Top Tens: Less Deceived's Top Ten UK Punk Songs

Break the Habit - So What if We Know All Our Audience by Name?

To my eternal shame I never saw Break The Habit live. But this song pretty much sums up every band I've ever been in. I think it's a common thread that joins most punk rock bands - we don't do it because it's a good idea, or because it's easy, we do it because we don't really know how to do anything else.

Fig 4.0 - The Beating of Luke Morgan

I first saw Fig 4.0 in a pub in Hull called Moriarty's that's closed now. Pretty sure they actually blew all of my face off. Melody and anger and irony and passion all blended into minute-and-a-half long songs. Hardcore done without the macho bravado that spoilt hardcore.

Caves - Bad Weather

The first time I heard this song was live at the Brudenell in Leeds when Caves were supporting Latterman. It made my heart hurt in the best way. Caves are one of those bands with such an honest live show that when they slowed things down and played this you couldn't help but take notice.

Gnarwolves - Limerence

A song about growing up and not being very good at it. It really struck a chord the first time I heard it, mainly because I'm also incredibly bad at growing up. I think a lot of our songs are about things that we did when we were younger, and looking back at them with older eyes, but this does that perfectly.

Whizzwood - Fagin

The best band to ever come out of Hull. Which is saying a lot, believe you me! Fagin is a song about being straight edge, which I've never been, and which Whizzwood weren't by the time I started listening to them. It's also almost pretty much the best thrashcore song ever written. Probably. Once when I was in trouble with the police I was wearing a Whizzwood T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Crime Pays When Pigs Die.” Good times.

HiTechJet - Should Have Left You on the Roadside

Hitechjet played in Hull at Ringside years ago and they were truly lovely people. I don't think anyone turned up to the gig, but I was there, and their mix of punk, hardcore, and a bunch of other stuff really hit the spot. Shouty and melodic, this song shows them off at their best.

Steel Rules Die - Our Time Honoured Tradition of Trying Too Hard

Probably the best song on the best split ever released (that'd be the Steel Rules Die / Winter in June split if you're wondering). I supported Steel Rules Die a couple of times in Hull, and they were always amazing, even when I was hungover and exhausted after sleeping in a conservatory for some reason.

Symposium - Farewell to Twilight

I remember waking up once thinking my brother was playing this song on loop in his bedroom across the hall. He wasn't, I'd just listened to it so many times during the day that I was hearing things. I don't know if that's something to worry about. Brilliantly simple indie rock that made me want to write songs.

Apologies I Have None - Bent Strings

I put Apologies on in Hull when they were a two piece, and I still think this is one of the best songs they ever wrote. The version on Done, not the version on Two Sticks and Six Strings. It's such a painfully honest song about loss, death, and religion, but it's also almost impossible not to sing along to it.

Ducking Punches - Big Brown Pills From Lynn

I could have pretty much put every Ducking Punches song on this list, but then it would have been too long. Utterly massive folk punk with the biggest chorus hooks. It reminds me of growing up in a little scene, and how dangerous it can be if you can't find the ground again after people lift you up.

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