25 great standalone Classic Rock singles

7 January 2025, 14:43

The humble one-off, standalone single is a much-neglected art these days; here's a score of the greatest ever examples from Lennon and McCartney to The Clash and The Jam.

By Radio X

@RadioX

• What is a "standalone single"? Put simply, it's a one-off release that features a track that's recorded with the intention of standing on its own two feet, without either being taken from a parent album, or scooped up later to be part of a studio LP.
• The glory years of the standalone single were the 1960s, before the likes of Led Zeppelin flew the flag for "album orientated rock". The one-off single had a resurgence in popularity during the punk era, when the 45rpm missive was the essential medium of the age.
• The USA never really got to grips with the concept of the standalone single, preferring to use 45s as a marketing tool for selling albums; the North American market figured that consumers would want to purchase an album which included the song that everyone was hearing on the radio.

1. Pink Floyd - See Emily Play: release date 16th June 1967

   The second single from the legendary psychedelic band was written by frontman Syd Barrett and emerged a few weeks before the arrival of the Floyd's debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, peaking at Number 6 in the charts. The USA, plonked See Emily Play at the start of their edition of the album, in place of the cosmic Astronomy Domine.

   

   Pink Floyd - See Emily Play

2. The Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash: release date 24th May 1968

   Issued between the doldrums of the psychedelic Their Satanic Majesties Request album and its stirring follow-up, Beggars Banquet, this classic tune signalled a rebirth for the Stones.

   

   The Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash (Official Music Video) [Makeup Version]

3. The Kinks - Days: release date 26th June 1968

   Issued as a trailer for the band's album The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society which followed in November, some international editions of the LP included this gentle Ray Davies classic.

   

   The Kinks - Days

4. The Beatles - Hey Jude: release date 30th August 1968

   Recorded as part of the sessions for the "White Album" in the summer of 1968, this immortal Paul McCartney song sat alongside John Lennon's Revolution as the first single to be issued on The Beatles' own Apple label.

   

   The Beatles - Hey Jude

5. Fleetwood Mac - Albatross: released 22nd November 1968

   This blissful instrumental was written by the band's original leader Peter Green and was issued as a standalone single in the era before Fleetwood Mac were one of the world's biggest selling album artists.

   

   Fleetwood Mac - Albatross

6. John Lennon - Instant Karma! Released 6th February 1970

   Famously "ritten, recorded, remixed 27th January 1970" with producer Phil Spector, this was the third solo hit in a row for Lennon, still in a period when The Beatles were ostensibly still a going concern. His "official" debut album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, would arrive in November.

   

   INSTANT KARMA! (WE ALL SHINE ON). (Ultimate Mix, 2020) - Lennon/Ono with The Plastic Ono Band

7. The Who - The Seeker: release date 20th March 1970

   The first Pete Townshend material to be recorded after the release of the epic concept album Tommy, this one off-single only crept to Number 19 in the UK charts. The band's next project would be the ambitious Lifehouse, which mutated into the LP Who's Next.

   

   The Who 'The Seeker'

8. Deep Purple - Black Night: release date 5th June 1970

   The British rock band's biggest UK hit, peaking at Number 2 in the summer of 1970, when it was issued alongside their fourth album Deep Purple In Rock.

   

   DEEP PURPLE - Black Night (1970 UK TV Performance) ~ HIGH QUALITY HQ ~

9. Slade - Coz I Luv You: released 8th October 1971

   There was a two year gap between the album Play It Loud and the follow-up Slayed?, during which the British glam legends issued four successful singles: Get Down And Get With It (May '71, Number 16); Cos I Luv You (October '71, Number 1); Look Wot You Dun (January 1972, Number 4); and Take Me Bak 'Ome (19th May 1972, Number 1).

   

   Slade - Coz I Luv You (1971) HD 0815007

10. Roxy Music - Virginia Plain: release date 4th August 1972

    Roxy's memorable debut single didn't appear on their self-titled debut album, released in June '72 - although the American edition naturally included the hit.

    

    Roxy Music - Virginia Plain - Top Of The Pops - 24th August 1972

11. David Bowie - John I'm Only Dancing: released 1st September 1972

    Issued between the Ziggy Stardust album in June '72 and its follow-up Aladdin Sane, in April '73, Bowie re-recorded this song for that latter album, but the track was replaced by Lady Grinning Soul, leaving the "sax" version to quietly replace the original version on copies of the single. Confusing? That's not the end of the story.

    In 1974, Bowie recorded the song again, this time in the funk style that he was exploring for the Young Americans album and that version sat on the shelves for five years, finally seeing a standalone single release itself between the Lodger and Scary Monsters LPs.

    

    David Bowie – John, I'm Only Dancing (Official Video)

12. T-Rex - 20th Century Boy: release date 2nd March 1973

    Hot Love, Children Of The Revolution and Solid Gold Easy Action were also all standalone singles for Marc Bolan during his remarkable string of hits in the early 1970s. It was only when Truck On (Tyke) stalled at Number 12 (!) that the glam star's run of Top 10 smashes was broken.

    

    T.Rex - 20th Century Boy (Full Version) [HD]

13. Paul McCartney & Wings - Junior's Farm

    Macca was a fan of the standalone single in the immediate post-Beatles years; his debut 45 was Another Day in February 1971, which didn't appear on an album and neither did Hi Hi Hi, Mary Had A Little Lamb, Helen Wheels and the controversial Give Ireland Back To The Irish.

    Junior's Farm was recorded in Nashville with its b-side Sally G in the months following the release of the classic Band On The Run and was still being performed by McCartney on his UK tour dates in December 2024.

    

    Paul McCartney & Wings - Junior's Farm (Official Music Video)

14. The Police - Fall Out: released May 1977

    The only Police track to be recorded by original guitarist Henry Padovani, this debut single didn't find a place on the band's first album Outlandos d'Amour and was conspicuous by its absence from the compilation album Every Breath You Take: The Singles in 1986.

    

    The Police - Fall Out - 1977

15. The Clash - Complete Control: release date 23rd September 1977

    A song that's actually about the record company releasing the track Remote Control as a single off its parent album without the band's consent, this single was one of three standalones (alongside Clash City Rockers and (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais) that ironically found themselves on the US edition of the group's debut album - exactly the short of shenanigans that The Clash were railing against on Complete Control.

    

    The Clash - Complete Control (Official Video)

16. Tom Robinson Band - 2-4-6-8 Motorway: release date 7th October 1977

    Despite making Number 5 in the UK charts, this classic wasn't included on the TRB's debut album Power In The Darkness, which followed in May 1978.

    

    Tom Robinson Band 2-4-6-8 Motorway

17. The Jam - News Of The World: release date 3rd March 1978

    Written and sung by bassist Bruce Foxton, News Of The World was slotted between the albums This Is The Modern World and All Mod Cons. Other Jam standalones include All Around The World, Strange Town and the chart-topping Going Underground.

    

    The Jam - News Of The World (1978) (HD 60fps)

18. Iron Maiden - Women In Uniform: release date 27th October 1980

    Originally written by the Australian band Skyhooks, Maiden's version was released as a one-off single between their self-titled 1980 debut album and its follow-up, Killers.

    

    Iron Maiden - Women In Uniform (Official Video)

19. U2 - A Celebration: release date 22nd March 1982

    Bono wasn't keen on the lyric to this one-off single, as the line " I believe in the atomic bomb" was widely misinterpreted as an acceptance of the nuclear threat rather than a look at the reality of the situation. Slotted between the release of October and War, the b-side Trash Trampoline & The Party Girl became more famous than the top side, after it was performed at the famous Red Rocks show in June 1983.

    

    U2 - A Celebration (Official Music Video)

20. Dire Straits - Twisting By The Pool: release date 14th January 1983

    The lead track from the ExtendedancEPlay 12", this 60s pastiche made Number 14 in the UK charts when issued three months after the successful Love Over Gold LP. Their next studio outing would be the milestone album Brothers In Arms.

    

    Dire Straits - Twisting By The Pool (Official Music Video)