Issued twelve months ago, Cherry Red’s 3-CD set “1977: The Year Punk Broke” examined the UK punk explosion in microscopic detail, prompting rave reviews, extremely healthy sales figures and numerous comments along the lines of “You guys are the mutt’s nuts – when’s the follow-up coming out?” Well, we’re still the mutt’s nuts, sonny, and here’s the eagerly-anticipated second instalment. Confounding all expectations, this time we’re following the trail of musical breadcrumbs to 1978 – or, to paraphrase the late, great Poly Styrene, The Year The UK Turned Day-Glo. Over three glorious, packed-to-the-brim CDs, we investigate the sounds of 1978 as the original punk template fractured into a dazzling day-glo riot of sub-genres: new wave, post-punk, proto-Oi, power-pop, punk poets, the mod revival, ska-punk, synth-oriented electronic/industrial music and a whole load of additional noises that, over forty years later, have still to be classified by the fifth estate, the fourth column or even the Third Reich. We document various regional scenes, paying close attention to the likes of Manchester, Scotland and, in particular, Northern Ireland, where the arrival of punk was a life-affirming relief from the horrors of everyday life. From household names (The Jam, The Stranglers, The Cure, Public Image Ltd) to groups who barely progressed beyond their own bedrooms, major label careerists to DIY enthusiasts, one-off mavericks (led by the blessed Jilted John) to songs specifically crafted as hit singles, every aspect of a vibrant, multi-faceted scene is represented on our marathon four-hour, 79-track anthology. Housed in a capacity wallet, 1978: The Year The UK Turned Day-Glo includes a 48-page booklet that includes the lowdown on every track. Loaded with vim and vigour, it’s another essential purchase for anyone with even a passing interest in the British music scene of the late Seventies
