Pete Shelley

[JohnS]

I got some text messages about this earlier tonight and couldn't believe it. I've been revisiting some Buzzcocks tunes just now and as CK says, that original (well, post-Devoto) line-up created stuff that is just timeless. Three albums and a string of singles that any band would give their eye teeth to have done.
Not forgetting Spiral Scratch of course, such a perfect standalone work of art in its own right, in so many ways.
The reformed / reconfigured group were not too shabby either - 'Innocent' is one of my favourite shoulda-coulda lost singles - and I like the fact Pete and co continued to write and perform new stuff right through to the end.
RIP Pete Shelley - another one gone too early.

[IkarisOne]

I got some text messages about this earlier tonight and couldn't believe it. I've been revisiting some Buzzcocks tunes just now and as CK says, that original (well, post-Devoto) line-up created stuff that is just timeless. Three albums and a string of singles that any band would give their eye teeth to have done.
Not forgetting Spiral Scratch of course, such a perfect standalone work of art in its own right, in so many ways.
The reformed / reconfigured group were not too shabby either - 'Innocent' is one of my favourite shoulda-coulda lost singles - and I like the fact Pete and co continued to write and perform new stuff right through to the end.
RIP Pete Shelley - another one gone too early.

I actually had an email exchange about 20 years ago with Martin Rushent. He contacted me after he saw something I'd written about him on the old CCS page on Jeff Dove's site. Really a very nice and humble guy. Had no idea how admired he was by a lot of gear-oriented music nerds.

[WestwayKid]

Buzzcocks were so incredibly great in their first incarnation it's almost mind-numbing. Maher and Garvey were hands-down the best rhythm section in the first wave of Punk and Martin Rushent really polished those gems. That stuff still sounds futuristic. Incredible players, great songwriting. Amazing how far they could stretch the punk template, just ridiculous creativity. Maher was clearly the model for drummers like Tre Cool and Travis Barker but they don't go anywhere near his sophistication and subtlety.

Shelley not only was a great melodicist but he had a real knack for killer riffs too. I was in a club once and I heard Homosapien-- a song I never really cared for-- and I couldn't believe how punchy and crisp it was. I remember hearing Venus Records or someone blasting Why Can't I Touch It onto Eighth Street one fine day in the early 90s and just being agog by how magic it sounded.

Great point. The Buzzcocks were really important to me during my shy, awkward teen years. The first run of the group came apart when I was only 4 - so I missed that - but I'd always heard of them and when they got back together in '89 - that was right as I was turning 13 and so I really got into their old & new music. They just had something about them that really spoke to me...maybe it was Shelley's writing - which I think was some of the best of the era. They just made this shy, awkward teen feel not just okay about being shy & awkward...they also made me feel cool and hip along the way.

[IkarisOne]

Buzzcocks were so incredibly great in their first incarnation it's almost mind-numbing. Maher and Garvey were hands-down the best rhythm section in the first wave of Punk and Martin Rushent really polished those gems. That stuff still sounds futuristic. Incredible players, great songwriting. Amazing how far they could stretch the punk template, just ridiculous creativity. Maher was clearly the model for drummers like Tre Cool and Travis Barker but they don't go anywhere near his sophistication and subtlety.

Shelley not only was a great melodicist but he had a real knack for killer riffs too. I was in a club once and I heard Homosapien-- a song I never really cared for-- and I couldn't believe how punchy and crisp it was. I remember hearing Venus Records or someone blasting Why Can't I Touch It onto Eighth Street one fine day in the early 90s and just being agog by how magic it sounded.

Great point. The Buzzcocks were really important to me during my shy, awkward teen years. The first run of the group came apart when I was only 4 - so I missed that - but I'd always heard of them and when they got back together in '89 - that was right as I was turning 13 and so I really got into their old & new music. They just had something about them that really spoke to me...maybe it was Shelley's writing - which I think was some of the best of the era. They just made this shy, awkward teen feel not just okay about being shy & awkward...they also made me feel cool and hip along the way.

It was such a weird mix- Shelley's Merseyside love songs and that pile-driving beat and Rushent's alternate-future production. You had every right to feel cool and hip.

[laxman]

Buzzcocks were so incredibly great in their first incarnation it's almost mind-numbing. Maher and Garvey were hands-down the best rhythm section in the first wave of Punk and Martin Rushent really polished those gems. That stuff still sounds futuristic. Incredible players, great songwriting. Amazing how far they could stretch the punk template, just ridiculous creativity. Maher was clearly the model for drummers like Tre Cool and Travis Barker but they don't go anywhere near his sophistication and subtlety.

Shelley not only was a great melodicist but he had a real knack for killer riffs too. I was in a club once and I heard Homosapien-- a song I never really cared for-- and I couldn't believe how punchy and crisp it was. I remember hearing Venus Records or someone blasting Why Can't I Touch It onto Eighth Street one fine day in the early 90s and just being agog by how magic it sounded.

Great point. The Buzzcocks were really important to me during my shy, awkward teen years. The first run of the group came apart when I was only 4 - so I missed that - but I'd always heard of them and when they got back together in '89 - that was right as I was turning 13 and so I really got into their old & new music. They just had something about them that really spoke to me...maybe it was Shelley's writing - which I think was some of the best of the era. They just made this shy, awkward teen feel not just okay about being shy & awkward...they also made me feel cool and hip along the way.

It was such a weird mix- Shelley's Merseyside love songs and that pile-driving beat and Rushent's alternate-future production. You had every right to feel cool and hip.

Merseyside? Steady on, you could start a Manchester/Liverpool riot!

[IkarisOne]

Buzzcocks were so incredibly great in their first incarnation it's almost mind-numbing. Maher and Garvey were hands-down the best rhythm section in the first wave of Punk and Martin Rushent really polished those gems. That stuff still sounds futuristic. Incredible players, great songwriting. Amazing how far they could stretch the punk template, just ridiculous creativity. Maher was clearly the model for drummers like Tre Cool and Travis Barker but they don't go anywhere near his sophistication and subtlety.

Shelley not only was a great melodicist but he had a real knack for killer riffs too. I was in a club once and I heard Homosapien-- a song I never really cared for-- and I couldn't believe how punchy and crisp it was. I remember hearing Venus Records or someone blasting Why Can't I Touch It onto Eighth Street one fine day in the early 90s and just being agog by how magic it sounded.

Great point. The Buzzcocks were really important to me during my shy, awkward teen years. The first run of the group came apart when I was only 4 - so I missed that - but I'd always heard of them and when they got back together in '89 - that was right as I was turning 13 and so I really got into their old & new music. They just had something about them that really spoke to me...maybe it was Shelley's writing - which I think was some of the best of the era. They just made this shy, awkward teen feel not just okay about being shy & awkward...they also made me feel cool and hip along the way.

It was such a weird mix- Shelley's Merseyside love songs and that pile-driving beat and Rushent's alternate-future production. You had every right to feel cool and hip.

Merseyside? Steady on, you could start a Manchester/Liverpool riot!

Heh. I was referring to Shelley's 60s British Invasion roots.

[laxman]

Buzzcocks were so incredibly great in their first incarnation it's almost mind-numbing. Maher and Garvey were hands-down the best rhythm section in the first wave of Punk and Martin Rushent really polished those gems. That stuff still sounds futuristic. Incredible players, great songwriting. Amazing how far they could stretch the punk template, just ridiculous creativity. Maher was clearly the model for drummers like Tre Cool and Travis Barker but they don't go anywhere near his sophistication and subtlety.

Shelley not only was a great melodicist but he had a real knack for killer riffs too. I was in a club once and I heard Homosapien-- a song I never really cared for-- and I couldn't believe how punchy and crisp it was. I remember hearing Venus Records or someone blasting Why Can't I Touch It onto Eighth Street one fine day in the early 90s and just being agog by how magic it sounded.

Great point. The Buzzcocks were really important to me during my shy, awkward teen years. The first run of the group came apart when I was only 4 - so I missed that - but I'd always heard of them and when they got back together in '89 - that was right as I was turning 13 and so I really got into their old & new music. They just had something about them that really spoke to me...maybe it was Shelley's writing - which I think was some of the best of the era. They just made this shy, awkward teen feel not just okay about being shy & awkward...they also made me feel cool and hip along the way.

It was such a weird mix- Shelley's Merseyside love songs and that pile-driving beat and Rushent's alternate-future production. You had every right to feel cool and hip.

Merseyside? Steady on, you could start a Manchester/Liverpool riot!

Heh. I was referring to Shelley's 60s British Invasion roots.

Nice save! :)

[Wolter]

Great point. The Buzzcocks were really important to me during my shy, awkward teen years. The first run of the group came apart when I was only 4 - so I missed that - but I'd always heard of them and when they got back together in '89 - that was right as I was turning 13 and so I really got into their old & new music. They just had something about them that really spoke to me...maybe it was Shelley's writing - which I think was some of the best of the era. They just made this shy, awkward teen feel not just okay about being shy & awkward...they also made me feel cool and hip along the way.

It was such a weird mix- Shelley's Merseyside love songs and that pile-driving beat and Rushent's alternate-future production. You had every right to feel cool and hip.

Merseyside? Steady on, you could start a Manchester/Liverpool riot!

Heh. I was referring to Shelley's 60s British Invasion roots.

Nice save! :)

In CK’s defense, that’s how I read it.

[IkarisOne]

This to me is the quintessential Buzzcocks song-- weird to the point of sounding alien but hooky as fuck, flanged to the hilt but packing the punch of a bullet train. It's the high contrasts that make this so great- Shelley's deliciously epicene vox and tunesmithing, Maher and Garvey's proto-hardcore hammering, Hannett's streamlined futuristic production bouncing Shelley and Diggle's guitars off each other like a tennis ball.

Just one of the greatest punk rock songs ever recorded.




If the 'Cocks were the Beatles of punk then Martin Hannett was definitely their George Martin.

[Spiff]

A great performance of "Orgasm Addict" from 2010 in Minneapolis:

[Marky Dread]

I got some text messages about this earlier tonight and couldn't believe it. I've been revisiting some Buzzcocks tunes just now and as CK says, that original (well, post-Devoto) line-up created stuff that is just timeless. Three albums and a string of singles that any band would give their eye teeth to have done.
Not forgetting Spiral Scratch of course, such a perfect standalone work of art in its own right, in so many ways.
The reformed / reconfigured group were not too shabby either - 'Innocent' is one of my favourite shoulda-coulda lost singles - and I like the fact Pete and co continued to write and perform new stuff right through to the end.
RIP Pete Shelley - another one gone too early.

I actually had an email exchange about 20 years ago with Martin Rushent. He contacted me after he saw something I'd written about him on the old CCS page on Jeff Dove's site. Really a very nice and humble guy. Had no idea how admired he was by a lot of gear-oriented music nerds.

I met Martin and yes a lovely guy and as you say Chris very humble. I also got lucky enough to visit his Genetix studio in Streatley as my aunt was his cleaner. He produced so many great bands Buzzcocks/Generation X/The Stranglers/ Human League and so on.

[IkarisOne]

I got some text messages about this earlier tonight and couldn't believe it. I've been revisiting some Buzzcocks tunes just now and as CK says, that original (well, post-Devoto) line-up created stuff that is just timeless. Three albums and a string of singles that any band would give their eye teeth to have done.
Not forgetting Spiral Scratch of course, such a perfect standalone work of art in its own right, in so many ways.
The reformed / reconfigured group were not too shabby either - 'Innocent' is one of my favourite shoulda-coulda lost singles - and I like the fact Pete and co continued to write and perform new stuff right through to the end.
RIP Pete Shelley - another one gone too early.

I actually had an email exchange about 20 years ago with Martin Rushent. He contacted me after he saw something I'd written about him on the old CCS page on Jeff Dove's site. Really a very nice and humble guy. Had no idea how admired he was by a lot of gear-oriented music nerds.

I met Martin and yes a lovely guy and as you say Chris very humble. I also got lucky enough to visit his Genetix studio in Streatley as my aunt was his cleaner. He produced so many great bands Buzzcocks/Generation X/The Stranglers/ Human League and so on.

Cheers, Marky. And to be honest, it's one of the reasons I was never really interested in BCM2. Without Maher and Garvey--the Bonham and Jones of Punk-- and Martin Rushent doing all the treatments it just felt like Page and Plant to me. Only literally nobody likes Page and Plant and the 'Cocks seem to do OK as a heritage act.

[IkarisOne]

This to me is the quintessential Buzzcocks song-- weird to the point of sounding alien but hooky as fuck, flanged to the hilt but packing the punch of a bullet train. It's the high contrasts that make this so great- Shelley's deliciously epicene vox and tunesmithing, Maher and Garvey's proto-hardcore hammering, Rushent's streamlined futuristic production bouncing Shelley and Diggle's guitars off each other like a tennis ball.

Just one of the greatest punk rock songs ever recorded.




If the 'Cocks were the Beatles of punk then Martin Hannett was definitely their George Martin.

[101Walterton]

I got some text messages about this earlier tonight and couldn't believe it. I've been revisiting some Buzzcocks tunes just now and as CK says, that original (well, post-Devoto) line-up created stuff that is just timeless. Three albums and a string of singles that any band would give their eye teeth to have done.
Not forgetting Spiral Scratch of course, such a perfect standalone work of art in its own right, in so many ways.
The reformed / reconfigured group were not too shabby either - 'Innocent' is one of my favourite shoulda-coulda lost singles - and I like the fact Pete and co continued to write and perform new stuff right through to the end.
RIP Pete Shelley - another one gone too early.

I actually had an email exchange about 20 years ago with Martin Rushent. He contacted me after he saw something I'd written about him on the old CCS page on Jeff Dove's site. Really a very nice and humble guy. Had no idea how admired he was by a lot of gear-oriented music nerds.

I met Martin and yes a lovely guy and as you say Chris very humble. I also got lucky enough to visit his Genetix studio in Streatley as my aunt was his cleaner. He produced so many great bands Buzzcocks/Generation X/The Stranglers/ Human League and so on.

That’s Bull!


Note: locale joke for those that have been to Streatley

[Marky Dread]

I got some text messages about this earlier tonight and couldn't believe it. I've been revisiting some Buzzcocks tunes just now and as CK says, that original (well, post-Devoto) line-up created stuff that is just timeless. Three albums and a string of singles that any band would give their eye teeth to have done.
Not forgetting Spiral Scratch of course, such a perfect standalone work of art in its own right, in so many ways.
The reformed / reconfigured group were not too shabby either - 'Innocent' is one of my favourite shoulda-coulda lost singles - and I like the fact Pete and co continued to write and perform new stuff right through to the end.
RIP Pete Shelley - another one gone too early.

I actually had an email exchange about 20 years ago with Martin Rushent. He contacted me after he saw something I'd written about him on the old CCS page on Jeff Dove's site. Really a very nice and humble guy. Had no idea how admired he was by a lot of gear-oriented music nerds.

I met Martin and yes a lovely guy and as you say Chris very humble. I also got lucky enough to visit his Genetix studio in Streatley as my aunt was his cleaner. He produced so many great bands Buzzcocks/Generation X/The Stranglers/ Human League and so on.

That’s Bull!


Note: locale joke for those that have been to Streatley

Yep sank a few in there mate.