Buzzcocks: Classic or Dud

The doc also asserted that the reason why "Homosapien" wasn't the massive hit it should have been in '82 was because the BBC sniffed at the line "homo superior in my interior," interpreted it as meaning buggery and thereupon banned it. But IIRC it was pretty well played to death all over the radio at the time. Certainly should have been a hit.

i spent a weird evening with Diggle and pete shelley's irish nephew, who was now in the band, a few years back. a bunch of us went back to a friend's house after a lift to experience show, taking the band with us (steve and i had photographed/interviewed the band for Careless Talk that afternoon). we went via the marathon bar, a great all-night kebab place in chalk farm that sells beer and spirits after hours, and somehow Diggle and the kid tagged along, though they were drunk, and the kid was mouthy. we got back to the flat, and it was a weird scene. the kid kept saying that the Lift boys were queers, and being pretty nasty. ray, the guy who's house it was, was getting agitated, wanted to clock the guy with a baseball hat. i left about 3am, it was going far beyond weird. then, about 5am, steve confronted the guy, said that all this talk about being queer had got him horny and that he was going to fuck ray then and there, and if the kid didn't want to see it he should leave now. Diggle was nice, but sad and drunk and a bit tragic.

"Millions Of People (No-One Like You)" and "Telephone Operator" should have been massive hits too IMHO - and they didn't contain any such questionable lyrics - so did they offer any explanation for that?!?

"Pete Shelley's Irish nephew? They didn't say anything about that in the documentary, just about these two guys who were fans of theirs and knew their back catalogue backwards and ended up as their new rhythm section. I presume Shelley's nephew didn't last long in the band?"

Since reforming with the original line-up, the only bassist they've had is Tony Barber (who also plays for Chelsea) and apart from one tour with Mike Joyce (ex Smiths, of course) I'm pretty sure the only drummer they've had is Phil Barker (who's also one of the Stratford Mercenaries and was previously in a band called Lack Of Knowledge with Tony). Neither of these are related to PS as far as I know, but I do know a guy called Joey who's been their roadie since '77 so I'll try to dig his e-mail address out and ask him!

Fwiw they've actually had the current line up for more than 10 years.

Easy tiger.

One of my more bemusing claims to relative small time fame is that I think I wrote most of the Buzzcocks reviews on the AMG.

Interesting piece on them in this Mojo Punk Special. I envy those of you who got to see those TOTP performances, etc.

buzzcocks fans with descendents hate are like
run-dmc fans who hate public enemy. don't hate the playa, hate the game, etc...

Blame it on X-Ray Spex.

By the way, Buzzcock's are as classic as it gets. A little maudlin sometimes, but aren't we all.

Anyway, I liked my lyrics better. Call Pansy Division. If they haven't already gone to it.

Another Music in a Different Kitchen / Singles Going Steady: Pretty awesome.

Afterwards, progressively losing the plot.

By the time you get to "Airwaves Dream," you're a million miles from "Orgasm" (one of the few songs I knew) - it's positively Joy Divisionish.

"Ever Fallen In Love" might be the my favorite single by a first-wave UK punk band.

OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!!

Over-familiarisation with their music ruined the Buzzcocks for me big time.

Wait is this lineup the original four?

Sorry, the original, post-DeVoto four

Oh, I see, Mark G was referring to an earlier reunion.

Diggle is my new rock hero.

Yup, it was Diggle that amazed me with his Townsendesque posturing when I saw them a few years back. Juxtaposed with a not quite sombre, (but getting there) static Shelley, blasting out gem after gem.

Great fun.

Happy birthday, Pete, 61 today!

http://www.mdmarchive.co.uk/gfx/HiRes-12335.jpg

Happy Birthday, Pete!

This band is so good.

Yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfKdzpta-Ss

Anyone rep for the post-reunion stuff? I could go for a nice cherry picking of the best bits.

Why did they break up after A Different Kind of Tension? Never heard much of a story about this.

They did three (double A-side?) singles after that. Substance problems was one contributing factor.

Discussion of the end of the first run here: Buzzcocks Are Everything