It’s always dangerous when a band gets closely aligned with a musical trend. Those trends come in waves, they peak and then they crash and a group can find themselves washed up and that’s what happened to The Chords when they got swept along with the late 1970’s mod revival scene. That was unfortunate because they pre-dated that movement and the album and handful of singles they left behind during their original incarnation (1978-1981) showed great promise. That promise now gets revealed by the band’s songwriter Chris Pope who has assembled an ambitious compilation album featuring new and unreleased tracks, remade favourites, b-sides and live cuts making But Then Again: The Best Of The Chords UK the only Chords UK collection you’ll ever need.

Chris Pope was called “the best songwriter of his generation” by none other than Paul Weller, and what immediately strikes you with this collection is his command of English. Things kick off with a re-recording of the band’s 1980 single ‘The British Way Of Life’ and Mr. Pope’s lyricism immediately brings to mind classic Ray Davies. Each of these songs is a slice of life, a kitchen sink drama condensed into three minutes and set to an equally enthralling tune. It’s not an easy skill to master and tracks such as ‘Mutiny On The Thames’ elevates Chris into a league with Weller, Davies, Dylan, Springsteen and Townshend. Like those illustrious names, there’s an adhesive quality to Chris’ songwriting and just one listen will find tracks such as ‘Hipsters Of London’ attaching themselves to your memory band with UHU stickiness.

The Chords’ history has already been well documented (most notably on 2019’s 5xCD box set ReChordings) and it would have been easy to repackage and reissue the same songs. But Then Again takes a different route, not only in the re-recordings and the deep excavation of the band’s vault, but also in the sequencing of the album. While you won’t find the songs behaving in new, strange ways, the running order does present the tracks in a new light and despite the decades that separates many of these tracks, they hang together very well. There’s the carnival-flavoured ‘Twenty First Century Girl’, new recording ‘Another Thing Coming’ and the heart-wrenching ‘Nine To Five And Me’ all nestling together effortlessly.

The Chords UK were formed over a decade ago to pay homage to The Chords and keep classic songs such as ‘Happy Families’ and ‘Something’s Missing’ alive and kicking. Yet, as But Then Again: The Best Of The Chords UK ably proves, this is no mere exercise in nostalgia. With a nod to the past and eyes set firmly on the future, But The Again marks a moment in time and suggests that there’s much more to come.

• But Then Again: The Best Of The Chords UK is released via EPOP Records on 4th April 2025.
• Official Website

Vinyl and CD Track List:

1. British Way Of Life (Re-recording)
2. Brave New World (Re-recording)
3. Get Me To Saturday Night (2025 Remaster)
4. Love’s Still Here (Re-recording)
5. White Van Man (2025 Remaster)
6. Mutiny On The Thames (2025 Remaster)
7. One Happy Man (2025 Remaster)
8. Hipsters Of London (2025 Remaster)
9. Man On The Northern Line (Re-recording)
10. Gentrified The Elephant (2025 Remaster)
11. Any Fool Knows (Re-recording)
12. Analogy Of Life (2025 Remaster)
13. Hey Kids! Come The Revolution (2025 Remaster)
14. Somewhere Beyond The Rainbow (2025 Remaster)
15. Twenty First Century Girl (2025 Remaster)
16. Another Thing Coming (New Recording)
17. Nine To Five And Me (2025 Remaster)
18. Dreams Of Yesterday (2025 Remaster)
19. Leave It All Behind (New Recording)
20. World Gone Crazy
21. INDIE DISCO FRIDAY NIGHT
22. EAT…SLEEP…WORK…REPEAT
23. Two Weeks In Heaven (New Recording)
24. In The Land Of Milk And Honey (New Recording)
25. But Then Again (New Recording)
26. Maybe Tomorrow (New Acoustic Recording)
27. Get On In Life (2025 Remaster)
28. All I Ever Wanted (Was To Be Wanted By You)
29. Bitter Sweet (New Recording)
30. Heart Of The Matter (2025 Remaster)
31. Veronica Jones (2025 Remaster)
32. Take On Life (2025 Remaster)
33. Three Minute Pop Song (2025 Remaster)
34. One Horse Town (2025 Remaster)
35. One More Minute (New Acoustic Recording)
36. Turn Away Again (New Acoustic Recording)
37. Twenty First Century Blues (2025 Remaster)
38. Running On Dreams (2025 Remaster)
39. Welcome To My World (2025 Remaster)
40. Before Elvis (2025 Remaster)
41. Always Quit While You’re Ahead (Live Recording)
42. The Last Thing I Ever Do (Live Recording)
43. Making Mountains (2025 Remaster)
44. Last Man Standing (2025 Remaster)