Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
I struggled between this and The Man Machine , but the opening track of this does it for me again. [laughs] Sorry, I'm getting to be a pain now. I do listen to more than the first thirty seconds, honestly. 'Europe Endless' though: what a start to a record, and as a tune it's just perfect. It's one of my favourite pieces of music of all time – there's such a purity to it. I loved Kraftwerk's aesthetic completely – the neat haircuts, the suits, the austere photographs – and that it was the complete opposite of rock & roll. I got a bit obsessed with the idea of them cycling to Kling Klang actually, refusing to have a phone in the studio so they wouldn't be interrupted. Again, here were a group who existed in their own world, and them living in West Germany, of course, added to their mystery at that time. The fact that this music could have almost come from beyond the Iron Curtain. And then they referenced meeting Iggy Pop and David Bowie on the title track, of course. Sold!