Steve Diggle

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Steve Diggle
Steve-Diggle.jpg
Diggle with Buzzcocks at the Cropredy Festival in August 2009
Background information
Birth nameStephen E Diggle
Born (1955-05-07) 7 May 1955 (age 69)
Manchester, England
Genres Rock, punk rock, pop punk
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active1976–present
Labels EMI
Website stevediggle.uk.com

Stephen E Diggle (born 7 May 1955) [1] [2] is an English musician best known as a guitarist and later lead vocalist in the punk band Buzzcocks.

Contents

In 1976, Diggle was recruited as a bassist for Buzzcocks, playing bass on the Spiral Scratch EP (1977). Following the departure of original lead vocalist Howard Devoto soon after, Diggle switched to guitar while Pete Shelley became lead vocalist. He became a member of the band's classic lineup, playing on Buzzcocks' first three albums as well as their acclaimed compilation Singles Going Steady (1979).

Following the group's breakup in 1981, Diggle formed a new band, Flag of Convenience in 1982 before disbanding it in 1989 when Buzzcocks re-formed. Following Shelley's death in 2018, Diggle has become the band's new lead vocalist. With the release of Sonics in the Soul (2022), he is the only member to have played on all of the group's albums and EPs. He has also released four solo albums between 2000 and 2016.

Biography

Early years

Diggle was born on 7 May 1955 at Saint Mary's Hospital in Manchester, [3] [4] and grew up in the Bradford [4] and Rusholme areas of the city, where he was a mod. After attending Oldham College, [5] he worked in a foundry, but was dismissed for refusing piece work, causing a strike. [6] [7]

Buzzcocks

He attended the Sex Pistols gig at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall, in June 1976. Their manager Malcolm McLaren introduced him to guitarist Pete Shelley and vocalist Howard Devoto, who were looking for a bassist for their band, Buzzcocks. [8] John Maher joined as drummer and six weeks later, Buzzcocks played their first concert. Steve played bass at several concerts and on the Spiral Scratch EP . Howard Devoto left Buzzcocks shortly after the EP was released, which prompted the band to reshuffle – Pete Shelley becoming lead vocalist as well as guitarist and Diggle switching from bass to guitar.

Steve Diggle onstage with Buzzcocks in Holmfirth, 2011 Steve Diggle of Buzzcocks onstage 2011.jpg
Steve Diggle onstage with Buzzcocks in Holmfirth, 2011

Steve Diggle has written numerous songs for Buzzcocks, including "Autonomy", "Fast Cars" (music by Diggle with lyrics later added by Devoto and Shelley), "Love Is Lies" (the first Buzzcocks song featuring an acoustic guitar), "Why Can't I Touch It?" (co-written with Shelley, Garvey and Maher), "Why She's A Girl From The Chainstore", "Running Free" and, perhaps his most famous, "Harmony in My Head", a Top 40 hit in 1979.

Early solo career and Flag of Convenience

After Buzzcocks split in 1981, Diggle was briefly a solo artist, releasing the 50 Years of Comparative Wealth EP (with the guest participations of fellow-Buzzcocks Steve Garvey and John Maher) the same year. In 1982, he formed a new band, Flag of Convenience with ex-Buzzcock John Maher. Ex-Easterhouse drummer Gary Rostock played on Diggle's 2000 album Some Reality, released on Diggle's own label, 3:30 Records. [9] In 2013, Diggle also appeared in the British punk-pop comedy Vinyl , playing himself.

Buzzcocks reunion to present

In 1989, beside Shelley, Maher and Garvey, Diggle reunited with the former classic Buzzcocks line-up for a tour of America. Although first Maher and then Garvey would eventually leave the band, Diggle and Shelley continued touring, writing and recording as Buzzcocks with different members for the next 29 years, recording another six albums between 1993 and 2014.

Following the death of Shelley in December 2018, Diggle led both old and new Buzzcocks line-ups at a tribute concert to Shelley at London's Royal Albert Hall the following June. [10] In its wake he announced his decision to continue the band as its main frontman. In 2022 Buzzcocks released their tenth album, Sonics in the Soul , the first to be entirely written and sung by Diggle.

In a May 2024 interview with Mojo magazine, Diggle revealed he is currently writing the eleventh Buzzcocks album for future release. He has also completed a memoir, Autonomy - Portrait of a Buzzcock, to be published in August 2024 through Omnibus Press. [11]

Discography

Solo albums

Compilations

Singles and EPs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buzzcocks</span> British punk rock band

Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. 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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Devoto</span> Musical artist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Shelley</span> English singer-songwriter (1955–2018)

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<i>Another Music in a Different Kitchen</i> 1978 studio album by Buzzcocks

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<i>Singles Going Steady</i> 1979 compilation album by Buzzcocks

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<i>All Set</i> 1996 studio album by Buzzcocks

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.

<i>Modern</i> (Buzzcocks album) 1999 studio album by Buzzcocks

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<i>Buzzcocks</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Buzzcocks

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<i>Love Bites</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Buzzcocks

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<i>A Different Kind of Tension</i> 1979 studio album by Buzzcocks

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<i>Operators Manual: Buzzcocks Best</i> 1991 compilation album by Buzzcocks

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<i>Spiral Scratch</i> 1977 EP by Buzzcocks

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.

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Flag of Convenience were a rock group formed in 1982 by former Buzzcocks members Steve Diggle and John Maher, along with bassist Dave Farrow and keyboard player Dave "D.P." Prescott. Through their first two line-ups they were managed by the writer and music critic Michael Gray, shortly after his personal management of Gerry Rafferty. Hence the band's first single was produced by Rafferty's co-producer Hugh Murphy. The band continued with changing line-ups until 1989, with later incarnations releasing records under the names F.O.C. and Buzzcocks F.O.C. The final incarnation of the band included former member of the Stone Roses Andy Couzens and former Inspiral Carpets drummer Chris Goodwin, who both went on to form the High. The band ended when Diggle joined Pete Shelley in a re-formed Buzzcocks, the reunion prompted by controversy over the use of "Buzzcocks" in the billing of Diggle's band.

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.

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<i>The Best of Steve Diggle and Flag of Convenience – The Secret Public Years 1981–1989</i> 1994 compilation

The Best of Steve Diggle and Flag of Convenience – The Secret Public Years 1981–1989 is a CD compilation of Buzzcocks' Steve Diggle's first solo days and his subsequent band, Flag of Convenience, which compiles his post-Buzzcocks songs from 1981 to 1989, during the years Buzzcocks remained disbanded. It was released in 1994 in the UK on Anagram Records.

<i>50 Years of Comparative Wealth E.P.</i> 1981 EP by Steve Diggle

50 Years of Comparative Wealth E.P. was a 1981 7-inch EP released by Steve Diggle of Buzzcocks. This was his first disc released in his solo career and without Buzzcocks, who by those days were disbanding. Shortly afterwards Garvey dedicated to his proper projects, with his band Motivation, while Diggle and Maher formed punk band Flag of Convenience, but Maher also left Diggle after some releases.

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References

  1. ↑ Guglielmi, Federico; Rizzi, Cesare (2002). "Steve Diggle". Grande enciclopedia rock (in Italian). Giunti. p. 107. ISBN   9788809028524.
  2. ↑ Buzzcocks Discography. BUZZCOCKS #1.0 July 20, 1976 – Feb 1977 (...)Steve Diggle (born 1955) – bass
  3. ↑ Diggle, Steve [@stephen_diggle] (7 April 2020). "@chonburi_fc @flyingmonkphoto @GCPunkNewWave @NewWaveAndPunk @PunKandStuff @LazyStardust1 @Buzzcocks I was born st marys hospital Manchester and lived in longsight , then Bradford In Manchester" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2022– via Twitter.
  4. 1 2 "Maximum Harmony : Steve Diggle Interview" (PDF). Buzzcocks.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Oldham College". Oldham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 9 October 2006. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  6. ↑ Gavan, David. "Steve Diggle interview (April 2018)". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Simpson, Dave; Hodgkinson, Will (12 June 2002). "Punk: How was it for you?". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  8. ↑ "Time to mind the Buzzcocks – they're back!" . The Independent. UK. 10 March 2006. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  9. ↑ McGartland, Tony (2017). Buzzcocks - The Complete History. Bonnier Zaffre. ISBN   9781786065209.
  10. ↑ "Punk royalty pay tribute to Pete Shelley". Royal Albert Hall. UK. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  11. ↑ "Autonomy - Portrait of a Buzzcock". Omnibus Press. UK. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "Hiljaiset Levyt: PUNKNET 77 – Steve Diggle". Hiljaiset.sci.fi. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  13. ↑ McGartland, Tony (2017). "Steve Diggle and Flag of Convenience: Solo Discography". Buzzcocks: The Complete History. London: Music Press. p. 325. ISBN   978-1786062741.
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