Smart Alex by Adicts

Smart Alex, the Adicts' 1985 album, comes from a gang of Ipswich punks who never took the snarl half as seriously as their peers did. Where plenty of punk bands were busy scowling, the Adicts dressed like droogs out of A Clockwork Orange, all white clothes, black boots and bowler hats, with singer Keith "Monkey" Warren done up in joker makeup and loud suits at the front.

The music matches the costume: fast, bouncy punk with singalong melodies and lyrics that would rather grin than preach, and a habit of dragging odd instruments and sound effects into the racket. "Bad Boy" is the track the countdowns remember. It's pogo music with a sense of humour, and in the mid-'80s punk scene that alone made the Adicts stand out.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.