A British post-punk band whose Another Girl, Another Planet song was used as the intro theme to Dave Fanning's 1980s/'90s 2FM radio show, The Only Ones were proof positive that to shine brightly and shortly was better than years of diminishing returns.
Three records (1978, 1979 and 1980) constitute the back catalogue, and the middle one, Even Serpents Shine, is the pick of them.
Taking cues from New York Dolls, the band’s songwriter (and tremulous lead singer), Peter Perrett, was a veritable punk poet laureate – his melodramatic musings on heartbreak, coupled with a druggy undertone, defined the term “doomed romantic”.
Perrett’s articulate narratives were borne aloft by John Perry, a fluid guitarist unafraid to take flight whenever the fancy took hold.
The result: unadulterated post-punk gold.
