"YOU GET UNDER MY SKIN...”

The Only Ones were the new wave-era band with one foot in the pre-punk, rock classicist past. They recorded three albums of erratic flaming beauty, but it was a single of theirs, three minutes of ragged insinuating perfection, that really helped them make a mark. Here, adapted from Simon Wright's new book on the band's debut LP, is the story of Another Girl, Another Planet.

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Arguably the best rock single ever recorded," declared allmusic.com. Stairway To Heaven? Brown Sugar? Space Oddity? No, Another Girl, Another Planet - a song that has never even been a hit, despite being released as a single twice in 1978 (re-released in January 1992, it would eventually spend two weeks in the UK charts, peaking at No 57). As soon as you hear that long and distinctly unpunk guitar introduction you are inexorably drawn into the adrenaline rush of the song itself, sheer pop-punk perfection.

The Only Ones rarely did what was expected of them. When their debut LP, The Only Ones, was released, rather than opening with the uptempo...Planet they went with a deliciously languid ballad The Whole Of The Law complete with unfashionable saxophone solo....Planet follows, preceded by an extra-long pause designed to increase your anticipation of that intro, a programming masterstroke.

The Only Ones were an unlikely combination of the old and new. Bassist Alan Mair was a veteran of Glasgow's 60s group The Beatstalkers and was mates with David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. Mike Kellie had drummed for The VIPs, Spooky Tooth, Traffic and in the Tommy film. Despite the Year Zero diktat to disown anything pre-'77 ("No Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones") lead guitarist John Perry was unapologetic about his love for Jimi Hendrix and Arthur Lee while frontman and songwriter Peter Perrett was a Dylan obsessive with a Lou Reed drawl.