Sniff 'n' the Tears

Sniff 'n' the Tears came out of London with a 1978 song that never really went away. "Driver's Seat", from the album Fickle Heart, is new wave at its most seductive: a pulsing, hypnotic groove that curls around your head and a vocal that sounds cool as a night drive with the windows down. It did respectable business in plenty of countries, and in September 1979 it sat at No. 15 on the American Billboard Hot 100.

This has always been Paul Roberts's show. He sings and writes the songs, and he's the one member who has been there for every lineup. Mick Dyche played guitar from 1977 to 1981, Rick Fenn passed through at the start of the '80s, and over the years the lineup has also taken in guitarist Les Davidson, bassists Chris Birkin and Nick South, drummer Luigi Salvoni, Robin Langridge and Steve Jackson. Their records came out on Chiswick Records and Atlantic Records.

Plenty of bands from that era got one great single. Few of them got one that aged this gracefully: "Driver's Seat" still sounds sleek, mysterious and a little bit dangerous, which is why the countdowns keep finding room for it.

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