Buzzcocks

Howard Trafford, a student at Bolton Institute of Technology, placed a notice in the college looking for musicians sharing a liking for The Velvet Underground's song "Sister Ray".[12] Peter McNeish,[13] a fellow student at the institute, responded to the notice. Trafford had previously been involved in electronic music,[13] while McNeish had played in the rock band Jets of Air.[14]

By late 1975, Trafford and McNeish had recruited a drummer and formed an embryonic version of what would become Buzzcocks. The band formed, officially, 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 TV series Rock Follies in Time Out magazine. The "buzz" is the excitement of playing on stage; "cock" is northern English slang meaning "friend". They thought it captured the excitement of the nascent punk scene, as well as having humorous sexual connotations following Pete Shelley's time working in a Bolton adult shop.[16]

They performed live for the first time on 1 April 1976 at their college. Garth Davies played bass guitar and Mick Singleton played drums. Singleton also played in local band Black Cat Bone.[17]

After reading an NME review of the Sex Pistols' first performance, Shelley and Devoto travelled to High Wycombe together to see the Sex Pistols in February 1976.[14] Shelley and Devoto were impressed by what they saw and arranged for the Sex Pistols to come and 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, they made their debut opening for the 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 Punk: Attitude documentary directed by Don Letts. They 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, organised by Malcolm McLaren and would later replace The Damned on the Anarchy in the UK Tour.[14][18]

In between these live performances, the band began developed their own material and recorded a 11-track demo at the Stockport Studios.[14] By the end of the year, Buzzcocks had recorded and released a four-track EP, Spiral Scratch, on their own New Hormones label, making them one of the first punk groups to establish an independent record label.[7] Produced by Martin Hannett at Indigo Sound Studios, the music was roughly recorded, insistently repetitive, and energetic.[19] The EP would be re-released in September 1979 and reach 31 in the charts.[14]

In March 1977, Devoto announced his departure from the group, expressing his dissatisfaction at the direction that punk was taking in his statement: "I don't like movements. What was once unhealthily fresh is now a clean old hat".[20] He returned to college for a year, then formed Magazine. Pete Shelley took on the vocal duties and moved away from social commentary to adolescent themes.[7] Steve Diggle switched from bass to guitar, and Garth Davies (a.k.a. Garth Smith) rejoined on bass. The band joined the Clash as support on their White Riot tour.[14]

The new line-up signed with United Artists Records – the signing itself was undertaken at Manchester's Electric Circus on 16 August 1977, the day Elvis Presley died. The first UA Buzzcocks single, "Orgasm Addict" was released in October 1977.[14] It marked the start of a collaboration with producer by 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 replaced by Steve Garvey.[14]

The next single, "What Do I Get?" released in February 1978, reached 37 in UK chart.[21] It is followed the next month by their debut album, Another Music in a Different Kitchen that will reach 15 in the charts.[14] In May the band embark on the Entertaining Friends tour while a second single "I Don't Mind" reached 55 in the singles chart. In July, a third, "Love You More" managed to reach 34.[14] Over the course of the summer the band spent recording their second album Love Bites, which would reach no. 13 in the charts. After a 26-date UK tour, they gained success as the single "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" reached number 12 in the UK charts in October 1978.[14] In December, the band released the single "Promises" that stalled at no. 20 in the UK charts.[14] The B-side "Lipstick", shared the same ascending progression of notes in its chorus as Magazine's first single, "Shot By Both Sides," also released earlier that year.[7]

In 1979, the band prepared for their first European tour while working on new material. In March they released the single "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" that reached 29 in the charts. The tour that followed culminated at the Hammersmith Odeon concert that was recorded and released in 1992 as Entertaining Friends.[14] Over the summer, the band completed the recording of the third album while a second single "Harmony in my Head" reached 32 in August. Prior to their first venture over to the US, the record-company I.R.S. released the singles compilation Singles Going Steady there.[22]

The third album A Different Kind of Tension, appeared at the end of September 1979 and would reach no 26 in the charts, while the band completed a second UK tour.[14] The single from the album "You Say You Don't Love Me" failed to chart.[23][24] A period of inactivity followed until September 1980 when the double 'A' side "Why She's A Girl From The Chainstore/Are Everything" was released. It reached number 61 but would be 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][25]

After recording demos for a fourth album the group disbanded in 1981; Shelley took up a solo career. 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 the first band. Maher had joined Wah! by the time Buzzcocks broke up. He now owns John Maher Racing, a vintage Volkswagen performance tuning workshop on the Isle of Harris, Scotland.[26]

In the period 1988 to 1989, EMI re-released much of the back catalogue on CD as well as a Peel Sessions album and the boxset Product.[14] This prompted the band to reform with the original line-up for a world tour. Maher was briefly replaced with Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. In 1991, they released their first new material with the four-track Alive Tonight EP.[14] Interest in the US increased too with the compilation Operator's Manual released by I.R.S. Records.[22] It was followed two years later by the fourth studio album Trade Test Transmission.[27]

In 1992, Tony Barber joined on bass and Phil Barker on drums. This line-up toured on one of Nirvana's last tours in 1994.[28] In 1996, the band released the live album French, recorded in Paris in 1995.[7] The same year, their fifth studio album All Set appeared. The band continued to tour and in September 1999 they released the album Modern.[29]

In 2000, Mute records released the 1976 demos recorded while Devoto was in the band as Time's Up. Long available as a bootleg, this album includes the alternative takes of all the tracks from the Spiral Scratch EP as well as early versions of tracks that later appeared on Another Music in a Different Kitchen.[30]

Shelley and Devoto teamed up in 2002 for the first time since 1976, producing the album Buzzkunst, 'Kunst' being the German word for 'Art'. The album was a mix of electronic music and punk.[28] Buzzcocks toured as support for Pearl Jam in 2003 and released their seventh self-titled studio album.[31]

In 2005, Shelley re-recorded "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" with a group including Roger Daltrey, David Gilmour, Peter Hook, Elton John, Robert Plant and several contemporary bands, as a tribute to John Peel. Proceeds went to Amnesty International.[32] Shelley also performed the song live, with Plant, Daltrey, Gilmour, Hook and Jeff Beck at the 2005 UK Music Hall of Fame.[33]

Buzzcocks performing in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2006

In April 2006, Barker left and was replaced by Danny Farrant. In March 2006, the band released their eighth studio album, Flat-Pack Philosophy, on Cooking Vinyl Records.[34] The supporting tour found them playing on a leg of the mid-2006 Vans Warped Tour. They made an appearance for Maxïmo Park's homecoming gig in Newcastle upon Tyne on 15 December 2007. In April 2008, Barber left and was replaced by Chris Remington.

Left to right: Steve Diggle, Pete Shelley, Danny Farrant and Chris Remington, performing live at Hellfest 2013.

In January 2009, the band 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.[35]

In July 2009, 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 TV series Entourage. On 9 November 2009, Buzzcocks gave a performance on a small balcony overlooking Dame Street in Dublin, for the music viral show BalconyTV.[36]

In December 2009, they played as the main support act for The Courteeners.[37] In August 2011, they headlined the first night of The Rhythm Festival in Bedfordshire.

On 25 May 2012 in Manchester at the O2 Apollo and on 26 May in Brixton at the O2 Academy the band performed with the original line-up, including Devoto as well as the classic line-up of the band.[28] It was announced on 26 May 2012 that, for the first time, they would headline Thursday night in the Empress Ballroom at the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, sharing the stage with Rancid, Public Image Limited and Social Distortion.[38]

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 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, US.[39] In October 2014 they toured the UK for three weeks with The Dollyrots as main support.

In 2016, the band embarked on their 40th-anniversary tour, "Buzzcocks 40". In 2017, "Why Can't I Touch It" was featured in the opening segment of the Telltale game 'Guardians of the Galaxy.

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.[40] Steve Diggle said that Buzzcocks would continue, with the post-Shelley Buzzcocks being a 'new era'.[41] Sonics in the Soul, the band's first album without Shelley, was released in September 2022.[42] It featured Diggle on all vocals, and included a tribute to Shelley in the form of the track "You've Changed Everything Now".

Buzzcocks' distinctive sound was a marriage of catchy pop melodies with punk guitar energy, backed by an unusually tight and skilled rhythm section. They advanced drastically in musical and lyrical sophistication: by the end they were quoting USA 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").