10 Greatest Debut Singles Of All Time

10. Let’s Shake Hands – The White Stripes

Kicking off with something of a rarity, 1998 saw Jack’n’Meg announce themselves with a squall of slide guitar and a scudding riff The Gun Club themselves would have chewed a toe off to write.

Scything along to Meg’s caveman drum line, pretty much everything we love about the Detroit siblings/couple/divorcees/whatever is there from word go.

From the red and white cover art and shrieking, treated guitar solos, to the surprisingly subversive gender politics in Jack’s agonised howl begging a partner to end a relationship while they can still stand each other.

It places low on this list because it was by no means a hit, and The Stripes themselves would develop into something more sophisticated and strange over time.

As far as sheer thrills go however, there’s a reason this was their standard opener in concert all the way up to their final days.