First up; Sid Vicious' punk cover of Paul Anka's reflective classic My Way. Sid didn't actually know the lyrics to the Anka version so he just made up some of his own in the studio. As ya do. My Way is often referred to as the most remade song in history - even Anka's 'original' took its melody from a song called Comme d'habitude by French duo Claude Francois and Jacques Revaux. C'est la vie, eh?

In the early years of hip hop, politically-minded lyrics providing commentary on social problems and historical inspiration were de riguer. Ain't too common anymore, alas. But in 1983, Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force recorded a particularly memorable track called Renegades of Funk, with aforementioned high-minded lyrics allied with an actually-quite-bizarre mix of electronica, synth and percussion. Almost twenty years later, protest rockers Rage Against The Machine made it the cornerstone of an all-covers album, thereby giving the tune a new lease of life... 

Blatantly enough, U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday describes the horrified reaction to the news that British troops had massacred thirteen civilians during a civil rights march in Derry in January 1972. Although my history teacher in secondary school tried to convince the whole class that the lyrics were actually about Catholic Sunday Mass. Strange fellow. Anyway, rapper/poet Saul Williams recorded it for his 2007 concept album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!, attempting a strange take on lyrics that you might initially imagine to be quite exclusively Irish in their historical content - and pulling it off immaculately. 

Since its release in 2007, Rihanna's Umbrella has been covered by an absolute avalanche of artists, amateur and professional, from the whole spectrum of musical genres. Clearly, there is something universal about this song that lends itself to being adapted for all manner of different styles. Scottish rock outfit Biffy Clyro opted to record an acoustic version, and that's the one we've plumped for... 

To finish off, another song which has been recorded by numerous acts. Down the years and decades since Louis Armstrong first recorded what many still consider to be the definitive version, there have been countless adaptations; from the slightly odd duet between Shane McGowan & Nick Cave to the bucket of smarm that is Michael Bublé, there are probably precious few artists in the world who haven't had a bash at providing a new take on the 1968 classic. One thing is certain though; Joey Ramone's version kicks serious ass.