The Associates – Sulk (40th Anniversary, Blue vinyl)

"Sulk" was The Associates' most successful album and landed in the top 10 of the British charts. Originally released in 1982, it was named 'Album of the Year' in Melody Maker. The single "Party Fears Two" was to become the band's biggest hit.

Despite its triumph, the album was ill-fated and musician Alan Rankine left the band shortly after its release, leaving Billy McKenzie to continue the project on his own. The Associates are still difficult to categorise today. Billy McKenzie's extraordinary vocals were so much in the foreground that you only recognise the great, unusual pop songs after listening to them several times.

She also skilfully straddled all genre pigeonholes. The Associates were sometimes categorized as an indie band, sometimes as New Romantics, sometimes as post-punk, then again as flawless pop. Mojo magazine wrote so aptly: "Sulk is their florid, hysterical masterpiece".