwards (drums), but by 1980 Knox and Edwards were the only surviving originals. With more personnel changes, they are still on the circuit today, while Ellis now plays with the Stranglers.

Singles

GIMME SOME LOVIN' (Rat Race 2 RAT)

5

9

1/3/80

DISCO IN MOSCO (Rat Race RAT 4)

26

5

14/6/80

BABY, BABY (Anagram ANA 4)

10

10

25/12/82

MX AMERICA/SHADOW LOVE (Ram RM 7005)

17

7

24/12/83

Albums

ALASKA 127 (Ram RAM LP 001)

22

1

21/4/84

VICE SQUAD

Bristol punk band formed in late 1978 and fronted by blonde vocalist Beki Bondage (Rebecca Bond), who became for a while rock's leading pin-up in the music press (especially Sounds). The rest of the band were Dave Bateman (guitar), Mark Hambley (bass) and Shane Baldwin (drums).

Singles

LAST ROCKERS (Riot City RIOT 1)

7

39

7/2/81

THE RESURRECTION (EP) (Riot City RIOT 2)

4

30

30/5/81

LAST ROCKERS/RESURRECTION (Riot City RIOT 1/2)

21

9

16/1/82

BLACK SHEEP (Anagram ANA 16)

13

9

24/12/83

TENAGE RAMPAGE (Anagram ANA 26)

44

3

19/1/85

THE VICEROYS

Jamaican reggae outfit originally formed in the mid-60s. They were led by vocalist and songwriter Wesley Tnglin.

Albums

WE MUST UNITE (Trojan TRLS 208)

29

2

17/8/86

SID VICIOUS

(see also The SEX PISTOLS) The Pistols' self-destructive bassist's live recordings made in New York with assorted friends and musicians during the chaotic final year of his life.

Albums

LOVE KILLS N.YC. (Konexion KOMA 788020)

20

3

16/11/85

THE VIOLATORS

Punk band from the Stockport/Greater Manchester area who, like the Adicts, borrowed a visual image from the film A Clockwork Orange.

Singles

GANGLAND (No Future 018)

9

11

17/4/82

SUMMER OF '81 (No Future OI 19)

6

15

4/12/82

LIFE ON THE RED LINE (Future FS 2)

13

6

23/4/83

THE VIOLENT FEMMES

Versatile, sometime acoustic, US rock trio from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, comprising Gordon Gano (vocals & guitar), Brian Ritchie (bass) and Victor De Lorenzo (drums).

Singles

UGLY (Rough Trade/Slash RT 147)

11

8

14/1/84

Albums

VIOLENT FEMMES (Rough Trade ROUGH 55)

21

2

27/8/83

VIRGIN DANCE

UK quintet comprising E. Hind (vocals & guitar), Kenny Dougan (guitar), Lorraine Gardner (keyboards), Graham McMaster (bass) and Cliff Hewitt (drums).

Singles

ARE YOU READY (FOR THAT FEELING?) (Probe Plus PP 5)

15

9

2/7/83

THE VIRGIN PRUNES

Confrontational avant garde Irish performance-art band, formed in Dublin in 1976 and led by vocalist Gavin Friday (real name Fionan Hanvey). Other original members were Guggi (vocals), Dik (guitar), Dave Id (narrator), Strongman (bass) and Pod (drums), but later line ups varied. They split late in 1986.

Singles

TWENTY TENS (I'VE BEEN SMOKING ALL NIGHT) (Baby BABY 001)

25

5

7/2/81

IN THE GREYLIGHT (Rough Trade RT 072)

50

1

8/8/81

SANDPAPER LULLABY (Rough Trade FIT 089)

44

1

14/11/81

A NEW FORM OF BEAUTY (Rough Trade FIT 090)

47

1

6/3/82

PAGAN LOVE SONG (Rough Trade RT 106)

13

7

5/6/82

BABY TURNS BLUE (Rough Trade FIT 119)

15

14

30/10/82

LOVE LASTS FOREVER (Baby BABY 3)

18

4

5/7/86

Albums

IF I DIE, I DIE (Rough Trade ROUGH 49)

8

10

27/11/82

OVER THE RAINBOW (Baby BABY 002)

22

2

18/5/85

THE MOON LOOKED DOWN AND LAUGHED (Baby BABY 005)

5

3

19/7/86

VOICE OF THE BEEHIVE

Jaunty UK pop band with 60s girl-pop overtones, fronted by vocalising Californian sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke, with backup by Mike Jones (guitar) and former Madness members Mark Bedford (bass) and Dan Woodgate (drums).

Singles

JUST A CITY (Food SNAK 9)

20

9

21 /3/87

VOIVOID

Sci-fi influenced avant garde heavy metal band from Canada, with suitably cosmic names(!): Snake (vocals), Piggy (guitar), Blacky (bass) and Away (drums).

Albums

DIMENSION HATROSS (Noise N 01061)

8

2

23/4/88