‘Where’s Captain Kirk?’: What was the first single to top the indie chart?
Independence is what every artist strives for, but it is an elusive concept within the mainstream music industry. Major record labels have always boasted an unparalleled power within the industry, capable of making and breaking stars on a whim, and making the idea of a grassroots, independent musician seem a pointless endeavour. However, this all began to change during the late 1970s and early 1980s, as a bold new age for musical expression emerged; the age of indie.
Indie’s roots lay within the punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. Built upon a staunch DIY, anti-capitalist ethos, punk existed in direct opposition to the mainstream music industry. Particularly during the early years of the scene, that rivalry seemed to go both ways, as major record labels wanted nothing to do with the abrasive sounds of punk. Even those that did soon came to regret their choices, with EMI famously dropping the Sex Pistols after mere weeks, and CBS fostering a pretty difficult relationship with The Clash. So, in order to get punk out into the world, artists and fans began to set up independent labels.
Early independents like Stiff Records were essential in popularising the grassroots sounds of punk, and they were able to do so without ever selling out their artistic principles. What’s more, the success of early labels like Stiff led various other budding young creatives to start their own record labels. Manchester’s punk pioneers Buzzcocks, for instance, opted to release their debut EP, Spiral Scratch, entirely on their own, without the financial support or creative input of any music industry moguls. It was a defiant move which forever altered musical history.
In the wake of Spiral Scratch and the success of early independent labels like Stiff and Rough Trade, a vast network of labels began to spring up all across the UK. Each specialising in a different type of music, from the ska rhythm of 2 Tone in Coventry to the post-punk mastery of Postcard Records up in Glasgow. A musical revolution was blooming, and it was one of the most exciting times for young music fans since The Beatles decided to try LSD.
By the dawn of the 1980s, indie was a full-blown movement, incorporating countless different artists and multiple different record labels from all corners of the nation. Still, the records being produced by those labels were often pressed in short runs and didn’t have the mainstream appeal to make it into the pop charts. If, like many reductive music historians, you were to judge the development of indie based solely on chart success, there would be nothing to examine except a couple of Smiths singles during the mid-1980s.
This was no accident, of course. Indie was inherently rebelling against the musical mainstream and what was being forced down the throats of audiences on Top of the Pops – there were no self-respecting indie stars dreaming of a Christmas number one or a chat with Tony Blackburn. Still, this underground nature made it difficult for provincial indie bands to have their voices heard on a more widespread scale.
So, in an effort to chart this developing music scene, the Official Indie Chart was introduced, composed entirely of independently-released singles. The first chart was introduced in January 1980 and featured a bold mix of exciting DIY artists. Present on that first listing were the likes of Joy Division, Dead Kennedys, and The Delta 5, along with The Pop Group and Cabaret Voltaire.
But who had the first indie number-one?
On that first-ever indie chart, it was the Solihull punk outfit Spizzenergi who took the top spot, with their Rough Trade-released single ‘Where’s Captain Kirk?’. A satirical Star Trek-based punk anthem, the pioneering track lasted seven weeks on the indie charts, yet it never sold enough to break into the pop charts, which were, at the time, led by The Pretenders with ‘Brass In Pocket’.
Spizzenergi’s failure to make it into the pop charts reflected the importance of the indie chart, as it exposed that enigmatic track to countless listeners that might never have heard it had they not read about it being top of the indie charts. The indie chart, along with the pop charts, has declined in relevancy over the years, but it is certainly worth revisiting some of those early chart listings, as they are packed with indisputable indie anthems.
