I was inspired to create this CD by the marvellous prospect of welcoming a lot of visitors to these shores over the next few months. On here, you won't find all the latest and greatest hits; indeed, only one of these twenty tracks was written this century. And I make no apologies for neglecting the heritage tunes of the 1960s, for these have been more than adequately documented elsewhere. No, this music documents the ascent of aggressive capitalism, the era during which I grew up, and it might go some little way towards explaining one or two things.

The title for this collection comes from a track on Simple Minds' Street Fighting Years album. For reasons of space and/or quality, I've not included it on this selection. Missing out in the "I only have 80 minutes" cut were tracks from Carter USM, from the Proclaimers, and from UB40. Particularly bad luck to EMF, whose Unbelievable I had to cut at the last minute to bring the project down to time.

1. It's Immaterial - Driving away from home (Jim's tune) (4:10, 1986)

We begin our tour in Liverpool, with Jim Campbell and Steve Whitehead pondering life in their new car. Campbell would go on to influence Pulp, and write with The Christians.

2. Billy Bragg - Blake's Jerusalem (2:32, 2001)

The Bard of Barking makes his version of one of the national anthems, written by William Blake. It's a bit flat, yes, but that's how we sing it! Billy is a folk singer with a resolute left-wing conscience, but is best known for writing A New England.

3. Pet Shop Boys - West end girls (3:59, 1985)

Tennant and Lowe's ode to the life of London, expressing the divide between working-class boys from the East end of the city, and the upper-class toffs from the West end. Watch the video for Chris Lowe skipping in Waterloo station, and the demo outside the South African embassy, or listen for the references to Sting and Lenin. This song - the UK's first all-rap number one - won the Ivor Novello Song Of The Decade 1985-94, and has been covered by East 17 and a Swedish group called, er, West End Girls.

4. Deacon Blue - Raintown (3:50, 1988)

Four hundred miles to the north, Ricky Ross laments the dreary nature of life in Glasgow, where jobs are few, and life is not what it might be. The powerful vocals are provided by Lorraine McIntosh, Ross's future wife.

5. Scritti Politti - Perfect Way (4:00, 1985)

From his most successful album, Cupid and Psyche '85, Green Gartside quietly buried his roots as an anarchist fundamentalist in favour of sample- and synth-heavy pop. Smash Hits summed up the album thus: More white chocolate!

6. Divine Comedy - National Express (3:35, 1999)

Britain's small size ensures that most domestic trips are done by surface transport. Some will travel on the railways, others will take their own cars, while the rest will take coaches, operated by the National Express company. Irish prankster Neil Hannon takes up the story...

7. Squeeze - This Summer (3:39, 1995)

Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, with their pianist Jools Holland, formed their group in 1974, and had their biggest commercial success in the early 80s. By the mid-90s, the group had almost forgotten what it was like to have a hit, but constant promotion by Radio 1's influential Simon Mayo, and live shows featuring Aimee Mann, ensured that they would have a swansong, particularly suited to that year's sun-drenched summer.

8. Blur - This is a low (5:16, 1994)

Seymour - who would quickly change their name to Blur - formed in 1989. Five years later, they released Parklife, an album firmly in the English popular music tradition, tracing a lineage through Madness, Squeeze, the Kinks, and the Who, and actively rebelling against the domination of the grunge scene. The LP, reflecting the concerns of East end boys, concluded with a reflective track inspired by the Shipping Forecast, a weather report for sailors that begins and ends the daily programming of Radio 4.

9. Runrig - Flower of the west (6:42, 1991)

Many hundreds of miles around the coast, a Gaelic-language band was breaking through onto the national stage. combining Scottish roots with rich, anthemic soundscapes. Writers Calum and Rory MacDonald continue to record, while former members Donnie Munro (Lab; Ross, Skye, and Inverness West; 1999) and Peter Wishart (SNP; Perth and North Perthshire; 2001-5) have both run for the UK national parliament; in Wishart's case, successfully.

10. Suede - The Wild Ones (4:49, 1994)

But back to the main story, where Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler, had paved the way for groups like Blur, with a combination of honest lyrics and hazy, dark imagery. By the time of release, Butler had already left the band, and would not work with Anderson again for a decade.

11. Bis - Action and drama (2:29, 1999)

Like Suede's appearance on the front cover of Melody Maker before their first release, Bis were thrust into the limelight before they were properly ready - for Sci-fi Steven, John Disco, and Manda Rin, it was an appearance on Top of the Pops before they'd been signed by any record label - something that never happened before or since. By their second proper album, Bis had settled down into a heavily ironic electro-pop band, perhaps best-known for providing the end theme to The Powerpuff Girls.

12. Kenickie - Punka (3:04, 1996)

Four young kids from Sunderland, drinking in the heady, optimistic, atmosphere of 1996. Or just in the clubs of their native Sunderland, no-one's ever been sure which. Or cared which. Their eponymous 1997 album is one of the greatest power-pop albums ever made, and it's no surprise to find Kenickie's lead singer, the deliciously talented Lauren Laverne, has become a major star on television and radio.

13. Sultans Of Ping - Where's Me Jumper (3:08, 1992)

Perhaps Kenickie, known for their love of PVC, took a lesson from Niall O'Flaherty and Peter O'Connell's tale of mislaid outerwear.

14. Half Man Half Biscuit - The Light at the End of the Tunnel is the Light of an Oncoming Train (2:27, 2002)

The Next Big Thing From Birkenhead every year since 1986 were the one band most closely associated with legendary disk jockey John Peel, who briefly appears at the end of this track. A Northern English folk band, almost every lyric they've ever written contains a million in-jokes and obscure references. Half Man Half Biscuit have never had a hit single, and would be far less fun if they had.

15. Toy Dolls - Nellie the Elephant (3:00, 1982)

Another Sunderland band, this time from the punk era. After three years doing gigs in small clubs up and down the UK, the group put out a version of a more familiar song as a joke. Two years later, and thanks to support from controversial critic Garry Bushell, they had a top five single, and six-year-olds were coming to their gigs, expecting a diet of raucous kiddies' music. Some of them come back, as the band is still touring.

16. The New London Orchestra - Barwick Green (3:19, 1985)

Another candidate for the real British national anthem, written by Arthur Wood in 1924.

17. Chris Rea - Stainsby girls (4:05, 1985)

Everybody's second favourite Chris from Middlesbrough, Chris Rea made his commercial breakthrough with a nostalgic song, remembering the pupils at the girls' school just down the road.

18. Ash - Shining Light (4:06, 2001)

One last trip across the Irish Sea, for one of many Tim Wheeler classics. The band had risen quickly during the mid-90s Britpop boom, only to fall on hard times when their second album was a commercial failure. The third album, and its lead single, would be a crucial test. So, no pressure at all. The song has since been covered by Coldplay, and features in the final scenes of cult television series Roswell.

19. Dubstar - Stars (4:09, 1994)

Synthesisers didn't die out entirely in the 1980s; they became more complex, and got to do more and better things. By the time Sarah Blackwood and Steve Hillier recorded a version of Billy Bragg's St Swithin's day in 1994, the synth was but one instrument in the musician's arsenal. Influenced by Andrew Wetherall's chilled beats, Dubstar had a couple of minor hits before returning to their native Newcastle.

20. Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu - It's Grim Up North Radio Edit (4:03)

If Cautey and Drummond - the greatest artists through popular music of the past quarter century - say it is, who are we to argue?

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