Buzzcocks
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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After reading an NME review of the Sex Pistols' first performance, Shelley and Devoto 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 the other musicians dropped out, and Shelley and Devoto were unable to recruit other musicians 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 in July 1976. 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. In September 1976 the band travelled to London to perform at the two-day 100 Club Punk Festival, organised by Malcolm McLaren. Other performers included: the Sex Pistols, Subway Sect, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash, The Vibrators, The Damned and the French band Stinky Toys. |
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The Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band, formed in Bolton, England, in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto, known for such songs as "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)".
They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. They achieved commercial success with singles that fused pop craftsmanship with rapid-fire punk energy. These singles were collected on Singles Going Steady, described by critic Ned Raggett as a "punk masterpiece".
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 British slang meaning "mate" (as in friend/buddy). They thought it captured the excitement of the Sex Pistols and nascent punk scene.
Devoto left the band in 1977, after which Pete Shelley became the principal singer-songwriter.
Discography
- Studio albums
- Another Music in a Different Kitchen (1978)
- Love Bites (1978)
- A Different Kind of Tension (1979)
- Trade Test Transmissions (1993)
- All Set (1996)
- Modern (1999)
- Buzzcocks (2003)
- Flat-Pack Philosophy (2006)
- The Way (2014)
See also
