The '70s

Glam, Metal, Punk, Stadium rock, it was a decade of extremes.

For the full list of the best British tracks, and albums, 1958-2008, see the new issue of Q magazine, on sale now.

Paranoid
Black Sabbath
Vertigo, 1970
One of metal's earliest set texts. There was a deranged look in Ozzy Osbourne's eyes even then, as this clip demonstrates.


Working Class Hero
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Apple, 1970
Was he working class? Was he middle-class? Did he fall through the cracks between the two? Whatever the truth, Lennon knew enough about being buffeted by the cross-winds of the English class system to boil over with rage and frustration:

Won't Get Fooled Again
The Who
Track, 1971
Townshend at his most anti-authoritarian, with his band at their most alive in this mind-boggling performance, an exercise in controlled rage.


Get It On
T. Rex
Fly, 1971
Glam rock at its most glittery, helped in this clip by the presence of the sober, under-stated Elton John on piano.
That's Elton John chipping in on piano.

Rocket Man
Elton John
DJM, 1972
"All this science I don't understand/It's just my job five days a week" - Rocket Man was a very British approach to the space race. No wonder we managed much in the way of moon shots. Here's Elton in concert for the BBC during the early '70s.

Kashmir
Led Zeppelin
Swan Song, 1975
It still sounds like a herd of dinosaurs rumbling inexorably into view, crushing everything in their path. Here's Zeppelin tackling Kashmir in their pomp:

And here they are performing the track during last December's reunion show at London's O2, a little less lithe, but still potent:

Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen
EMI, 1975
The most flamboyant track from the most theatrical of all British rock bands. There's doing things with a flourish and then there's Freddie Mercury.

God Save The Queen
Sex Pistols
Virgin, 1977
No one's ever flicked their 'V's to the establishment with quite so much panache. Here they are apoplectic with rage on 1977's Anarchy tour.

David Bowie
"Heroes"
RCA, 1977
Bowie's hymn to possibility was the most memorable moment of his 'Berlin' period, and probably his greatest ever track. Not even being covered by Kasabian can dent its beauty.

Teenage Kicks
The Undertones
Good Vibrations, 1978
To the late DJ John Peel, the Northern Irish punk's ode to adolescenet frustration was the greatest song of all-time. He may not be that far wrong...

Tomorrow, the 1980s...