The Associates: Wild and Lonely

THE FIRST TIME I heard the Associates was when I saw 'Party Fears Two' on Top Of The Pops. It was one of those moments - the first snarl of 'Anarchy in the UK', the first spin and reel of 'This Charming Man', the first giddy sip of Prince – when the mind gapes, you exhale sheer awe. Billy Mackenzie oozed such illegal self-assurance, lethal panache, supernatural elegance. It was a revelation, a ravishing.