Buzzcocks

Bio

Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, Greater Manchester, UK in 1976, led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Pete Shelley (1955 – 2018) for nearly their entire existence. They are commonly regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement and the punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock genres in general. They are primarily remembered for their singles, a string of would-be hits that combined a strong grasp of pop song craftsmanship with rapid-fire punk energy. These singles were collected on Singles Going Steady, described by critic Ned Raggett as a "punk masterpiece" The widely covered "Ever Fallen in Love?" remains one of their best-known songs. The name "Buzzcocks" partially comes from the Manchester slang term cock meaning youngster, and its use in the 1970s ITV drama serial Rock Follies which included the catch phrases "that's the buzz, cocks" and "give me a buzz, cock!" Buzzcocks were one of the key first generation British punk rock bands to form in the wake of the Sex Pistols in 1976. They were founded by Mancunians Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto, however Devoto left soon after the group released their Spiral Scratch EP (on their own independent label), leaving Shelley to take over vocals. They are best known for their catchy, poppy punk sound, which has been widely influential, which was adopted as Peter Shelley took over on the vocals, singing about what the whole punk rock scene opted not to sing about: love. Devoto in the meanwhile formed Magazine. They rehearsed in a friend's kitchen and played at the all-day 100 club punk "festival", in London. At the end of 1977 the band signed to United Artists and released "Orgasm Addict", with Shelley's high-pitched vocal delivery and Ramones-esque fuzz-guitar sound ensuring the controversial single would be played over again. Later came "What Do I Get?" which hit the UK charts and showed Shelley's brilliance in songwriting. An LP was then released, Another Music in a Different Kitchen which came with its own carrier bag, labelled "Product". In 1978-79 five chart-hitting singles were released including "Ever Fallen in Love?" and had captured a pop-loving audience by this time. Love Bites, their second LP was released later on, which had less excitement than the last album, though it did sell well, with Steve Diggle taking over lyric-writing. October 1979 saw A Different Kind of Tension which was panned by some critics, quite unfairly, as it contains some excellent songs, the title track being the stand-out. It perhaps suffered from being the second album to be released that year, with the record company keen to capitalise on the band's chart success at the time. 3 more singles followed in 1980, but the spark had clearly gone out for a while. Musical differences and the long slog behind them led to the band splitting in early 1981. Pete Shelley embarked in a solo career.. He released three dance/electronic influenced solo albums: Homosapien, XL1 and Heaven and The Sea - all with the same fine songwriting skills. Meanwhile, Steve Diggle formed Flag of Convenience - a power pop combo - and toured with some success. A 5 album/CD set was released in 1989 called Product, which contained all the albums to date, plus the greatest hits and B sides album, Singles Going Steady, and the last non-album singles, Why She's A Girl From the Chainstore, Airwaves Dream and Running Free, plus the B sides In 1992 the Buzzcocks reformed, without original drummer John Maher and bassist Steve Garvey, and releasd Trade Test Transmissions in 1993, quite different from their earlier material, with nods to the power pop scene popular at the time. All Set in 1996 saw a return to form with familiar riffs and pin sharp lyrics pop-punk. Next year Chronology was released, the missing album, including outtakes from the three United Artists albums. In 1999 they released Modern, which saw Shelley in reflective mode and Steve Diggle taking over more of the vocal duties. Then followed another brief break in 2000, with Shelley teaming up with old band-mate Howard Devoto to release a largely disappointing album, Buzzkunst. Compilations followed, including Inventory in 2003, which contained every single to date, and 30 in 2005 to celebrate 30 years performing 2005 saw the Buzzcocks back touring and in 2007 they released the superb Flat Pack Philosophy, widely agreed to rank up with the best of Buzzcocks output 2008/9 saw a short tour where the band played tracks from Another Music and Love Bites. In August 2011 they headlined the first night of The Rhythm Festival in Bedfordshire. In November 2011 it was announced they would be playing two shows in 2012 that would feature the original line-up as well as the classic line-up of the band reunited for the first time in many years; these shows took place on 25 May 2012 in Manchester at the O2 Apollo and on 26 May in Brixton at the O2 Academy. 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 the likes of Rancid, Public Image Limited and Social Distortion. On 1 May 2014 Buzzcocks released the album The Way via PledgeMusic. On 13 September 2014 Buzzcocks played "a brief but triumphant set" at Riot Fest 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. In October 2014 Buzzcocks toured the U.K. for three weeks with The Dollyrots as main support. In 2016, the band embarked on their 40th-anniversary tour (dubbed "Buzzcocks 40"). In 2017, "Why Can't I Touch It" was featured in the opening segment of the Telltale game 'Guardians of the Galaxy. Buzzcocks continue to be a huge influence on many bands and are still enjoyed by a large, and very loyal, fanbase. Pete Shelley died on 6 December 2018. . User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Similar artists

Pete Shelley, The Undertones, The Damned, Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash

Genres

punk,punk rock,british,new wave,rock,post-punk,uk,power pop,pop punk,english,england,classic pop and rock,alternative rock,britpop,madchester,uk post-punk,proto-punk,

Likes

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Infos

On Tour: No

country: GB

City: Bolton

Begin Date: 1976

Last Update:

Artist next concerts

by

Song Kick

Buzzcocks at ROCKHAL (February 16, 2026)

Esch Sur Alzette - ROCKHAL

16/Feb

2026

Buzzcocks at Zeche Bochum (February 19, 2026)

Bochum - Zeche Bochum

19/Feb

2026

Buzzcocks at Conne Island (February 20, 2026)

Leipzig - Conne Island

20/Feb

2026

Buzzcocks and Winiary Bookings at Kwadrat (March 1, 2026)

Krakow - Kwadrat

1/Mar

2026

Buzzcocks and Winiary Bookings at Klub Proxima (March 2, 2026)

Warsaw - Klub Proxima

2/Mar

2026

Buzzcocks and Winiary Bookings at Kosmos (March 4, 2026)

Szczecin - Kosmos

4/Mar

2026

Buzzcocks at Patronaat (March 7, 2026)

Haarlem - Patronaat

7/Mar

2026

Buzzcocks at Mon Madrid (March 13, 2026)

Madrid - Mon Madrid

13/Mar

2026

Buzzcocks at Salamandra (March 14, 2026)

Barcelona - Salamandra

14/Mar

2026

Buzzcocks at Kollektivet Livet Bar & Scen (March 26, 2026)

Stockholm - Kollektivet Livet Bar & Scen

26/Mar

2026

Buzzcocks at Culture Room (April 2, 2026)

Fort Lauderdale - Culture Room

2/Apr

2026

Buzzcocks at The Forum (February 12, 2026)

Tunbridge Wells - The Forum

12/Feb

2026

Videography

No biography registered

Artist discography

by

Last FM

The 1991 Demo Album

The 1991 Demo Album

May/2020

Real World Breakdown [Explicit]

Real World Breakdown [Explicit]

May/2020

Noise Annoys [Explicit]

Noise Annoys [Explicit]

May/2020

Real World Breakdown

Real World Breakdown

May/2020

The Buzzcocks Story [Explicit]

The Buzzcocks Story [Explicit]

Mar/2020

E.S.P.

Oct/2018

I Don't Mind (2018 Remastered Version) - Single

I Don't Mind (2018 Remastered Version) - Single

Oct/2018

E.S.P. (2018 Remastered Version)

E.S.P. (2018 Remastered Version)

Oct/2018

Entertaining Friends

Entertaining Friends

Jun/2017

Pulsebeat

May/2017

Spiral Scratch | Time's Up

Spiral Scratch | Time's Up

Jan/2017

Live In Paris [Explicit]

Live In Paris [Explicit]

Aug/2016

More Product in a Different Compilation: Best of the United Artists Recordings 1978–1980

More Product in a Different Compilation: Best of the United Artists Recordings 1978–1980

Apr/2016

Access All Areas - Buzzcocks Live Town & Country Club 1992 (Audio Version)

Access All Areas - Buzzcocks Live Town & Country Club 1992 (Audio Version)

Aug/2015

Live 1990

Mar/2015

Access All Areas - Buzzcocks - Live 1990 (Audio Version)

Access All Areas - Buzzcocks - Live 1990 (Audio Version)

Mar/2015

In the Back - Single

In the Back - Single

Mar/2015

In the Back

Mar/2015

British Live Performance Series

British Live Performance Series

Jan/2015

London Town & Country Club 1992

London Town & Country Club 1992

Jan/2015

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