9. McAlmont & ButlerThe Sound Of… McAlmont & Butler

It reminds of a very particular time in the mid-90s and ‘Yes’ was the one. It’s such an amazing song, I think. ‘Widescreen’ is a good way of describing it and it is such a massive canvas. There was a particular episode of Top Of The Pops where McAlmont & Butler were on, and so were Pulp doing ‘Common People’ and I remember thinking, something’s happening. And that’s a really amazingly rare thing – you think, this isn’t horseshit. There were some great people out there and these songs are absolutely terrific. 

I was terribly aware that they’d fallen out but I think it’s an incredible album. It’s not just ‘Yes’ that carries it; there’s that beautiful song ‘You Do’, which is just exquisite, really. For me, like Morrissey and Marr, this is a formidable combination. It took them 10 years to get back together. There’s a wonderful song on their second album, Bring It Back called ‘Falling’, which is just as good as ‘Yes’, but no one ever talks about it. I wish they hadn’t fallen out because who knows what might have happened.