Buzzcocks

Buzzcocks were one of the key first generation punk rock bands in the mid to late 1970s.

Biography

The band was formed by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto soon after they had met and travelled to London together to see the Sex Pistols in February 1976. 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 were unable to do so as they lacked both a bassist and a drummer at the time. Once they had recruited Steve Diggle and John Maher to the band, they finally made their debut opening for the Sex Pistols' second Manchester gig in July 1976.

Related Topics:
Pete Shelley - Howard Devoto - London - Sex Pistols - February - 1976 - Lesser Free Trade Hall - Manchester - June - Steve Diggle - John Maher - July

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By the end of the year, Buzzcocks had released a four-track EP, Spiral Scratch on their own New Hormones label, thus heralding the independent label movement. The music was roughly recorded, insistently repetitive, and energetic. "Boredom" announced punk's rebellion against the status quo while templating a strident minimalism (the guitar "solo" consisting of two repeated notes over and over). The demos recorded while Devoto was in the band were later issued officially as Time's Up. Long available as a bootleg, this album includes the Spiral Scratch EP.

Related Topics:
EP - Independent label movement

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Vocalist Devoto immediately left the band, already aware of the rapid co-opting of punk's attitude by the mainstream. He formed Magazine, a less easily apprehendable mix of energy, ennui, and atmosphere. Pete Shelley continued as vocalist, his high pitched melodious whine an antidote to the gruff pub-rock flavour of many contemporaries. Steve Diggle switched from bass to guitar, and Steve Garvey became the bass player after a few months with Garth Smith playing the instrument. The Shelley / Diggle / Garvey / Maher lineup signed to United Artists Records.

Related Topics:
Magazine - Steve Garvey - Garth Smith - United Artists Records

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True to their name, the first Buzzcocks single, "Orgasm Addict", played with sexuality in a way few punk groups dared. Later, more ambiguous songs staked out a territory defined by Shelley's bisexuality and punk's aversion to sex except as bodily function. Their trademark sound was a marriage of catchy pop melodies with punk guitar energy, with an unusually tight and skilled rhythm section—an anomaly in punk.

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Their original career consisted of three LPs: Another Music in a Different Kitchen, Love Bites, and A Different Kind of Tension, each an advancement in musical sophistication. By the end they were quoting W. S. Burroughs ("A Different Kind of Tension"), declaiming their catechism in a not-very-punk anthem ("I Believe") and tuning in to a fantasy radio station on which their songs could be heard ("Radio Nine").

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But it was for their singles that they are primarily remembered, a string of would-be hits that demonstrated a strong grasp of the vernacular of pop song craftmanship. These were collected on Singles Going Steady, the CD version of which is a complete document of their 7" releases.

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After recording demos for a fourth album the group disbanded in 1981, when Shelley took up a solo career. The group has reformed several times since 1989, featuring Shelley and Diggle with other musicians - initially with Maher and Garvey for a world tour, then briefly replacing Maher with Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. In 1993, Tony Barber joined on bass and Phil Barker on drums. This lineup continues to tour and record.

Related Topics:
Smiths - Mike Joyce - 1993

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Shelley and Devoto teamed up in 2002 for the first time since 1976, producing the album Buzzkunst, a play on the German word for 'Art'. "After all those years of cocks, we thought kunst would make a change". A mix of electronics, punk, and mannered sub-Luxuria outings, the result is disappointing but nonetheless essential for fans.

Related Topics:
2002 - Buzzkunst - Luxuria

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John Maher now owns and runs John Maher Racing, a vintage Volkswagen performance tuning workshop located on the Isle of Harris, Scotland. The Buzzcocks song, "What Do I get", however, was used in recent times for an ad for Toyota, and is marked as a turning point in public acceptance of the commercialization of music. (A previous touchstone, Nike's use of a John Lennon song, was largely considered crass.)

Related Topics:
John Maher - Isle of Harris - Scotland - Toyota - Nike - John Lennon

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Like many other groups whose name appears to be a plural noun (notably Eurythmics), Buzzcocks' name is frequently rendered incorrectly with a "The" in front it. The group's name is simply Buzzcocks. The name "Buzzcocks" itself comes from local quaint slang (used mostly by the elderly) meaning "youngster". The group's adoption of the name was influenced by its use in the television drama serial Rock Follies.

Related Topics:
Eurythmics - Rock Follies

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Buzzcocks' name was portmanteaud with the Sex Pistols' album Never Mind The Bollocks to create Never Mind The Buzzcocks, a UK comedy panel game with questions on popular music, broadcast on the BBC first in 1996 and continuing as of 2005. This in turn may have influenced a Buzzcocks anthology CD called I Don't Mind The Buzzcocks, which opened with the track I Don't Mind. Such recycling and subversion of phrases seems entirely appropriate for Buzzcocks, though those choosing these names may not have been aware of this.

Related Topics:
Portmanteaud - Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Buzzcocks

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