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BUZZCOCKS

Originally formed in Manchester in January 1976, the group, managed by Richard Boon, consisted of Pete Shelley (born Peter McNeish), Howard Devoto (born Howard Trafford), Steve Diggle and John Maher. A support spot on the Sex Pistols' infamous Anarchy tour prefaced their debut recording, the EP Spiral Scratch
The quartet's undeveloped promise was momentarily short-circuited when Howard Devoto sensationally left in March 1977, only to resurface later that year with Magazine
A reshuffled Buzzcocks, with Pete Shelley taking lead vocal and Garth Smith (later replaced by Steve Garvey) on bass, won a major deal with United Artists. During the next three years, they recorded some of the finest pop-punk singles of their era, including the Devoto/Shelley What do i get?, Love you more, the classic Ever fallen in love (with someone you should't've), Promises (with Steve Diggle), Everybody's happy nowadays, and Diggle's Harmony in my head
After three albums and nearly five years on the road, the group fell victim to disillusionment and Pete Shelley quit for a solo career. Steve Diggle re-emerged with Flag Of Convenience, but neither party could reproduce the best of the Buzzcocks. With hindsight, the Buzzcocks' influence upon British indie-pop of the late 80s is as incalculable as that of the Ramones or the Velvet Underground's
The group reformed in 1990 with former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce added to their rank

Albums: Another Music In A Different Kitchen (1978) | Love Bites (1978) | A Different Kind Of Tension (1979) | Lest We Forget (1989, live recordings 1979/1980) | The Peel Sessions Album (1990) | Live At The Roxy, April '77 (1990) | Time's Up (1991, recorded 1976) | Entertaining Friends (Live At The Hammersmith Oden, March 1979) (1992)

Dates when they played with Joy Division:
Sunday 29 May 1977 Electric Circus – Manchester (UK)
Sunday 2 October 1977 Electric Circus – Manchester (UK)
Friday 27 October 1978 Apollo Theatre – Manchester (UK)
 Tuesday 2 October–Saturday 10 November 1979 (tour)


 

DETAILS

Line-up: Howard Devoto (vocals) | Steve Diggle (guitar) | Steve Garvey (November 1977–March 1981) (bass) | Mike Joyce (from 1990) (drums) | John Maher (drums) | Pete Shelley (vocals/guitar) | Garth Smith (February–October 1977) (bass)

Link to their website