The Buzzcocks, responsible for some of punk's catchiest hits, still are singing witty tunes of unrequited love.
By GINA VIVINETTO
Published July 17, 2003
[Publicity photo]
The legendary Buzzcocks got their start in 1976. The band now includes, from left, Pete Shelley, Tony Barber, Phil Barker and Steve Diggle.
The Buzzcocks have never received much attention outside punk rock. The legendary British band, which got its start in Manchester in 1975, is responsible for some of punk's catchiest hits, such as Ever Fallen In Love, What Do I Get? and the randy Orgasm Addict.
Aside from providing the music for a 2002 Toyota television commercial, the Buzzcocks have never bitten the ears of the mainstream as did their contemporaries the Clash and the Sex Pistols. That could change now that the quartet, led by brilliant singer-guitarist Pete Shelley, has spent several weeks performing in huge arenas opening for Pearl Jam on its North American tour.
The Buzzcocks have a bumpy history that includes a breakup in 1981, a reunion in 1989 and many personnel changes, with Shelley always leading the way. The band got its start, the legend goes, after Shelley and co-founder Howard Devoto's lives were forever altered by a Sex Pistols gig in London.
"Well, that's the simplistic Hollywood version of the story," says Shelley, 48, laughing, over the phone from a tour stop in Columbus, Ohio. Shelley and Devoto had been wanting to make music for some time, he says, inspired by the raw sounds of American bands Iggy and the Stooges and the Velvet Underground. The two began writing fast, melodic, snarky, three-minute punk songs filled with Shelley's wry, angsty humor.
The twist?
The Buzzcocks, a punk band, sang about love. Of course, most of it was unrequited.
Check out the titles: Ever Fallen In Love, Love Battery, Love Is Lies, You Say You Don't Love Me, Love You More, the list goes on.
Shelley acknowledges that it's novel for a bunch of young British punks to tackle the tender theme.
"When we wrote about love, people listened. And it was interesting to see all these frightening-looking individuals, big guys with tattoos all over them, having this sort of vulnerable side to them," he says.
Has time made Shelley tougher? "I suppose so." Wiser about love? "Nah."
Does it feel strange to be a nearly 50-year-old man singing punk rock?
"Not at all," Shelley says. "There's always enough annoyances to keep you going, isn't there?"
The Buzzcocks are often credited with creating the punk rock ethic of DIY (do it yourself). In 1976, Shelley borrowed the equivalent of about $200 from his father to record and press 1,000 copies of the band's debut, Spiral Scratch.
"He probably thought I was out of my head," Shelley says. "Especially considering how I looked like I did back then. Which is, I suppose, how I look now, except now I look wiser. Which is just a delusion." (Did Shelley pay back dad? "Yes," he says. "Oh, yes, of course.")
Fans can catch up with the Buzzcocks' history with the recently released Inventory, a 12-disc box set of the band's 1977-80 singles, packaged as they originally were on vinyl. For fresher fare, consult this year's excellent Buzzcocks, an album of new tunes featuring Shelley's signature sharp, cynical wit, as well as songs co-written with Devoto.
"They always say our albums are "critically acclaimed,' " Shelley says, "but that just means that they don't sell very well." He laughs. "If they sold well, then they would say the albums were platinum-selling or something."
Shelley has long been a fan of arty 1970s Krautrock, the repetition and rhythms of bands such as Kraftwerk, Can and Neu!. Those influences show up in some of the Buzzcocks' tunes and also in Shelley's lone solo hit, the computerized dance club hit Homosapien, which he recorded after the band's 1981 split. "I still love all that old German music," he says. "It had a big effect on me and John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols). You hear a lot of that in Public Image."
Shelley is thrilled that the Buzzcocks were invited to open for Pearl Jam. He says that the band's lead singer, Eddie Vedder, couldn't be more reverential.
"Every night he walks onstage and introduces us," Shelley says. "And he tells the audience how honored he is to have us play with his band. It's really quite nice."
Shelley laments the passing of Joe Strummer, guitarist of the Clash, who died last year of a heart attack. The Buzzcocks and the Clash got to know one another in 1977 when the bands traveled together on the Clash's uproarious White Riot tour.
"We always stayed in touch," Shelley says. "About four years ago, his band (Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros) and my band were touring in opposite directions, hitting towns one after the other."
"The night before we played a club in Denver, Joe's band had played there, and he had carved into the wall of the dressing room: "Hi to Buzzcocks. From, Joe.' That's how he did things. Joe was lovely."
The Buzzcocks perform at 9 p.m. Friday, with openers Dukes of Hillsborough and Billy Talent, at Twilight, 1507 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $20. (813) 247-4225.
