Philip Larkin is on Top of the Pops

Phil Larkin straps on his Gibson SG

for the blistering riff of Mr Bleaney.

It's his chosen weapon of attack.
He looks at Johnny Rotten – a flashback.

The Sex Pistols had outraged the country
with their foul-mouthed ranting on TV.

Thanks to their anthem, God Save the Queen
they were more outrageous than Benzedrine.

How he had admired their first LP.

when was still at the university.

He wrote a letter; Johnny said ‘join us’.
So he went down to London, on the bus.

His first gig was a room over a pub.

Next thing, he’s playing the 100 Club.

Steve Jones is toast, says the NME.
Larkin brings to the band a new energy.

See him swaggering down the King's Road

he has finally killed off work, the toad.

Punk’s gain is a loss to the library.
Each slab of noise is a sonic elegy.

There's a tender savagery to their sound.
Marr had Morrissey, Eliot had Pound

Lennon had McCartney; he has Rotten.

The grey mornings in Hull are forgotten.

Rotten scowls, from Sid a cheeky grin.
One, two, three, four … Paul Cook counts them in.

Smile like a fool, pull out the organ stops.
Philip Larkin is on Top of the Pops!