Battle Hymns For Children Singing

Haysi Fantayzee, “Battle Hymns For Children Singing” (RCA, 1982)
Haysi Fantayzee were like a missing link between the politico-musical vanguardism of early Rough Trade postpunk and the flamboyant bric-a-bric pop gloss of Duran Duran, Culture Club, et al. They combined pioneering hip-hop/electro-pop fusion, Afro-beat influences both pop and trad, the Bowie/Roxy Music side of glam and a kitchen-sink accumulation of other sounds (including square dancing!) into one of the most aggressively odd records ever to break Top 40 anywhere.
Picks: 4, 5 and especially 9. 1 was the hit; I named my book after it.