- H - Alex Harvey

So this is how it all began. The first two albums I ever bought all those years ago couldn't have been more different. The Beatle's Yellow Submarine and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Tomorrow Belongs to Me. So the first recommendation has to be The Impossible Dream / Tomorrow Belongs To Me. The back catalogue is available as double disc packages making it even easier to collect.

The rasping vocals and driving guitars make Alex and the band instantly recognisable, there are no weak tracks on Tomorrow, from Action Strasse and The Tale of the Giant Stone Eater, Give My Compliments to the Chef and the haunting Tomorrow Belongs to Me .  The Impossible Dream includes Vambo, Sergeant Fury and Tomahawk Kid.

Framed / Next present another classic pairing. Every rock fan needs the title tracks Framed and Next.

There are a stack of compilations for putting a  toe in the water and an excellent selection of Live albums, check out Live At The BBC .

For a taste of Alex prior to and after SAHB try Considering The Situation. There's a step back to The Alex Harvey Soul Band, his Hair period and solo work plus a second disc of SAHB and even a nod to the frankly odd The Loch Ness Monster (I can't really recommend this one unless you track down the real collectors gem original vinyl version)

Whilst Alex can never be replaced, the vocals are handled well by Max Maxwell on the live double collection THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND/ZALVATI which includes all of the classics including Delilah and the Boston Tea Party

- F - Flash Bastard

Thanks to Classic Rock Magazine for this lot.

Both albums are excellent sleaze rock, glam rock - ahh just get em. Rock n' Roll Must Be Destroyed and Bastard Radio. Let's face it, with track titles like Rock n Roll must be Destroyed, Slut and Bastard, Radio Bastard and You Can't Touch Me how can you go wrong?

- G - Steve Gibbons

If Steve Gibbons is playing a venue near you - buy a ticket. Solo, with his band or as the Dylan Project you're in for a treat.

I've seen Steve playing many times, he's just as good in a park band stand (The New Brighton Blues Festival) as he is in a more traditional venue.

The downside is finding discs can be a bit of a challenge but look and you won't be disappointed.

Short Stories commands silly prices on vinyl, and not always easy to find on cd but the double disc sets Short Stories/Stained Glass is excellent. Live is the best place to hear Steve so another essential is Double Live (On the Loose and Caught in The Act) which includes The Tupelo Mississippi Flash and the classic Chuck Berry cover Tulane.

Also look out for The Dylan Project/Live at Cropredy Festival 1999 and Dylan Project, Vol. 2. A confession, I'm not a great fan of Bob Dylan however he has written some classics and I'll stick with the Steve Gibbons versions - Like a Rolling Stone, Highway 61 Revisited, I Shall Be Released and Subterranean Homesick Blues.

- G - Ian Gillan

There are two essential Gillan releases Mr. Universe and Future Shock the stand out tracks include my all time favourite No Laughing in Heaven, followed closely by Sacre Bleu, Bite the Bullet and New Orleans. The extra tracks version also throws in Mutually Assured Destruction.

Next on the list must be Glory Road, I got this first time around on vinyl and signed by Ian at an in store meet and greet. Unchain Your Brain and Running, White Face, City Boy are the recommended tracks. The bonus 'For Gillan Fans Only' features an alternative version of the Samson classic Vice Versa (altered to Egg Timer)

- G - Guns 'N' Roses

The tried and tested rule of early work is better than later is seen perfectly in Guns 'N' Roses. With Axl seeming to lose the plot and self destructing. What is marketed as Guns today is a shadow of what they were.

So if by any chance you've not experienced rock Axl style head straight for 1987's essential Appetite For Destruction with no weak tracks and no filler this is a must have; classics Paradise City, Sweet Child O' Mine and Welcome To The Jungle. The following year's G N' R Lies gave a taste of the band live. By releasing Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II at the same time presented a big gamble for fans in what seemed a huge body of new material. Looking back now, the combined albums contain more classics November Rain, Live and Let Die, Civil War  and You Could Be Mine.

This is where caution starts, I personaly like 1993's punk covers album The Spaghetti Incident? despite getting mixed reactions from the music press. Probably the obscure choices helped, I wasn't familiar with most of the original tracks so the album felt fresh. The Damned's New Rose, the Stooges Raw Power and  The New York Dolls Human Being are possibly the best known with other covers of T-Rex, Sex Pistols, Skyliners, UK Subs, Dead Boys, Nazareth, Misfits and Fear.

A few studio and live compilations followed after which Axl lost the whole band and spent some 15 years producing  Chinese Democracy that I mention only to warn against buying. This is the only Guns album I struggle to return to. Instead, if you can find a copy, the excellent live bootleg For Motherfuckers Only is a recording at Deer Creek Music, Indiana from May 1991. This is how I'll remember Guns 'N' Roses.

- G - Gossip

USA band Gossip started in 1999. After watching them live I picked up the back catalogue. The best intro is Standing In The Way Of Control Beth Ditto is probably not the stereotypical lead singer but she has a powerful voice and equally strong stage presence. Stand out tracks are Standing in the Way of Control, and the less punky Listen Up . Debut Thats Not What I Heard is also well worth a listen in al its raw glory. Bones, Bring it on and Catfight are all lively tracks suitably bellowed out.

The Live in Liverpool set is an excellent slice of Gossip live with the added benefit of a dvd, if you want a bit more of their live sound then Undead in NYC offers a fine example of a young Gossip.

- B - The Brain Surgeons

The result of catching up on the Blue Oyster Cult back catalogue uncovered the wonderful and very strange Brain Surgeons. Producing albums between 1994 and 2006 they had a  changing lineup led by Blue Oyster Cult's Albert Bouchard and Flaming Youth's Deborah Frost.

With so many styles and influences, selecting individual releases is difficult, hopefully after taking the plunge with one release you will do as I am, collecting all of their albums. For want of a place to start, 1994's Eponymous [US Import] isn't a bad place, it includes a very strange cover of Love Potion #9 and the catchy (666) Devil got your mother.

Trepanation includes Ramblin Rose (imagine Patti Smith on lead vocals for Led Zeppelin) and closes with Night of 1,000 guitars. Malpractise includes Blue Oyster Cult's Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll but in sung in Italian and renamed Cludades Y Navidades and Baby Ice Dog. There are also two Hawkwind covers - Needle Gun and Hassan I Sahba.

With the addition of ex Dictators Ross The Boss Black Hearts of Soul includes more Blue Oyster Cult classics Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll and The Revenge of Vera Gemini.

For fans of Blue Oyster Cult, The Dictators, Manowar and Flaming Youth check out The Brain Surgeons. I'm struggling to compare this band with any other and their music doesn't just change from album to album but from track to track.

- G - Girlschool

Whoever said girls can't rock? Unplug your ears and C'Mon Let's Go. Their first two albums; 1980's Demolition and 1981's Hit and Run are the essential purchases, also worth checking out their 2011 revisited version Hit And Run - Revisited. Stand out classics from the debut are Emergency and Demolition Boys. Title track Hit and Run, a cover of Tush and Yeah Right also more than stand the test of time. The remastered version of Hit and Run adds another nine bonus tracks including the classic Motorhead Bomber and Please Don't Touch (from the Motorhead/Girlschool Valentine's Day Massacre ep.

While Girlschool are excellent in the studio, their live performances are always a must see, they've been captured well on King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert.

Castle Music released an excellent package of Nightmare at Maple Cross/Take a Bite combining the two albums on one disc, kicking off with another powerful cover, this time Sweet's Fox on The Run, whilst Take a Bite resurrects the Mud classic Tiger Feet.

- G - Georgia Satellites, Ginger

Back to the 80's and Atlanta based Georgia Satellites. Their self titled debut Georgia Satellites contains the essential tracks Keep Your Hands to Yourself and Battleship Chains. The compilation Let It Rock: the Best of Georgia Satellites contains both of these tracks plus an excellent selection of rocking tracks.

Probably the best career move  by David Wallis better known as Ginger was getting sacked by the Quireboys only to bounce back with his Wildhearts band. I'll list a few essential Wildhearts releases when I get to W. For now I'll pick a few of Ginger's best releases.

Certainly not an easy person to keep up with as Ginger has many solo and side projects; Silver Ginger 5, Supershit 666, Clam Abuse, Brides of Destruction, Howling Willie Cunt. There was even a brief outing with Michael Monroe producing the acclaimed Sensory Overdrive album.

So, solo Ginger, well you're already too late to pick up the triple version of Ginger's new album 555% which despite not being released yet (it's out during April 2012) has already been deleated after reaching it's pledge/pre order limit. The project was funded via the Pledgemusic website and reached it's pledge target within a staggering six hours. If you haven't pre-ordered then you'll have to settle for the single disc version.

Ginger has released some excellent live sets; Great White Monkey is a double disc acoustic set recorded in 2003, the between song banter is as expected and always entertaining. There's a spirited cover of Hocus Pocus, a tribute (ish) The Daftness and a Bowie cover of Space Oddity plus a selection of Wildhearts standards.

More live and acoustic with 1998's set Grievous Acoustic Behaviour: Live At 12 Bar again inter track banter and a Kiss cover of Hard Luck Woman the double disc set ends with one of my favourite Wildhearts tracks Caffeine Bomb. Another good starting point is the compilation 10 .

If you have yet to sample Ginger's extensive back catalogue I'd recommend starting with the Wildhearts, you will soon be seeking out the excellent solo and side projects.

- G - Garbage

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, followed by Angelfish and we arrive at Garbage. Fronted by Shirley Manson on lead vocals the must have album is 1995's debut Garbage (Eastwest Release) containing the stand out tracks Stupid Girl, Only Happy When It Rains and Queer. Follow up Version 2.0 : Special Edition (look out for the special edition containing a bonus live disc). Beautifulgarbage was also released as a limited edition with a nice flower fold package. Shut Your Mouth and Cherry Lips are the standouts.

The compilation Absolute Garbage (Special Edition Cd) the double disc version also includes remixes including the James Bond theme The World Is Not Enough. The good news is Garbage are on the way back after a six year break. New album Not Your Kind of People is due out later this year.

- G - Goodbye Mr Mackenzie

Before arriving at Garbage, rewind to 1989 and the wonderful Good Deeds and Dirty Rags from Scotland's Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, featuring Martin Metcalfe on vocals and Shirley Manson on backing vocals.  Stand out tracks Goodwill City, Good Deeds and Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. There's also a fine cover of Jacques Brel's Amsterdam.

Also look out for Hammer And Tongs and Five.

Shirley stepped forward for lead vocals on Angelfish another recommended listen before turning to Garbage.

- G - Gamma Ray

Back to Germany and ex Helloween vocalist Kai Hansen's band Gamma Ray. If you can find a copy then the best recommendation is Ultimate Collection - Incl. Poster this excellent set packages together their first six albums - Powerplant, Somewhere Out In Space, Land of the Free, Insanity & Genius, Sigh No More and Heading For Tomorrow.

There are a few interesting cover versions including the Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin (honest) Rainbow's - Long Live Rock 'n Roll, Judas Priest's - Victim of Changes and Exciter.

For a taste of Gamma Ray live try Skeletons in the Closet , Alive 95 and Hell Yeah!!! The Awesome Foursome: Live In Montreal (2CD)