Vic Godard & The Subway Sect – Songs For Sale

Vic – an original punk rocker like Mark Perry, suddenly did an about turn and did this kind of swing album. I love that in music when someone changes completely, he’s saying, 'I’m a great songwriter and you can cover them.' He knows he’s not a singer like he wants to be, like Tony Bennett, so he’s offering his songs up for others. He was the greatest songwriter of his generation. There are a couple of cover versions here that I wish he hadn’t put on because he got criticised, and was compared to others who sang them.

But I still love this record so much, it’s a bizarre thing, like Scott Walker, the turnabout, it’s amazing. Vic would say that punk was now shit and that these were the real songs. But I love his punk stuff and singles. He said he didn’t have a hit because he didn’t make a record big enough but it’s just not true. The singles he made were so unique and brilliant, but he had a high standard for himself.