I failed all my A level exams the first time round, mainly because I had better things to do. I played guitar in a punk band, and I was busy playing gigs and making records.

Our first gig was at the local youth club. Our second was at Band on The Wall in Manchester, where the owner of a local record label offered to release a single for us. Punk had just smashed its way on to the music scene, and—as with all new and interesting music before and since—the disc jockey John Peel avidly championed it. He played our first single and gave us a session. Subsequently, he played our …