Hit singles: nuh. Hit albums: nuh. Unusually charismatic singer? Unforgettable visual image? Brilliant band name? Nuh. Nuh. Nuh.

So why, 46 years after they formed, are we talking about Wire?

Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, 154 might sound like the opening line of a really good poem; it is, though, the list of albums – released between 1977 and ’79 – which, despite making only the barest dent in the charts, remain among the most influential of the era.

Beloved by everyone from Johnny Marr to Elastica, from REM to Henry Rollins to Sonic Youth, Wire are still, as Rolling Stone noted in 2017, ‘Punk’s ultimate cult band’.    

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/1230971434/playlist/1VLiKVlWbrLbxvtAkCnGOD?si=-Oa7As9oSNWmfyNdQEz_cw