Buzzcocks - The Band

2 Conversations

Never Mind the Who?


Mention the name 'Buzzcocks' to most people and their reply will likely be one of two things: either 'Oh, like in that TV show with Mark Lamaar?' or they will sing the chorus of Ever Fallen in Love? at you. Badly. If truth be told, however, Buzzcocks were one of England's premiere punk bands of the late 1970s who produced a run of nine chart singles and three top 30 LPs.



Howard Trafford and Peter McNeish were both students at the Bolton Institute of Technology when the first NME1 review of the Sex Pistols appeared in February 1976. Immediately they travelled down to London's Sex2 shop and met a rather bemused Malcolm McLaren. They persuaded him to take the Pistols to Manchester and promised they would arrange a show for his group, fully intending to have a band of their own ready as a support act.


The Lesser Free Trade Hall


The pair booked the Lesser Free Trade Hall just outside Manchester's city centre and set about forming the group. First off were the names: Trafford became Devoto, McNeish became Shelley (what he would have been called if he had been born female) and the band became Buzzcocks after a Time Out review of Rock Follies ended with 'get a buzz, cock.' No further progress was made, however and the band remained a duo until the Pistols show. McLaren, engaged in some hustling outside the venue, told the innocent Steve Diggle that his friends had gone into the hall and had said they would meet him inside. Falling for the ruse Diggle went inside and by chance met Devoto and Shelley, becoming the group's bass player shortly afterwards. John Maher, who was studying for his 'O' levels3 at the time, was recruited as their drummer through an advertisment placed in Melody Maker.

Intellectualism!
Shelley had been writing songs for the past few years to which Devoto began putting lyrics. Inspired by the work of Camus, Sartre and Baudelaire the over-riding themes were 'Boredom' and 'Frustration' - this obviously fitted well into the current lyrical vogue. Shelley, on the other hand, had developed his guitar playing through listening to The Velvet Underground and wrote music that was relatively gentle (compared to other punk bands) yet still bristled with energy and hypnotic melodies.



When the Pistols returned in July Buzzcocks were ready and played their first show on that night, placed third on the bill. A poster produced advertising the event rather enigmatically read

Sex Pistols

with

Slaughter and the Dogs

but

Buzzcocks


Time's Up!


In October Buzzcocks rented an attic studio in Stockport to record their first demo tracks. The session consisted largely of their live set and included early versions of Boredom, Breakdown, Orgasm Addict and covers of I Can't Control Myself and I Love You, You Big Dummy by The Troggs and Captain Beefheart. These recordings were later released as the bootleg LP Time's Up!4 and are an excellent reflection of what was happening musically in England, 1976. The LP is obviously the product of young men crying out their disaffection with society, and yet one cannot help but be caught by the evident enthusiasm for their music.


Spiral Scratch


In today's age of the Compact Disc the title of the first Buzzcocks vinyl output is lost on most people. Recorded over the Christmas period Spiral Scratch was originally released on January 29th, 1977. The band had borrowed £500 from a number of friends to pay for the recording, pressing and distribution of the EP and have subsequently been recognised as one of the founders of UK 'Independent' music (ie music produced without financial assistance from a major record label.) It was records like this that provoked the Desperate Bicycles to write what was to be adopted as a punk motto:


'It was easy, it was cheap. Go and do it.'


- The Desparate Bicycles, 1977


The four tracks included on the EP are all deservedly regarded as classics. Boredom, Breakdown, Time's Up! and Friends of Mine revealed a new face for UK punk. Less 'cartoony' than the Sex Pistols, less 'rock' than The Damned and far less crudely constructed than The Clash, Buzzcocks created sparkling, fast, melodic songs - simple but effective, this was three-chord-punk at its very best. Devoto's lyrics complemented Shelley's music perfectly, spitting out such gems as:


'I've been waiting for the phone to ring,

It goes ring-a-ring-a-ring-f**king-ding.'


- Howard Devoto, Boredom, 1977


The following month, Devoto left the group. He had been warned by college tutors to spend more time at academic work and he felt that with the release of Spiral Scratch he had left his mark and could quit Buzzcocks with no regrets. Steve Diggle shifted to guitar (his original instrument), Shelley took over vocal duties (as well as retaining his guitar work) and the band were joined by bass player Garth Smith, an old friend of Shelley's. Devoto resurfaced later in the year with a new group Magazine.


Another Music in a Different Kitchen


The success of Spiral Scratch attracted parasites in much the same way that a clean, white shirt attracts pasta sauce. A&R5 men from an assortment of record labels swarmed to the band, all wanting to find the successors to the Pistols throne. With an eye on maintaining the maximum amount of artistic control Buzzcocks signed to United Artists (UA) on August 16th 1977 - the same day that Elvis Presley (allegedly) died.



In September the band recorded four songs that were released as their first two singles for their new label. Orgasm Addict was a Devoto/Shelley composition thats content was deemed just a little too risque for daytime radio and consequently failed to chart. Their second UA single did chart however, despite having a song called Oh S**t on the b-side6. What Do I Get? remains one of Pete Shelley's greatest songs - short, spunky and sweet, all in one go. The difference between Shelley and Devoto's lyrical style was immediately obvious: whereas Devoto had been largely concerned the state of society as he saw it, Shelley often went for the old pop standard: Love.


'I just want a lover like any other, what do I get?

I only want a friend who'll stay till the end, what do I get?


- Pete Shelley, What Do I Get?, 1977


Between the two singles there was another personel change. Garth got so drunk one night in Coventry that he couldn't play his bass and walked off stage leaving the band to continue as a trio. His place was filled for the rest of that tour by Barry Adamson (bass player with Devoto's Magazine and now a modestly successful solo artist) until Steve 'Paddy' Garvey joined the group. This line-up remained constant until the band split.



Buzzcocks first LP Another Music in a Different Kitchen, released in March 1978, comprised most of the band's unrecorded tracks at that time and is consequently a rather mixed bag. It begins and ends with the guitar solo from Boredom (a fantastically hypnotic two-note affair) but elsewhere on the album the song is not to be found. Neither are the other three songs from Spiral Scratch nor any of the single a- or b-sides so far released. Instead we get the jerk-punk of You Tear Me Up, the thundering rock of could-have-been-an-instrumental Moving Away From the Pulsebeat and evidence of Shelley's burgeoning musical maturity in Fictionromance. Unlike the majority of punk bands active during the late 1970s Buzzcocks were competent musicians. All four members were given opportunities to prove their worth without resorting to tedious guitar/bass/drum solos.



On 16 Shelley speaks for (most of) a nation when he yells:


'And I hate modern music - disco, boogie, pop,

They go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and I wish they would STOP!'


- Pete Shelley, 16, 1978

Love Bites

Blue Heart
Released in July 1978 the fifth UA Buzzcocks single was the one that everybody remembers: Ever fallen in Love (with someone you shouldn't've)?, since featured on many a retrospective compilation. Its pure pop-punk, catchy chorus approach to a love song was in stark relief to the other best-sellers of 19787.



By this time Shelley was becoming increasingly disillusioned by being in a successful band and felt that punk as a movement was beginning to disintegrate. During the Love Bites tour he was (thankfully) disuaded from leaving the band by Richard Boon (friend, manager and band photographer). He did, though, make his feelings obvious through songs like Sixteen Again and Nothing Left, and on Nostalgia he sings of


'Surfing on a wave of nostalgia for an age yet to come.'


- Pete Shelley, Nostalgia, 1978


Despite (or perhaps because of) Shelley's feelings about Buzzcocks Love Bites is a far more complete album than its predecessor. It showed Buzzcocks moving even further away from their initial punk stylings, concentrating rather on creating musical works of art such as Diggle's beautifully painful Love is Lies (Buzzcocks first acoustic song) and the instrumentals Late for the Train and Walking Distance (Paddy Garvey's first composition).


A Different Kind of Tension


Between the second and third LPs the members of the band went their own ways for a short time, both playing and producing for other groups. Most notable was Shelley's accoustic session for Picadilly Radio of 'non-Buzzcocks' songs. Presumably he was testing the water of the solo artist market before making his full debut.

A Different Kind of Tension proved to be Buzzcocks last LP before their demise in 1980. It was preceded in March and July of 1979 by two singles not featured on the LP: Everybody's Happy Nowadays and Harmony in my Head. The marked contrast in these two songs demonstrates the increased disparity within the band. Shelley's Everybody's Happy Nowadays is for the most part punk-lite - a pleasant, 'bop' of a song it was a far cry from the days of Boredom or Orgasm Addict. Despite the fact that the track was inspired by the depression felt by Shelley most of the song's listeners took it as being the opposite, something that irked him for years to come. Diggle's Harmony in my Head, however is full of gritted teeth and snarled lyrics - his aggression makes the song seem almost out of place next to the usual Buzzcocks singles.



When A Different Kind of Tension was released in September 1979 the two sides to the record had subtitles. Side 1, featuring three Diggle compositions was called 'The Rose on the Chocolate Box' while Side 2 was called 'The Thorn Beneath the Rose'. Sitting Round at Home, You Know You Can't Help It and Mad Mad Judy are all typical of Diggle's songs - fast and furious with only the barest nod towards melody in the shape of Shelley's lead guitar playing. The album includes some of Pete Shelley's greatest work: You Say You Don't Love Me and I Believe deserve to have been hit singles in their own right. I Believe is an epic rhyming couplet list-song that culminates with the mantra-like chant of


'There is ... no ... love ... in ... this ... world ... a- ... -ny- ... -more!'


- Pete Shelley, I Believe, 1979


Shelley wrote, played and sung his most philosophical work on this LP demonstrating to the world for once and for all that he was more than just a jobbing three-chord-punk tunesmith. Tracks such as I Believe, I Don't Know What to do With my Life and Hollow Inside again reveal an unhappy songwriter struggling to cope with the demands of being successful. The band's increasing interest in acid and heroin merely added weight to the fractures forming within the group. The album's title track is another list song where Shelley indicates some of the conflicts that he was facing:

A different kind of tension

'be ambitious - be modest,

plan ahead - be spontaneous,

decide for yourself - listen to others,

save money - spend money,'

- Pete Shelley, A Different Kind Of Tension, 1979

Parts 1-3


It was almost a year later that Buzzcocks resurfaced with three singles, all recorded at the same session, released in two month intervals from August 1980 onwards. The six songs show a band having (and knowing that they had) reached the end of the line. The inclusion of more diverse production elements such as cello, trumpet and saxophone made these songs alien to many diehard Buzzcocks fans, consequently none of them made any significant impact on a singles chart filled by the likes of Abba and the St Winifred's School Choir. Not even the band's first proper promo video for Why She's a Girl From the Chainstore8 could hide the fact that the songs were obviously drug-fueled and sounded as if they had been recorded underwater.



When EMI took over the United Artists roster the record industry giants refused to give Buzzcocks an advance, having witnessed the decline and eventual failure of the most recent singles. Buzzcocks released one final track I Look Alone included on the NME compilation C81 before drifting apart in the spring of 1981. Shelley started to record some songs with producer Martin Rushent before deciding that he would go it alone. The rest of the band were informed by a letter to the effect that he wished to sever all commitments to the Buzzcocks. Pete Shelley's depression and frustration had finally taken its toll on the band and Buzzcocks were finished. For a while.


Product


Over the following years EMI (and other labels) released a series of Buzzcocks products that added depth to the band's history. The first was a compilation of the 'classic eight' UA singles and their b-sides, Singles Going Steady - an essential purchase for all punk (nay, all music) fans. Of all the others there were two that stood out: The Peel Sessions Album collected together sparse, energetic performances of songs recorded for the John Peel radio show between 1977 and 1979. Product9, however, was for purists or the well-off only. It was a box-set that compiled the UA history of Buzzcocks from Orgasm Addict right through to I Look Alone, and included an extensive 16 page booklet with text written by punk journalist Jon Savage.

Trade Test Transmissions


In 1989, helped by the success of the Fine Young Cannibals version of Ever Fallen in Love? Buzzcocks reformed and played an eight-date tour around the UK, including one at the Apollo in Manchester where the audience were ecstatic but rather restricted due to the venue being all-seater - surely a mistake for a punk band? John Maher left immediately to return to his Volkswagon business in Chorlton-cum-Hardy10 and was replaced by ex-Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. This line-up recorded and released Buzzcocks 'comeback' single, the Alive Tonight EP11 - a limp affair that served principally to demonstrate the woeful inadequacy of Mike Joyce when compared to John Maher.



1993's Trade Test Transmissions improved musically on Alive Tonight, coming complete with Buzzcocks trademarked vocal harmonies and simple yet effective lead guitar playing. Although slightly over-produced (even the vinyl sounded like a CD) the LP sounded clean, refreshed and drug-free compared to Parts 1-3. It contained some great songs, from the speedy pop of Last to Know and 369 to the ode to masturbation Palm of Your Hand. Lacking, though, from the LP were Shelley's usual lyrical charms:


'I can do it do it do it till the morning comes,

Like the river fills the sea.

I can do it do it do it like incessant drums,

I can do it like the birds and the bees.'


- Pete Shelley, Do It, 1993

Modern


Fast-forward to December 16th 1999 and to the Cavern Club, Exeter, Devon, England - a dark, sweaty cellar filled with ageing punk-rockers and fresh-faced students. Shelley, Diggle, Barker and Barber took the stage and proved that 'Punk's Not Dead!'. There was no chit-chat, no 'And this next song's called ...', no pauses to allow a quick pull on a pint, just half an hour of two-and-a-half minute punk songs delivered with barely a breath in between. Old gems sat comfortably alongside new songs like Soul on a Rock and Speed of Life from the new LP Modern. Shelley looked how he should look - he had put on a bit of weight and was sans toupee. Diggle hadn't changed and was still the same loon he always used to be. And so the group that had an inspirational hand in Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays (and those are just the ones from Manchester) came back - on top form and ready to have another crack at the whip.


Recommended

TitleFormatWhy?
Product5xLPs + bookletThe complete UA recordings, from 1977 to 1981
Singles Going SteadyLP/CDAll eight of the 'classic' singles from Orgasm Addict to Harmony in my Head
Time's Up!LP/CDA true reflection of UK punk, circa 1976
Lest We ForgetCassetteLive recordings of all your favourite Buzzcocks songs
The Peel Sessions AlbumLP/CDUnderproduced versions of Shelley's finest work
Modern2xCDA brand new LP with a bonus 'best of' CD/CD-ROM
1NME - New Musical Express, a weekly music-related newspaper published in the UK.2'Sex' was a clothes shop and general punk hangout on King's Road in London, run by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood.3'O' levels were the then current exams for 16 year olds.4Time's Up! was officially released by Document Records in 1991, along with a reissue of Spiral Scratch.5Artists and Repertoire - people employed by record companies to seek out new talent.6Workers at the pressing plant, having seen the title of the b-side, refused to handle the record at one point.7Take a Chance on me - Abba, You're the One That I Want and Summer Nights - John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart.8Filmed in Lewis's Department Store, Manchester.9Product's release was heralded by the EP Fab Four which featured the last quartet of UA singles.10A suburb of South Manchester.11 Coincidentally the EP was recorded at Drone studios in Chorlton, a mere five minutes walk from Maher's garage.

Bookmark on your Personal Space


Entry

A570520

Infinite Improbability Drive

Infinite Improbability Drive

Read a random Edited Entry


Written and Edited by

Disclaimer

h2g2 is created by h2g2's users, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the Not Panicking Ltd. Unlike Edited Entries, Entries have not been checked by an Editor. If you consider any Entry to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please register a complaint. For any other comments, please visit the Feedback page.

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more