The Ten Best B-Sides

1 YOU CAN'T DO THAT The Beatles (A-side: Can't Buy Me Love, 1964)

This was released when the Mop Tops were absolutely at their peak and I was a school kid. When you're that age, 10 or so, the B-sides are as important as the A-sides because you can't afford lots of records. Ringo has this ace percussion effect with these things you clank, like a cowbell, which gives it a fantastic "live sound", and John Lennon does the lead vocal.

2 STAND DOWN MARGARET The Beat (Best Friend, 1980)

The cover had a picture of Maggie Thatcher riding a sort of monocycle thing. The title "Stand Down Margaret" was a theme for a lot of people. It sounds like a quaint period piece now but is equally applicable to the present Prime Minister, probably more so I think. He's doing more damage than she ever did.

3 YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN I The Yardbirds (Shapes of Things, 1966)

This has a Jeff Beck guitar solo that goes on for quite a long time, and then, at the end of each verse, Keith Relf sings: "You're a better man than I", and he extends it for a few bars each time, like a Gregorian chant.

4 THE BUTTERFLY COLLECTOR The Jam (Strange Town, 1978)

It's a very cleverly thought out song. I don't know exactly what it's about but it's targeting someone, and Paul Weller sings "You finally got what you wanted". I think he'd seen through somebody.

5 SOLDIER AND POLICE WAR Jah Lion (Police and Thieves by Junior Murvin, 1976)

He tells us about the problems between the police and the soldiers, the black brothers, and how they always end up on opposite sides. The bloke has got a really resonant voice and this is an early example of an MC song.

6 JUST PASSING The Small Faces (I Can't Make It, 1967)

This is only 68 seconds long. It pedals along like a fairground organ and it's got a "beep beep" at the end of every line. It's a bit of fun and a bit druggy, and it ends with them dissolving into giggles.

7 I'M NOT YOUR STEPPIN' STONE The Monkees (I'm a Believer, 1967)

Whenever the Monkees were accused of not being able to play, Mike Nesmith would say, "Well, just come and see us play live", so presumably they could. Micky Dolenz could certainly play the drums and sing, and he's the lead on "Steppin' Stone".

8 TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MAN Prince Buster (Sting Like a Bee, 1964)

This was a fantastic dance piece, it's not really ska, it's more of a Jamaican dancehall record with a really nice tune. The "Ten Commandments of Man" was more or less banned by most radio stations at the time because it's very sexist, though you still hear it from time to time on FM stations. The A-side, "Sting Like a Bee", would be one of my Desert Island Discs, a cheerful number.

9 ROCK AND ROLL PART 2 Gary Glitter (Rock And Roll Part 1, 1972)

This was the first of Gary Glitter's call-and-response records, and it was his first hit. Although he's now the man who can't be mentioned any more, he certainly had his moment when he was "The Leader".

10 THE HEAVIEST BASSLINE IN THE WORLD EVER Earl Zinger (Song 2wo, 2002)

The A-side is a light reggae version of Blur's "Song Two" with a nice Jamaican-style vocal over the top. The B-side is a typical British novelty record, with a spoken voice about this heavy bassline. It's done in an echo chamber and there's lots of blobs and boinks and you can hear the heavy bassline throbbing away sulkily in the background like it's been rounded up. The song is about how it escapes and it kills the doorman when it escapes from the studio.

All Magnus Mills's books have recently been reissued in paperback by Harper Perennial