Pete Shelley ‘XL1’ (Genetic, 1983)

"I’d become a Nitzer Ebb fan on the release of 1992’s Alan Wilder-produced ‘Ebbhead’, a frustrating time to become a fan of the band because they went on a three-year hiatus pretty much straight after they released that record."

When they first came out, I was slightly too young to appreciate Peter Gabriel’s four, self-titled solo albums that spanned 1977-1982, but ‘Birdy’, his first film soundtrack, really caught my attention.

My introduction to Wes Anderson’s ‘The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou’ began when a friend passed me the film, newly-released on DVD. “You are going to love this,” he said, excitedly.

“If you’re very good I’ll invite you for tea and play ‘The Death Of The Clayton Peacock’, which would be the nicest thing that could possibly happen, and then we’ll go and feed the ducks.” 

Though Hefner survive in the collective consciousness as the exemplar of an indie guitar outfit, the band deployed vintage synths and drum machines on later recordings. Which means that this, The French’s ‘Local Information’, isn’t quite the without-precedent one-off it might first appear.