10 Forgotten 1970s Punk Albums You Need To Hear
4. Elton Motello – Victim Of Time (1978)
The debut album from Brighton, UK’s Elton Motello (real name Alain Ward) is a real oddity of its era, and despite him being best known for a cover of one of the cheesiest punk cash-ins of all time, its eccentric quirkiness has possibly improved rather than dated it over the years.
It is somehow quintessentially British in feel, despite touching on American sounds which range from the “Hey-Ho!” lyric and hyperactive pace of Ramones used in the opening track, and incorporates elements of glam, R'n'B, and pub-rock. There are some liberal dashes of cheesy 60s and 70s pop, with the added cocky swagger of Lou Reed and David Bowie’s early 70s work. However, the eclectic mix of styles is always given an extra shot-in-the-arm of buoyant punk energy.
Jet Boy, Jet Girl is the gem here and also technically a cover version (of Belgian one-hit-wonder Plastic Bertrand’s Ca Plan Pour Moi), but updated with English lyrics to form a surprisingly on-the-nose (for the time) ode to a passionately jealous same-gender affair. It makes for a song that is hip, wildly catchy, and somehow very cool, while also being kitsch, twee, and knowingly, even joyously silly. Elsewhere, horns parp, keyboards slide, and guitars fuzz alongside Motello’s agitated vocal style to create one of the true oddities of the late 70s punk scene.