Spizzenergi - Where's Captain Kirk? b/w Amnesia (Rough Trade, 1979)

In somewhere between the Buzzcoks and the Undertones there were Spizzenergi. They released only four 7" as Spizzenergi, but under different aliases—Athletico Spizz 80 or Spizzles—they came also a couple of LPs. "Where's Captain Kirk?" b/w "Amnesia" (1979) is, no doubt, the band's most famous and well-known 7". It's also one of my favorites all-time punk/new wave singles. Released by Rough Trade, the single came with a terrific pop-art cover. It's a shame that "Amnesia" was overshadowed by the tremendous success of the titular song, but it is also perfectly understandable: "Where's Captain Kirk?" is a classic, catchy song, which won the band their place in music history. The best Star Treck-related song ever written, John Peel dixit.

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Mittageisen b/w Love in a Void (Polydor, 1979)

Founded by Susan Janet Ballion (a.k.a. Siouxsie Sioux) and Steven John Bailey (alias Steven Severin, in homage to "Venus in Furs" by you-know-who), Siouxsie and the Banshees has been one of the most important post-punk/pre-Goth rock bands. They started in the middle of the English punk rock scene (vg. they first drummer was Sid Vicious) but they quickly evolved towards these dark sounds that influenced the future generations of the Goth rock bands (vg. Robert Smith was one of the band's guitarist). "Mittageisen" b/w "Love in a Void" (1.979) is they fourth single, and contains two non-LP tracks. The front cover is the John Heartfield's photo-collage Hurrah, die Butter ist Alle! ("Hurray, no more butter is left!"), which shows a family at a diner table eating metal pieces, an acerbic turnaround of the words of Luftwaffe Major and later Nazi Minister Hermann Göring: "Iron has always made a nation strong, butter and lard have only made the people fat". Turning back to the Banshees, "Mittageisen" is the German version of "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)", included in the band's first LP The Scream (1.978). The song is an ominous post-punk theme, driven by the martial rhythm and the fine bass line of Mr. Severin. "Love in a Void" is a little more punk rock-esque with its noteworthy bass line (again) and the kickin'-ass guitars.