1977

Northern power trio Ash were still at school when they began recording their debut album 1977 (the year of their birth, and the release of Star Wars) with Oasis producer Owen Morris. They’d already notched up a succession of hit singles like ‘Kung Fu’ and ‘Girl From Mars’, sawn-off punk-pop nuggets that suggested The Undertones, the Shangri-La’s and Nirvana in equal measure. Teenage kicks abounded: here was a band who were the same age as their hormonal audience. And yet, frontman Tim Wheeler displayed a songwriting nous that reflected an understanding of Spector as well as Dinosaur Jr. The classic ‘Goldfinger’ perfectly encapsulated nowheresville restlessness, while ‘Oh Yeah’ was an elegant hymn to the intoxication of gap year romance. It wasn’t a perfect record but a serious debut, that went straight to No. 1 in the UK and spawned no less than four hit singles.

No 9 in 2009, as voted for by over 200 Irish musicians. Up from No 17 in 2004.