A slightly less manic day at the chocolate teapot factory heralded the nourishing of the lugholes with the following:

• Haydn etc. – Trumpet Concertos – Alison Balsom
• Republica – Republica
• The Jesus & Mary Chain – Automatic
• Jim Reid – Dead End Kids single
• The Libertines – The Libertines
• The Manhattan Love Suicides – Burnt Out Landscapes
• Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
• Haydn etc. – Trumpet Concertos again
• J.C. Bach – Symphonies op. 9

In my defense, I only listened to “Ready To Go” and “Drop Dead Gorgeous” off Republica. They were one of those tail-end-of-Britpop groups that only had a couple of songs. And, like Garbage just before them, their main appeal was a trappy and attractive frontwoman concealing the largely charisma-free backing group of older men who could have been session players for all anyone cared.

“Sex Dwarf”, from Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is still one of the most gloriously filthy songs ever committed to vinyl.