This early Manics hit, released as a single before their first album came out, is one of the few songs from that era that remains a staple at the band’s concerts. They usually perform it after a partial cover of some pop song, such as Motown’s own The Supremes' “Baby Love” or 80s hits such as Van Halen’s “Jump” and The Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary”.

Here it starts with “Baby Love” after a guitar riff quote of “Sweet Child O' Mine”:

Musically, “Motown Junk” is one of MSP’s most punk-oriented songs. And it also shows in the lyrics, particularly in the nihilistic attitude of the first verse. The lyrics also feature lines clearly aimed at causing controversy, in particular the one about the killing of John Lennon.

The words are basically a cry of youth rebellion against the establishment and in particular, against the status quo in pop music. The highly political songs sampled in the beginning and ending of the song – respectively by Public Enemy and The Skids – may be understood as the antithesis of the mindless music that’s attacked in the lyrics.

The single cover features a clock found in the ruins of Hiroshima showing the exact moment the atomic bomb detonated: 8:15 AM, August 6th, 1945. This may or may not have relation with the “168 seconds” mentioned in the chorus.