Many thanks to James A. Smith for the following information:

Glad to oblige. The song was written by me, and originally recorded by my band of 1978-80, the Containers, at Spaceward Studios. The lineup was Myself on Guitar and vocals, Adrian Foster bass,(Also bass player with Cambridge pub/party favourites 'The Ducks On The Wall Gang' named after a strip cartoon I once drew), Stella Barker on rhythm guitar (she later played with The Bodysnatchers, a ska band, and The Belle Starrs, who had several hits in the early eighties), with Robyn on lead guitar for a couple of numbers (not Zip Zip) and Morris Windsor on drums.

The version you may have heard was recorded at Alaska Studios, Waterloo, London SE1 as part of the Underwater Moonlight sessions, or shortly afterwards. The Soft Boys had played Zip Zip as an encore a couple of times in the States - I think there is a bootleg from a show in NJ - must have been 1980? The Alaska version was the Soft Boys, with Rosalind Kunath and probably Anstis Fisher on vocals with Robyn.