- E - Wreckless Eric

Back to the punk pioneers and one of the original Stiff records artists, Wreckless Eric was label mates with Ian Dury, Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe.

I'd normally recommend the early albums; whilst the first two are excellent (Wreckless Eric and The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric) and a must have for the dedicated collector, especially the various vinyl versions (coloured, picture discs and 10").  I would actually pick Big Smash the first disc being the third album and the second disc is a compilation pulled from the first two.

Full of catchy songs delivered in a similar style to Ian Dury and Elvis Costello. Wreckless Eric classics include Take the Cash, Hit and Miss Judy and Reconnez Cherie and the Final Taxi.

Wreckless Eric teamed up with his wife Amy Rigby in 2008 for the self titled Wreckless Eric And Amy Rigby. If you get the chance, don't miss him live for a highly enertaining show.

- E - Extreme

1989's debut Extreme paved the way for the true classic Extreme II - Pornograffitti. Riff after riff and as many catchy tracks as you can ever need, subtitled 'A Funked up Fairy Tale' they are spot on.  Decadence Dance kicks off with a dramatic metallic build and rips into a typically 80's hair metal singalong before launching into the alternative nursery rhymes of Lil Jack Horny. Get the Funk Out is the live favourite leading into the chart topping ballad More Than Words. Back to over the top screaming guitar and funk beat for Pornograffiti. It ('s A Monster) continues the quality of this classic. Mix equal doses of Aerosmith, Faith no More and Def Leppard and you're getting close to Extreme.

When Gary Cherone joined Queen on stage for the Freddie Mercury tribute they came close to the impossible of finding a worthy replacement - maybe one day....

- E - Evil Stig

Ok, so the reason for including Evil Stig and their album Evil Stig (Rmst) is because I'm a music fanatic and collector which means finding the obscure and strange to add to the collection. I started way back in the late 70's when buying albums by the Runaways was a challenge to say the least.

I followed the Runaways after they split with solo outings from Lita Ford, Cherie (and Marie) Currie and of course Joan Jett. Which is where we arrive at Evil Stig formed after the murder of the Gits singer Mia Zapata by the surviving band members and Joan Jett to raise money for a Seattle self-defense and support group for women. There

Granted this will never set the world on fire and isn't a classic but is it an essential buy - of course it is thanks to the wonderful Joan Jett.