7. StereolabEmperor Tomato Ketchup

More than any other band, Stereolab fans must’ve played each new album not knowing quite what to expect as the bands career was a total musical adventure through Krautrock, French pop and then seeing them end up as pioneers of the loungecore scene. Moog synths had gotten a bad name at the hands of some of the more self-indulgent prog rockers – “a monumental waste of electricity” was John Peel’s verdict, a view with which I agree. But with their quirky pop aesthetics, along with their trademark blips and bleeps, Stereolab almost single handedly rehabilitated the Moog, and for that we must thank them. A few years ago when The Damned played Glastonbury I made a point of catching Stereolab’s set on the John Peel stage. Their mesmerising grooves and beats pretty much had the audience in a trance by the finale, so it was maybe a good job I was hanging onto the barrier at the front at the time.