In a recent BBC4 (re-run) of Top of the Pops: 1979 Big Hits programme, it declared this was the year music went portable. Which refers to 1979 being the year the Sony Walkman came out. Actually transistor radios were portable, so maybe that should read personal stereo, music on the move, was invented. Another misnomer would be that the Walkman was launched in Japan in July 1979, but introduced in the U.S. as the "Sound-About" and in the UK as the "Stowaway" - but this wasn't until 1980. We all know of it's huge success through the 80s, as the word "Walkman" entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986.
From that same 1979 programme, along with a surprising number of Ska music hits that year, was this brilliant track from Squeeze. A story song by guitarist Chris Difford, based around the 1965 BBC play of the same name. Sung by Glenn Tilbrook the song lacks a chorus as it was felt it would upset the flow of the narrative lyrics. The title is not sung until the final line. 'Up The Junction' - a classic example of the 3-minute pop song.

Did you spot the keyboard player on the left ? A 21 year old Julian 'Jools' Holland.