80s music is often dismissed as a joke, all drum machines and big hair. But, as author Dylan Jones argues, the 1980s should be looked on as the most creative, radical and innovative decade in pop.

The 1980s was an era in which a fusillade of new genres emerged, and many are still here today, such as hip-hop and house. Dylan Jones has mined the archives to select some of the most crucial tracks in the rise of these two genres. From a young Kurtis Blow making his `Top of the Pops' debut to the sonic bombardment of Public Enemy and the sampling skills of Bomb the Bass, this is a showcase of the evolution in rap and house music across the decade.