Hugh Hodges has written extensively on African and West Indian music, poetry, and fiction, including essays on Fela Kuti, Lord Kitchener, and Bob Marley. Linton Kwesi Johnson praised his book Soon Come as "extremely engaging and an important, original scholarly work." He currently teaches at Trent University, Ontario, where his research focuses on cultural resistance in its many forms, and his band the Red Finks remains hopelessly obscure.

Preface by Dick Lucas

Foreword by Boff Whalley

Part One: Everything's Brilliant! (on politics and popular music)

Mixtape 1: The Grocer's Daughter

• Sex Pistols, “Anarchy in the UK” (1976)
• Sex Pistols, “God Save the Queen” (1977)
• The Mekons, “Never Been in a Riot” (1978)
• David Bowie, “Fashion” (1980)
• UB40 “One in Ten” (1981)
• The Specials, “Ghost Town” (1981)
• Madness, “Grey Day” (1981)
• Instant Automatons, “Nothing Ever Happens to Me” (1981)
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood, “Relax” (1983)
• Serious Drinking, “The Revolution Starts at Closing Time” (1983)
• Chaotic Dischord, “Fuck Religion, Fuck Politics, Fuck the Lot of You” (1983)
• ABC, “United Kingdom” (1983)
• Subhumans, “Reality Is Waiting for a Bus” (1983)
• The Macc Lads, “Buenos Aires” (1983)
• Osibisa, “Too Much Going On” (1984)
• Howard Jones, “Don't Always Look at the Rain” (1984)
• Vice Squad, “You'll Never Know” (1984)
• The Jazz Butcher, “The Jazz Butcher v The Prime Minister” (1985)
• Conflict, “This Is Not Enough” (1985)
• The Style Council, “Walls Come Tumbling Down” (1985)
• Tears for Fears, “Shout” (1985)
• Television Personalities, “Grocers Daughter” (1986)
• The Smiths, “Panic” (1986)
• The Membranes, “Everything's Brilliant” (1986)
• Chumbawamba, “Rock 'n' Roles” (1986)
• Terminus, “Propaganda War” (1986)
• Billy Bragg, “The Home Front” (1986)
• Momus, “I Was a Maoist Intellectual” (1988)
• Conflict, “Let the Battle Commence” (1988)
• Easterhouse, “This Country” (1989)
• The Pogues, “White City” (1989)

Mixtape 2: Do Not Push Pineapple

• The Wombles, “The Wombling Song” (1973)
• The Wurzels, “The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)” (1976)
• The Jam, “That’s Entertainment” (1980)
• The Four Bucketeers, “The Bucket of Water Song” (1980)
• Jon Pertwee, “Worzel's Song” (1980)
• Brown Sauce, “I Wanna Be a Winner” (1981)
• Alexei Sayle, “Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?” (1982)
• The Firm, “Arthur Daley (E’s Alright)” (1982)
• Keith Harris and Orville, “Orville's Song” (1982)
• Tracey Ullman, “They Don't Know” (1983)
• Kenny Everett, “Snot Rap” (1983)
• Roland Rat Superstar, “Rat Rapping” (1983)
• Subhumans, “Rats” (1983)
• Conflict, “Stop the City” (1984)
• Black Lace, “Agadoo” (1984)
• Alvin Stardust, “I Feel Like Buddy Holly” (1984)
• Spitting Image “The Chicken Song” (1986)
• Claire and Friends, “It's ’Orrible Being in Love (When You're 8½)” (1986)
• The Firm, “Star Trekkin” (1987)
• The Timelords, “Doctorin’ the Tardis” (1988)
• Harry Enfield, “Loadsamoney” (1988)

Part Two: In the Days of the Ford Cortina (on punk and the problem with going to work)

Mixtape 3: Poxy Factories

• The Strawbs, “Part of the Union” (1973)
• The Clash “Career Opportunities” (1977)
• Sex Pistols “Seventeen” (1977)
• Chelsea “Right to Work” (1977)
• Sham 69, “I Don’t Wanna” (1977)
• Steel Pulse, “Handsworth Revolution” (1978)
• The Mekons “32 Weeks” (1978)
• The Skids, “Charles” (1978)
• Suburban Studs, “I Hate School” (1978)
• The Fall, “Bingo-Master’s Break-Out” (1978)
• Madness, “Land of Hope and Glory” (1979)
• Elvis Costello & The Attractions, “Oliver’s Army” (1979)
• Crass, “Do They Owe Us a Living?” (1979)
• Pink Floyd, “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” (1979)
• Scissor Fits, “I Don't Want to Work for British Airways” (1979)
• Linton Kwesi Johnson, “Inglan Is a Bitch” (1980)
• Madness, “Baggy Trousers” (1980)
• Elvis Costello & The Attractions, “Secondary Modern” (1980)
• Soft Cell, “Frustration” (1981)
• UB40, “So Here I Am” (1981)
• The Members, “Working Girl” (1982)
• Abrasive Wheels, “Burn ‘Em Down” (1982)
• The Diagram Brothers, “My Dinner” (1982)
• Soft Cell, “Forever the Same” (1983)
• The Kinks, “Young Conservatives” (1983)
• The Mob, “Raised in a Prison” (1983)
• The Smiths, “Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now” (1984)
• Subhumans, “Apathy” (1985)
• Pet Shop Boys, “Opportunities” (1985)
• Newtown Neurotics, “Fighting Times” (1985)
• We’ve Got a Fuzzbox and We’re Gonna Use It, “Rules and Regulations” (1986)
• The Godfathers, “Birth School Work Death” (1987)
• Happy Mondays, “Lazyitis” (1988)

Mixtape 4: Dirty Work

• The Wailers, “Get Up, Stand Up” (1973)
• The Clash, “White Riot” (1977)
• Steel Pulse, “Handsworth Revolution” (1978)
• New Hearts, “Revolution (What Revolution)” (1978)
• The Clash, “The Clampdown” (1979)
• Linton Kwesi Johnson, “Reality Poem” (1979)
• Misty in Roots, “Sodome and Gomorra” (1979)
• The Clash, “The Guns of Brixton” (1979)
• Secret Affair, “Time for Action” (1979)
• The Clash, “Rudie Can’t Fail” (1979)
• Purple Hearts, “Millions Like Us” (1979)
• The Slits, “Shoplifting” (1979)
• Aswad, “Judgement Day” (1979)
• The Clash, “Bankrobber” (1980)
• The Exploited, “Army Life” (1980)
• Judas Priest, “Breaking the Law” (1980)
• Poison Girls, “Dirty Work” (1980)
• The Clash, “The Call Up” (1980)
• UB40 “Don't Let It Pass You By” (1981)
• The Beat, “Get-a-Job” (1981)
• Miles over Matter, “Something’s Happening Here” (1981)
• UB40 “Present Arms” (1981)
• The Apostles, “Pigs for Slaughter” (1982)
• The Clash, “Know Your Rights” (1982)
• UB40 “Don't Do the Crime” (1982)
• Misty in Roots, “Poor and Needy” (1983)
• Chumbawamba, “Work” (1983)
• The Alarm, “Declaration” (1984)
• Poison Girls, “Take the Toys from the Boys” (1984)
• Abacush, “Batta Dem” (1984)
• Political Asylum, “System of War” (1984)
• Everything but the Girl “Ballad of the Times” (1985)
• Tippa Irie, “Complain Neighbour” (1985)
• The Apostles, “Workers’ Autonomy” (1986)

Part Three: The Procession of Popular Capitalism (on monetarism, unemployment, and the Right to Buy)

Mixtape 5: Government Schemes

• The Passage, “16 Hours” (1979)
• The Members, “Solitary Confinement” (1979)
• Adam Ant, “Kings of the Wild Frontier” (1980)
• Poison Girls, “Persons Unknown” (1980)
• The Exploited, “I Believe in Anarchy” (1981)
• Aswad, “Tuff We Tuff” (1981)
• Abrasive Wheels “Vicious Circle” (1981)
• The Exploited, “Dole Q” (1981)
• Bow Wow Wow, “W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah No! No! My Daddy Don’t)” (1981)
• Abrasive Wheels, “Voice of Youth” (1981)
• Potential Threat, “Cheap Labour” (1982)
• The Exploited, “Disorder” (1982)
• Wham!, “Wham Rap!” (1982)
• Vice Squad, “(So) What for the Eighties” (1982)
• Level 41, “The Chinese Way” (1982)
• The Partisans, “No U Turns” (1983)
• Billy Bragg, “To Have and to Have Not” (1983)
• Misty in Roots, “Poor and Needy” (1983)
• Newtown Neurotics, “Living with Unemployment” (1983)
• Red Guitars, “Steeltown” (1984)
• The Alarm, “Deeside” (1985)
• Simply Red, “Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)” (1985)
• The Exploited, “Maggie” (1985)
• New Model Army, “Young, Gifted and Skint” (1985)
• Style Council, “With Everything to Lose” (1985)
• Roy Harper, “Government Surplus” (1988)
• The Neurotics, “Keep the Faith” (1988)
• Easterhouse, “Stay with Me (Death on the Dole)” (1989)
• James, “Sit Down” (1989)

Mixtape 6: Nowt but Misery

• Hawkwind, “Urban Guerrilla” (1973)
• The Human League, “Circus of Death” (1978)
• The Fall, “Crap Rap 2/ Like to Blow” (1979)
• 999, “English Wipeout” (1979)
• Tubeway Army, “Down in the Park” (1979)
• The Fall, “The N.W.R.A” (1980)
• The Clash, “Something About England” (1980)
• Echo and the Bunnymen, “All That Jazz” (1980)
• David Bowie, “Ashes to Ashes” (1980)
• Anti-Nowhere League, “So What?” (1981)
• Dick Gaughan, “Both Sides the Tweed” (1981)
• The Specials, “Ghost Town” (1981)
• Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Fireworks” (1982)
• The Exploited, “False Hopes” (1983)
• Big Country, “Steeltown” (1984)
• Dream Academy, “Life in a Northern Town” (1985)
• Fine Young Cannibals, “Move to Work” (1985)
• Everything but the Girl, “Anytown” (1985)
• The Style Council, “All Gone Away” (1985)
• Fine Young Cannibals, “Blue” (1985)
• The Three Johns “Sold Down the River” (1986)
• The Three Johns “Coals to Newcastle” (1986)
• The Proclaimers, “Letter from America” (1987)
• The Thrashing Doves, “Northern Civil War Party” (1987)
• Thrashing Doves, “Biba’s Basement” (1987)
• The Housemartins, “We Are Not Going Back” (1987)
• The Alarm, “Hallowed Ground” (1987)
• Anti-Nowhere League “Not My England” (1987)
• The Proclaimers, “Cap in Hand” (1988)

Mixtape 7: Shopkeepers Arise!

• X-Ray Spex, “Germ Free Adolescents” (1978)
• Joe Jackson, “Sunday Papers” (1978)
• John Cooper Clarke, “You Never See a Nipple in the Daily Express” (1978)
• X-Ray Spex, “Plastic Bag” (1978)
• The Pop Group, “We Are All Prostitutes” (1979)
• The Slits, “Spend Spend Spend” (1979)
• The Clash, “Lost in the Supermarket” (1979)
• Gang of Four, “At Home (He’s a Tourist)” (1979)
• Elvis Costello & The Attractions, “Sunday’s Best”...