Top 10 Live Performances From Late Show With David Letterman

There's nothing quite like being awake too late at night, hearing the horns of Paul Shaffer & The CBS Orchestra carry the melody of the iconic opening to The Late Show With David Letterman and catching Alan Kalter exclaim that one of your favourite bands would be closing the show. Good luck getting to sleep without seeing that one song at the tail end of the program.

It is practically impossible to come up with an exhaustive list of the best performances in the history of The Late Show With David Letterman, but there's no way we were going to let news of his retirement go without pointing to the fact that Letterman's show has been responsible for some amazing TV music moments over the past 30 years.

Here are ten that stick out – it would have felt wrong doing any other number – though we could have easily chosen ten, or 30, or 400.

FUTURE ISLANDS – Seasons (Waiting On You)

Let's get this one out of the way early. Yes, this clip is worth all of the strange hype that has surrounded it (and seems to be growing) over the past few weeks. This is one of those rare performances that is so astonishing for reasons that we may never understand. Yes, frontman Samuel T. Herring dances in a hilarious manner and his growling seems to come out of nowhere. But there's something else, something in his eyes, either a kind of bravery or a simple “I don't give a fuck” attitude – he sells this performance to us hard, and you just can't help but buy into it. You might never listen to another Future Islands song as long as you live, but this clip will always stick with you and maybe you'll watch it every day. We do.

PIXIES – TROMPE LE MONDE

A pretty decent rendition of Trompe Le Monde, but this performance is made by the sheer brilliance of the great Paul Shaffer, who blazes through an organ solo that doesn't really fit the song at all but he slots in there anyway. The guy who wrote It's Raining Men playing with the Pixies is pretty amazing.

JAMES BROWN - Sex Machine, There Was a Time, I Got the Feeling

How did something this good ever get on television? How did they allow this to happen? From Letterman's first NBC season, way back in 1982, this is a legitimate 13 minute party with far too many highlights to name them all. From the false start, to James Brown taking a piano solo, to the sheer brilliance of the band, to the crowd interaction – it's brilliant television and you'd never ever see anything like it these days. Every band should be forced to watch this clip before they're allowed to play on television.

THE ORWELLS – Who Needs You

We've been telling people to listen to The Orwells for years, so it was incredibly exciting to see the band turn in one of the all-time great performances when they were on Letterman a couple of months back. The fact that frontman Mario Cuomo staggers around the stage and writhes on the floor while the band jam out the excellent garage pop is not what sells this – we could see that at any venue around the country on any given weekend – it's that you feel like this bunch of kids are about to fall apart and make a mockery of the chance to play their song in front of millions of people, but they never do. It's brilliant from start to finish – so good that their cheek is forgiven instantly.

THE VINES – Get Free

The Vines were not a good live band around the time of their smash hit debut album Highly Evolved, it's as simple as that. They were a little too frenetic and perhaps courted controversy a little more than they should have, which was a shame given the fact they had the rock'n'roll world at their feet for a little while there. But we have to include this performance because it is one of the most talked about in the history of late night TV – Craig Nicholls spirals out of control very quickly and it all ends in a big pile of rubble. Whether you like it or not, it's an unforgettable performance.

George Clinton & P-Funk Allstars – (Not Just) Knee Deep

George Clinton and a range of his funky friends have been a part of Letterman shows on a number of occasions. This version of the Funkadelic classic (Not Just) Knee Deep is particularly great because of the way Mr Clinton gets some of the whitest men alive onstage to dance along with him. I'd love to see what these guys are up to now and whether they ever watch this clip – brilliant half-arsed dancing.

BEASTIE BOYS – Ch-Check It Out

The whole Letterman show is one big New York icon. One of the few programs that has remained in the Big Apple and not shifted to Los Angeles and one that constantly refers to its home city throughout the program, this show is a pretty amazing, long-running tourism ad for “the greatest city in the world”. Musically, acts don't get all that much more quintessentially New York than the mighty Beastie Boys, so the mix of Letterman, Beastie Boys and the streets of midtown New York City all comes together so perfectly in this performance. Not their greatest song, but a lovely moment.

BOB DYLAN – Jokerman

Anyone who tries to tell you that all '80s Dylan is shit is not worth listening to. His 1983 record Infidels is excellent and the performance of the song Jokerman that he did on Letterman is great as well. Of course, in classic Dylan style, the live version sounds absolutely nothing like that of the recording. For this performance he enlisted the talents of young New York post-punk musicians Charlie Quintana and Tony Marsico (from The Plugz) and guitarist JJ Holiday, rather than the band anchored by the legendary Sly & Robbie who perform on the album (that band also included Mark Knopfler and Mick Taylor).

Bruce Springsteen – Glory Days

Apparently when Letterman left NBC, he wasn't very happy. So the last show was all a bit of a “fuck you” to the network, shown in this incredible, almost never ending version of the Bruce Springsteen hit Glory Days. The show was already running over time, but no one stops the Boss, who is in great form in this clip.

DAVID LETTERMAN

Honestly, some of the best parts of the performances on Letterman's show have come from the man himself. The way he interacts with the musicians in this kind of faux-awe struck, goofy, nerdy, school principal kind of manner is hilarious. When the “Are those your drums?” video came out last year, it was a revelation. Thanks for the memories, Dave!