Laurie Martin

Rock'n'roll was born in the United States - and 1958 was the year it was exported to the rest of the world. Buddy Holly, who kicks off our first disc with 'Rave On', hit British shores in March with the force of a musical hurricane. Following closely behind him were the like of The Chordettes, Bobby Day, The Everly Brothers and Connie Francis, all included here on this 2 disc compilation.

The Forgotten 45s 1960-1962 follows hot on the heels of The Forgotten 45s 1957-1959, Fantastic Voyage s previous survey of The Ones That Got Away, which has already proved a bigger-seller and been the subject of an enthusiastic review in The Daily Mirror. Not every record that s released can be a hit. Not every record that s released deserves to be a hit, but frequently records that do aren t and that s what this set is all about.

Give My Regards to Broad Street is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Unlike the film, the album was successful, achieving nr. 1 in the UK chart and its lead single "No More Lonely Nights" was BAFTA and Golden Globe award nominated.

At the end of 2014 legendary DJ and tastemaker Martin Green approached me with a new idea about old music. He’d been amassing odd, rare and exotic British records for years and had come up with a plan. I’ve known Martin Green since the Smashing days of the early 1990s and have always trusted his taste and nose for the future past. If fact we did the Resurrection LP together way back in the 1990s. Anyway, I decided to leave him to it – he knows what he’s doing after all. I even let him write all the sleevenotes. So, below is his explanation of it all. And stay tuned for Britxotica Goes East!