In the early nineties I was trudging around Hull pretending to be an accountant, which has got to be one of the most depressing career/location combinations in the known universe. One of the few things that kept me going to the office was a C90 tape with The Fastbacks on one side and 'Tranzophobia' by Mega City Four on the other. I'd listen to it on an old Phillips Walkman usually in the rain, sometimes on the bus and occasionally on the way to Cooplands to buy my dinner.
The Mega City Four produced a blueprint for so many modern day bands, but hardly receive a mention, let alone any credit. Admittedly most of their current imitators are rubbish, and they may even have to claim some responsibility for Blink 182, but that's missing the point. MC4 took the Husker Du template and turned it into something undeniably British, something a little rough around the edges, but ultimately a thing of beauty that didn't exist before they existed.
Although slightly dated now, 'Tranzophobia' is one of the greatest albums ever made. There are no boring slow numbers, they included some great samples and virtually every song starts with a '1,2,3,4'. 'Twenty One Again' is a rip-roaring tale of loneliness and lost love that instantly bathed Hull in beams of imaginary sunshine and positively, and for that reason alone it deserves to be in the top ten.
The Fastbacks were brilliant too now I come to think about it.
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