Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976.[5] During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop,[6] and pop punk.[7] They achieved commercial success with singles that fuse pop craftsmanship with rapid-fire punk energy; these singles were later collected on Singles Going Steady, an acclaimed compilation album music journalist and critic Ned Raggett described as a "punk masterpiece".[8]
Devoto left the band in 1977 and formed Magazine, after which Pete Shelley became the principal singer-songwriter.[9] The classic lineup of Shelley, Steve Diggle (guitar), Steve Garvey (bass) and John Maher (drums) recorded Buzzcocks' first three albums, after which the band broke up in 1981 following a dispute with their record label. The band reunited in 1989 and released six more albums before Shelley's death in 2018.[10] Prolific members during that time included Tony Barber (bass) and Phil Barker (drums). The band has remained active, being anchored by long-time guitarist Diggle, who has since also assumed lead vocal duties. As of 2019, the band consists of Diggle, Danny Farrant (drums), Chris Remington (bass) and touring member Mani Perazzoli (guitar, backing vocals). This line-up released the band's tenth album, Sonics in the Soul in 2022.[11]
By late 1975, Trafford and McNeish had recruited a drummer and formed an early version of what would become Buzzcocks. The band formed in February 1976; McNeish assumed the stage name Pete Shelley and Trafford named himself Howard Devoto.[15]
Devoto and Shelley chose the name "Buzzcocks" after reading the headline "It's the Buzz, Cock!" in a review of the television series Rock Follies in Time Out magazine.[16] The "buzz" is the excitement of playing on stage and "cock" is northern English slang meaning "friend". They thought the name captured the excitement of the nascent punk scene and had humorous sexual connotations following Pete Shelley's time working in a Bolton adult shop.[17]
Buzzcocks performed live for the first time on 1 April 1976 at their college. Garth Davies played bass guitar and Mick Singleton, who also played in local band Black Cat Bone, played drums.[18]
After reading an NME review of Sex Pistols' first performance, in February 1976, Shelley and Devoto travelled to High Wycombe together to see Sex Pistols.[14] Shelley and Devoto were impressed by the show and arranged for Sex Pistols to perform at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in June 1976. Buzzcocks intended to play at this concert but the other musicians dropped out, and Shelley and Devoto were unable to recruit replacements in time for the gig. Once they had recruited bass guitarist Steve Diggle and drummer John Maher, Buzzcocks made their debut opening for Sex Pistols' second Manchester concert on 20 July 1976 at the same venue.[14] A brief clip of Devoto-era Buzzcocks performing the Troggs' "I Can't Control Myself" appears in the documentary Punk: Attitude, which was directed by Don Letts. Buzzcocks made their London debut at The Screen on the Green in support of the Clash and Sex Pistols, while the next month they played the two-day 100 Club Punk Festival, which was organised by Malcolm McLaren, and would later replace the Damned on the Anarchy in the UK Tour.[14][19]
In between these live performances, Buzzcocks began developing their own material and recorded an 11-track demo at Stockport Studios which was eventually released in 1991.[14] By the end of the year, Buzzcocks had recorded and released a four-track EP called Spiral Scratch, which they released on their own label New Hormones, making them one of the first punk groups to establish an independent record label.[7] The EP was produced by Martin Hannett at Indigo Sound Studios; the music was roughly recorded, insistently repetitive and energetic.[20] The EP was re-released in September 1979 and reached number 31 in the charts.[14]
In March 1977, Devoto announced his departure from the band, expressing his dissatisfaction at the direction punk was taking in his statement: "I don't like movements. What was once unhealthily fresh is now a clean old hat".[21] He returned to college for a year then formed a band called Magazine. Pete Shelley took on the vocal duties for Buzzcocks and moved away from social commentary to adolescent themes.[7] Steve Diggle switched from bass to guitar, and Garth Davies—also known as Garth Smith—rejoined Buzzcocks to play bass. The band joined The Clash as support on their White Riot tour.[14]
Mainstream success
The new line-up signed with United Artists Records (UA) at Electric Circus, Manchester, on 16 August 1977, the day Elvis Presley died. The first UA Buzzcocks single "Orgasm Addict" was released in October 1977;[14] It was the start of a collaboration with producer Martin Rushent that would last until the end of the decade.[7] The band embarked on a headlining tour, during which Smith was found to be unreliable and was replaced with Steve Garvey.[14]
Buzzcocks' next single "What Do I Get?", which was released in February 1978, reached number 37 in the UK chart.[22] It was followed the next month by their debut album Another Music in a Different Kitchen, which reached number 15 in the chart.[14] In May, the band embarked on the Entertaining Friends tour while a third single "I Don't Mind" reached number 55 in the singles chart. In July, a fourth single "Love You More" reached number 34.[14] The band spent mid 1978 recording their second album Love Bites, which reached number 13 in the chart. After a 26-date UK tour, Buzzcocks gained success as their single "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" reached number 12 in the UK chart in October 1978.[14] In December, the band released the single "Promises", which reached number 20 in the UK chart.[14] The single's B-side "Lipstick" shared the same ascending progression of notes in its chorus as Magazine's first single "Shot By Both Sides", which was released earlier that year.[7]
In 1979, Buzzcocks prepared for their first European tour while working on new material. In March, the band released the single "Everybody's Happy Nowadays", which reached number 29 in the chart. The tour that followed culminated at Hammersmith Odeon; the concert was recorded and released in 1992 as Entertaining Friends.[14] in mid 1979, the band completed the recording of their third album while a second single "Harmony in my Head" reached number 32 in August. Prior to their first venture to the US, I.R.S. Records released the band's singles compilation Singles Going Steady there.[23]
The band's third album A Different Kind of Tension was released the end of September 1979 and reached number 26 in the chart while the band completed a second UK tour.[14] The album's single "You Say You Don't Love Me" failed to chart.[24][25] A period of inactivity lasted until September 1980 when the double-A side "Why She's A Girl From The Chainstore/Are Everything" was released. It reached number 61 and was the band's last charting single.[14] Two further singles "Strange Thing" and "Running Free" failed to chart while the band embarked on a truncated UK tour.[14][26]
Break-up and reunion
After recording demos for a fourth album, Buzzcocks disbanded in 1981; Shelley took up a solo career, and Diggle and Maher formed Flag of Convenience and released several singles between 1982 and 1989.[14] Garvey formed Motivation and joined Blue Orchids, moving to New York shortly afterwards to continue with Motivation. Maher had joined Wah! by the time Buzzcocks broke up; as of 2012, he owned John Maher Racing, a vintage Volkswagen performance-tuning workshop on the Isle of Harris, Scotland.[27]
Between 1988 and 1989, EMI re-released much of Buzzcocks' back catalogue on Compact Disc (CD), as well as a Peel Sessions album and a box set called Product.[14] This prompted the band to reform with the original line-up for a world tour. Maher was briefly replaced with The Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. In 1991, Buzzcocks released new material on the four-track EP Alive Tonight.[14] In the US, interest in the band increased after I.R.S. Records released the compilation album Operator's Manual: Buzzcocks Best.[23] It was followed two years later by the fourth studio album Trade Test Transmissions.[28]
In 1992, bassist Tony Barber and drummer Phil Barker joined Buzzcocks; this line-up toured with Nirvana in 1994, one of Nirvana's last tours.[29] In 1996, Buzzcocks released the live album French, which was recorded in Paris the previous year.[7] Also in 1996, the band's fifth studio album All Set was released. Buzcocks continued to tour and in September 1999, they released the album Modern.[30]
In 2000, Mute Records released the 1976 demos that were recorded while Devoto was in the band as Time's Up, which had long been available as a bootleg. This album includes alternative takes of all the tracks from the EP Spiral Scratch and early versions of tracks that later appeared on Another Music in a Different Kitchen.[31]
21st century
Buzzcocks performing in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2006
in 2002, Shelley and Devoto collaborated for the first time since 1976, producing the album Buzzkunst, Kunst being the German word for 'Art'. The album is a mix of electronic music and punk.[29] Buzzcocks toured as support for Pearl Jam in 2003 and released their seventh, self-titled studio album.[32]
In April 2006, Barker left Buzzcocks and was replaced with Danny Farrant. In March 2006, the band released their eighth studio album Flat-Pack Philosophy on Cooking Vinyl Records.[35] On the supporting tour, Buzzcocks played on a leg of the mid-2006 Vans Warped Tour and made an appearance at Maxïmo Park's homecoming gig in Newcastle upon Tyne on 15 December 2007. In April 2008, Barber left the band and was replaced with Chris Remington.
In January 2009, Buzzcocks embarked on a UK and European tour, the "Another Bites Tour", in which they played their first two albums in full, as well as an encore of their other hits.[36]
In the same year, Buzzcocks played in Serbia for the second time at the EXIT festival in Novi Sad. Their song "Why Can't I Touch It" was played in the second episode of the sixth season of the television series Entourage. On 9 November 2009, Buzzcocks gave a performance on a small balcony overlooking Dame Street, Dublin, for the viral music show BalconyTV.[37]
In December 2009, the band played as the main support act for The Courteeners.[38] In August 2011, they headlined the first night of The Rhythm Festival in Bedfordshire.[citation needed]
On 25 May 2012 in Manchester at the O2 Apollo and on 26 May in Brixton at the O2 Academy, Buzzcocks performed with the original line-up, including Devoto.[29] On 26 May 2012, the band announced for the first time they would headline Thursday night at Empress Ballroom at Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, performing with Rancid, Public Image Limited and Social Distortion.[39]
On 1 May 2014, Buzzcocks released the album The Way via PledgeMusic. On 13 September 2014, they played "a brief but triumphant set" at Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois, US.[40] In October 2014, they toured the UK for three weeks with The Dollyrots as main support.[citation needed]
Pete Shelley died on 6 December 2018 from a suspected heart attack at his home in Tallinn, Estonia.[10]
In June 2019, Buzzcocks performed with several guest vocalists as a tribute to Shelley. The concert had been planned before his death.[41] Steve Diggle said that Buzzcocks would continue, with the post-Shelley Buzzcocks being a 'new era'.[42]Sonics in the Soul, the band's first album without Shelley, was released in September 2022.[43] It featured Diggle on all vocals, and included a tribute to Shelley in the form of the track "You've Changed Everything Now".
Buzzcocks are a punk rock band that exhibit "crisp melodies", "driving guitars" and "biting lyrics". According to Mark Deming of AllMusic, that instead of drawing on political lyrical themes, the band "brought an intense, brilliant vigor to the three-minute pop song, powered by Shelley's alternately funny and anguished lyrics about adolescence and love, backed by melodies and hooks that were concise and memorable."[44] Buzzcocks' distinctive sound combines catchy pop melodies with punk guitar energy, backed by an unusually tight and skilled rhythm section. They grew in musical and lyrical sophistication; by the end, they were quoting American writer William S. Burroughs' "A Different Kind of Tension", declaiming their catechism in the anthem "I Believe", and tuning in to a fantasy radio station on which their songs could be heard ("Radio Nine").[citation needed]
Buzzcocks' name was combined with the title of Sex Pistols' album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols to create the title of the long-running UK comedy television panel game show Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Diggle said in his autobiography he and Shelley only granted the BBC use of their name under the impression it would be a one-off, probably unsuccessful, pilot, and that they are now mildly disgruntled the name is more readily associated in Britain with the series than with their band.[49] Shelley appeared on the programme in 2000, when host Mark Lamarr introduced Shelley by saying without Buzzcocks "there'd be no Smiths or Radiohead, and this show would be called Never Mind Joan Armatrading".[50]
Mark Deming of AllMusic called Buzzcocks "one of the best, most influential punk bands of all time".[51]
Magazine were a British rock band formed in 1977 in Manchester in England by singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch. After leaving the punk group Buzzcocks in early 1977, Devoto decided to create a more progressive and less "traditional" rock band. The original lineup of Magazine was composed of Devoto, McGeoch, Barry Adamson on bass, Bob Dickinson on keyboards and Martin Jackson on drums.
Howard Devoto is an English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for punk rock band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, an early post-punk band. After Magazine, he went solo and later formed indie band Luxuria.
Pete Shelley was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist in 1977 when Devoto left. The group released their biggest hit "Ever Fallen in Love " in 1978. The band broke up in 1981 and reformed at the end of the decade. Shelley also had a solo career; his song "Homosapien" charted in Australasia and Canada in 1981 and 1982.
Noko is an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer who has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chronological order they were: Alvin the Aardvark and the Fuzzy Ants, the Umbrella, the Pete Shelley Group, the Cure, Luxuria, Apollo 440, Stealth Sonic Soul, Fast, Maximum Roach, James Maker and Noko 440, Magazine, Raw Chimp, Levyathan, SCISM, Am I Dead Yet? and Buzzcocks.
Another Music in a Different Kitchen is the first studio album by the English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released in March 1978 by the United Artists record label. This was the third line-up of Buzzcocks, with the guitarist Pete Shelley singing following the departure of the original vocalist Howard Devoto and then the firing of the bass guitarist Garth Smith. The album includes the single "I Don't Mind", which reached number 55 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1978.
Singles Going Steady is a compilation album by English punk rock band Buzzcocks, first released on I.R.S. Records in the United States on 25 September 1979.
Flat-Pack Philosophy is the eighth studio album by English pop punk band Buzzcocks. It was released on 7 March 2006 by record label Cooking Vinyl.
All Set is the fifth studio album by English pop punk band Buzzcocks. After standardising their line-up of vocalists and guitarists Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle, bassist Tony Barber, and drummer Phil Barker for the band's previous album Trade Test Transmissions (1993), the band's first record since their reunion in 1989, the band toured relentlessly which inspired the band–especially Shelley–to create a new album. Hiring longtime punk rock producer Neill King to produce and engineer All Set, the band recorded in Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California, a studio where then-huge pop punk bands like Green Day, to whom Buzzcocks had been a big influence, had recently recorded music engineered by King.
Modern is the sixth studio album by English pop punk band Buzzcocks. After the critical success of the band's previous album All Set (1996), the band became disillusioned with trying to be a rock band and set out to become more "modern," thus birthing the project. Recording the album in Chipping Barnet with the band's bassist Tony Barber producing, Modern sees a strong electronic music influence, with electronic instruments and drum machines featuring on the songs, especially those written by Steve Diggle, who wrote five of the album's songs whilst Pete Shelley wrote the other eight songs.
Stephen E Diggle is an English musician best known as a guitarist and later lead vocalist in the punk band Buzzcocks.
Buzzcocks is the seventh studio album by English pop punk band Buzzcocks. It was released on 18 March 2003 by record label Merge in the US and Cherry Red in the UK.
Love Bites is the second studio album by English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released on 22 September 1978, through United Artists Records.
A Different Kind of Tension is the third studio album by English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released in September 1979 by record label United Artists.
Operators Manual: Buzzcocks Best is a compilation album by English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released in 1991 by I.R.S. Records.
Spiral Scratch is an EP and the first release by the English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released on 29 January 1977. It is one of the earliest releases by a British punk band. Spiral Scratch and the album Time's Up are the only Buzzcocks studio releases with original singer Howard Devoto, who left shortly after the EP's release to form one of the first post-punk bands, Magazine.
"Orgasm Addict" is a song by the English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was the A-side of the Buzzcocks' first single, with "What Ever Happened To?" as the B-side, which was released on 4 November 1977 by record label United Artists.
"Shot by Both Sides" is a song written by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley, and performed by the English post-punk band Magazine. It was released in January 1978 as the band's first single, reaching No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart and appearing, a few months later, on their debut album Real Life. The song has been cited as a seminal work of the post-punk genre, as well as of pop punk and new wave.
John Maher is a British musician who was part of the punk and new wave scenes in Manchester, England, most notably as the drummer with Buzzcocks.
Garth Smith, sometimes credited as Garth, is an English musician, known as the original bassist of the Bolton-formed punk rock band Buzzcocks.
Sonics in the Soul is the tenth studio album by English punk rock band Buzzcocks, released on 23 September 2022 by Cherry Red Records. It is their first studio album since 2014's The Way and their first album without founding member Pete Shelley, who died in 2018.
↑ Laban, Linda (8 February 2010). "Buzzcocks Reissue First Three Albums". Spinner. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013. On top of the social impact, Buzzcocks' wiry pop toned punk influenced new genres like power pop and even emo, which shares similar soaring riffs and emotional lyrics.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Lauk, Len (1996). "Buzzcocks". In Buckley, Jonathan (ed.). Rock - The Rough Guide (1sted.). London: Rough Guides Ltd. pp.129–130.
↑ Some sources claim the surname came from a "bus driver in Cambridge" mentioned by a philosophy tutor at Bolton (e.g. Dave Wilson, 2004, Rock Formations: Categorical Answers to how Band Names Were Formed, San Jose:, Cidermill Books, pp. 38–9). Other accounts link it to US novelist Bernard DeVoto. (See, for example, Adrian Room, 2010, Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed., Jefferson, North Carolina/London, McFarland & Company, pp. 38, 144.)
↑ Nicholds, Andrew (1976). ""It's The Buzz, Cock!"". Time Out (310, 20-26 February 1976): 11.
↑ Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970–1982. Backbeat Books. p.27. ISBN0-87930-848-6.
↑ "Discography". Buzzcocks.com. 24 February 2004. Archived from the original(TXT) on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
1 2 Coleman, Mark (1992). DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone album guide: completely new reviews, every essential album, every essential artist (3rded.). London: Virgin. pp.100–1001. ISBN978-0-86369-643-5.
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