Cryptic clue time ... the answers

Last week, I posted a music crossword: 152 (count 'em!) clues of varying difficulty - some cryptic, some anagrams, some straightforward. I hoped it might be a fun test, albeit a test that would be easier if you knew my taste in music and/or were a regular reader of the blog.

Anyway, a week is quite long enough to mull over a crossword, so here's the solution. There are no prizes but hey, by all means have a kudos point for every answer you got right.

The clue		The answer
ACROSS
1	Political writings, sort of (7,7)	Scritti Politti is pretty close to scritti politici, Italian for political writings.
3	They loved different lengths of tape (3,3,3)	C30, C60, C90, Go was a hit for Bow Wow Wow.
5	He was in a NY state of mind (5,4)	Billy Joel sang New York State Of Mind.
12	Eternal funk now, from singer (6,8)	A straight anagram for Newton Faulkner.
13	Had an eye to the telescope (1,1,8)	Eye To The Telescope was the debut album for K T Tunstall.
15	They should have reformed to cover Candy Girl (5)	...because candy is a type of Sweet.
19	Cuddly brothers and their band (7)	The McNamara brothers fronted Embrace.
23	Not big from the neck up (3,5,5)	The Small Faces, obviously
26	Doing us all a favour on the radio (6,7,12)	How else would you describe Public Service Broadcasting?
29	They promised that things could only get better (1,4)	D-Ream sang this, and were memorably hijacked by New Labour in the process.
33	Strange ____, bitches' ____ (4)	Brew completes these titles, for a Cream song and Miles Davis album respectively.
35	She was torn (7,9)	Torn remains the lovely Natalie Imbruglia's biggest hit.
36	Shortened tune (3,10)	Appropriate anagram for The Undertones.
37	Danté’s favourite band (3,6,6)	He wrote The Divine Comedy.
39	Lawrence’s soft material (4)	Lawrence was the frontman of indie nearly-men Felt.
40	Not a dick (4)	I.e. Moby, without the Dick.
42	Unicycles the lot (3,5,7)	Another anagram, this time for The Style Council.
45	Play cricket for a beating (3,3,6)	If you play cricket, you may bat. A beating may be lashes. So Bat For Lashes.
46	Extra dinosaur loses indefinite article (1,3)	Extra - the indefinite article a = extr, easily re-arranged as dinosaur (and band) T-Rex.
47	Left waterhole to fly high (4,9)	An oasis might be a waterhole. Who left them and formed the High-Flying Birds? Noel Gallagher.
48	The girl kept dry (7)	Rihanna had an Umbrella. Ella. Ella.
49	“I like ___ ____,” she said, sticking her tongue in my ear (3,4)	From a Pixies lyric (I've Been Tired), this is Lou Reed.
52	All points west (5)	A not-very-good clue for Mr West himself, Kanye.
56	They went from Guildford to Japan (3,6)	The Vapors came from Guildford and sang Turning Japanese.
57	A wild rose grew from his bad seeds (4,4)	A hit and the backing band for Nick Cave.
58	They asked Johnny Dee (3,13)	Ask Johnny Dee was a minor indie hit for The Chesterfields.
61	Empty stomach? (9)	If you had an empty stomach, maybe your belly would echo; you'd be an Echobelly.
66	Guitarist urinates (5)	Former G'n'R axeman Slash.
67	Crikey, it’s the rozzer! (6,8)	Rozzer being an under-used Nineties nickname for Gene frontman Martin Rossiter.
69	Palindromic root vegetables (4)	A root vegetable might be a swede. The only palindromic Swedes I could think of were Abba.
71	Requires antihistamine (5)	A wasp Sting might require some cream.
72	_____ Washington (5)	A straightforward clue for Dinah Washington.
74	Tree feeders (5)	Belly had a hit with Feed The Tree.
75	Richard _____, one-time drummer with 105D (5)	Richard Ploog was the drummer with 105 Down, that being The Church.
76	Norfolk girls show no respect for their elders (4,3,7)	They can't do, given their name of Let's Eat Grandma.
78	When Bernard met Brett … again (3,5)	Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson reunited, post-Suede, to form The Tears.
79	Trap dry owl? (5,5)	An anagram of World Party.
80	Definite, definite article (3,3)	The definite article is the, so definite, definite suggests The The.
81	A confrontation (3,5)	I was running out of inspiration at this point. Hopefully confrontation suggested The Clash.
84	Lettuce and tomato (5)	...are components of a Salad.
86	They made no criminal records (3,6)	A cringeworthy pun about The Police.
87	Ordains as a singer? (5,4)	Ordains as being an anagram for Diana Ross.
89	Took a tumble (3,4)	Obviously, The Fall.
92	Sweetest trip for half a zebra (5,7)	Half a zebra would be just the White Stripes, which happens to also be an anagram of sweetest trip.
94	Milkshake vendor (5)	Kelis' milkshake brought all the boys to the yard.
97	First man and a killer yoghurt? (7)	Adam was the first man, allegedly. Ski make nice yoghurt. Killer was a hit for Adamski.
98	Left Deptford by the underground (5,7)	Squeeze came from Deptford. After leaving them, Jools Holland emerged to front The Tube, another name for the underground.
99	Always correcting their own lyrics (7)	Because that's what Editors do!
100	His dad has a new suitcase (5,5)	Papa's got a brand new bag, sang James Brown.
101	Not a hard amoeba (4,4)	Instead, a Soft Cell.
103	Oye Esteban, indeed (10)	If not (Steven) Morrissey, then perhaps (Esteban) Mexrrissey?
104	Stretchy first letter (8)	This would be an elastic A. Or Elastica.
106	I get caught up in her hair (7)	He hair might be blonde; mix in an I and you get Blondie.
107	The males gave birth in this band (3,9)	Name an animal where the males give birth? Did you just name The Seahorses?
109	Sang 'Between John and Yoko' (4)	Between John and Yoko was a song by obscure Swedish indie nearly-men Easy.
111	Angry Billy (4)	Not just angry but furious, was Billy Fury.
112	Others have moves like him (4,6)	Maroon 5 sang about having moves like Mick Jagger.
115	Half audible (9)	Half implies semi. Audible implies sound which implies sonic. So Semisonic.
117	Rubbish music (7)	Rubbish might be Garbage.
122	Sang about matches (3,7)	Matches start fires. The Prodigy had a hit with Firestarter.
123	Sounds like roe and muntjac (3,5)	Roe and muntjac are deer(s), which sounds like The Dears.
126	Twin research facilities (9)	Twin implies stereo, research facility implies lab. Hence Stereolab.
127	With rabbit breeders, on this beach? (4)	Martha and the Muffins sang about Echo Beach, hopefully also suggested by rabbit breeding Bunnymen.
128	He felt safe, stuck in traffic (4,5)	Here in my car, I feel safest of all, sang Gary Numan.
130	A definite sphere (3,3)	The is the definite article. A sphere is an orb. See how my brain works yet? This is The Orb.
131	This band are walked all over (8)	If you're British, you walk on the Pavement.
133	Two beards and a beard (1,1,3)	Two thirds of Z Z Top had beards, and the other third's surname was Beard.
136	He liked his OJ… (5,7)	Who would like Orange Juice more than Edwyn Collins?
137	…but Shaun preferred a darker drink (5,5)	That's Shaun Ryder, who clearly preferred Black Grape.
138	English prog rockers, sound Eastern (4)	How far east? Asia!
139	They had the first base for la renard (2,7)	La renard is French for the fox. First might be alpha. All leading to Fox Base Alpha, by St Etienne.
140	Model heathens? (3,10)	Haven't had an anagram for a while. Here's one for The Lemonheads.
141	Ancient Mexican Leica (5,6)	Could only be an Aztec Camera, right?
142	Michael Fish and Billy Giles (3,7,8)	Weather forecasters or, if you prefer, The Weather Prophets.
143	___ A, Real Gone ___ (3)	Kid completes the Radiohead album title and Deacon Blue single.
DOWN
1	Trains rely on it (7)	Trains lie on Sleepers.
2	Little dog goes from Oz to Africa (4)	The dog in the Wizard of Oz was Toto, who sang about Africa.
4	Lupine, down the rabbit hole (4,5)	Lupine suggests wolf, down the rabbit hole suggests Alice. Hence Wolf Alice.
6	Arthur Lee’s 60s band (4)	A straight clue, for Arthur's band Love.
7	Composer Philip _____ (5)	Another straight clue, for Mr Glass.
8	Blue _____, _____ Jam (5)	Pearl completes the names of these two acts.
9	Everything but the girl (3,4)	Ben Watt was everything but the girl in EBTG.
10	They had a cardiac groove (4,4)	Who said groove was in the heart? Deee-Lite!
11	High powered song by 34D (3)	With 34 Down being Wings, this would be Jet.
14	Lots of TIAs (3,7)	A TIA, or transient ischemic attack, is a mini stroke. So lots of them might be The Strokes.
16	The bookmakers? (3,5)	Not, not Ladbrokes. This is The Coral.
17	Wide screen film format (8)	Cinerama was a widescreen process that used three synchronized 35 mm projectors. It's also Gedge's other band.
18	Sounds like they record in a shed (5)	This would be Shack, which sounds like a shed, of course.
20	Rosy Keith? (4,5)	Rosy suggests pink. Keith might be Keith Floyd. So Pink Floyd.
21	Home to Mick before he joined the council (3,6,6)	Before Mick Talbot was a member of The Style Council, he was in Mod revivalists The Merton Parkas.
22	Plain rude (3,7)	How else would you describe Bad Manners?
24	Luxuriant 4AD band (4)	Luxuriant-sounding Lush were signed to 4AD.
25	Had to get the best out of them (3,7)	It wasn't until Pete Best had been kicked out that The Beatles really took off.
26	Debuted with equines (5,5)	Horses was the debut album from Patti Smith.
27	Family business for alchemists (8,8)	Alchemists would use lots of chemicals, so the family business might be Chemical Brothers.
28	Late queen (6,8)	The late Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul.
30	Just playing at being a band (3,10)	Playing at might be pretending, hence The Pretenders.
31	Just playing at video games (4,3,3)	Video Games being the breakout hit for Lana Del Rey.
32	A certain Mr Yorke’s quartet (5,3,5)	A Thom's four-piece. Or Atoms For Peace.
34	The band The Beatles could have been (5)	...is how Alan Partridge described Wings.
38	All About ___ (3)	Eve completes this band name.
41	To the end… the focused bit (9,5)	Francoise Hardy guested on To The End by unfocused-sounding Blur.
43	Not us (4)	If not us, then Them.
44	They were out of their brilliant mind (9)	Brilliant Mind was the biggest hit for the criminally under-rated band Furniture
47	She wanted to kiss the pope … of mope (5,7)	Nancy Sinatra covered the Morrissey track Let Me Kiss You.
50	Positively prog! (3)	Yes would be both positive and a prog band.
51	Total blockhead (3,4)	Ian Dury fronted The Blockheads.
53	Loudon or Martha (10)	They're a musical lot, the Wainwrights.
54	A good source of vitamin C and anti-oxidants (3,11)	Yes, The Cranberries were pretty good for you.
55	Chris, guitarist in 106A (5)	With 106 Across being Blondie, guitarist Chris must be Stein.
59	Nothing ever happened for them (3,6)	Nothing ever happens, sang Del Amitri.
60	The pretenders (10)	Not The Pretenders, but another bunch of Charlatans.
62	Beloved of cannibals (8)	Apparently some cannibal tribes called human meat longpig. Hence Longpigs.
63	They were upstairs at Eric’s (5)	...that being the title of an album by Yazoo.
64	He sold the heat (6,6)	Buster, he sold the heat, sang Madness, the Buster in question being the fabulous Prince Buster.
65	_____ Basie (5)	An easy gap to fill, with Count.
67	No nut allergies for these boys (7)	Madness were sometimes known as The Nutty Boys.
68	Easy as 1-2-3 for Sheffield band (1,1,1)	What was easy as 1-2-3? A-B-C, of course!
70	Main enema for singer? (5,4)	Slightly unpleasant anagram for Aimee Mann.
73	Cold relations of 114D (6,7)	With 114 Down being Gorillaz, their cold relations must be Arctic Monkeys.
74	They scratched in a spiral motion (9)	The debut EP from Buzzcocks was called Spiral Scratch.
76	Indie rockers from Duluth (3)	A straightforward description of Low.
77	Not gone up in smoke (3)	After the fire, what hasn't gone up in smoke is the Ash.
82	A bashful, manic filth (4,3,4,7)	Straight anagram for Half Man Half Biscuit.
83	Stylish dance act (4)	Stylish and dance act hopefully both suggest Chic.
85	Did she lament for Stan? (4)	Dido's Lament is an aria by Purcell, and Eminem sampled Dido for Stan.
88	Amusements up in smoke? (6,4)	You find amusements in an arcade and there's no smoke without fire, so Arcade Fire.
90	Not the 80's TV alien (6,5)	Alf was the 80's TV alien, and also a nickname for Alison Moyet.
91	Jenny was a friend of theirs (3,7)	So sang The Killers.
93	You might expect this band to grow in number (3,8)	Because they're called The Breeders, you see? I don't just throw this together, you know.
95	___ Vicious (3)	Although I did throw this fill-in-the-gap clue together. Sid Vicious, obviously.
96	Full-on vocals (8)	Full-on suggests ultra, vocals suggest vox. Ultravox, in other words.
102	Relatives of 114D? (3,7)	More relatives of Gorillaz? This time it's The Monkees.
105	Take a pew to listen to this band (3,6)	Where do you take a pew? In The Church.
107	Test version of a group (3,4,4)	In software, a test release is called a beta version. Hence, The Beta Band.
108	Former president on Viagra? (6,1,1,1)	Jimmy Carter made priapic would be Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, or Carter USM.
110	They were on my radio (8)	On my radio, sang Selecter.
113	Ropey Norfolk indie also-rans (4)	Props if you got this. Hopefully ropey suggested Cord to you.
114	Monkey men (8)	Gorillaz, of course.
115	They would write crossword cluze (5)	Slade were famed for such mis-spelling.
116	Label for early Suede releases (4)	Their early records were on Nude.
117	Stick a bottle in the face of casino town (9)	You might glass Vegas? Terrible clue for Glasvegas.
118	He had a satanic hairstyle (4)	Beck sang about a devil's haircut.
119	Dangerous, their drab light (6)	The debut album by Mansun was Attack Of The Grey Lantern.
120	He played a wicked game (5,5)	Wicked Game was the biggest hit for Chris Isaak.
121	Chilly theatre? (8)	Chilly = cold. Theatre = play. Coldplay.
124	Spanish archer? (5)	El Bow? No, Elbow.
125	A band with oomph, with energy (3,5)	Oomph and energy both suggesting The Verve.
129	From deadly comedy to in-demand producer (5)	Producer Youth used to be in Killing Joke.
132	Go to Oxford by bike (4)	Ride were from Oxford, you see.
134	Metal but thin, not heavy (4)	Wire is a thin strip of metal.
135	Sadly spliced in 2004 (4)	Because that's when Gene sadly disbanded.

And that's it? How did you do?

Here's a picture, for those that like pictures.

Same time next year? Maybe...?