Love Bites: The Music of Pete Shelley & Buzzcocks & Show # 761

Pete Shelley formed the early punk band Buzzcocks in the UK with Howard Devoto in 1976 after seeing a Sex Pistols gig in Manchester in 1975. Along with Steve Diggle and John Maher, Buzzcocks recorded and released their Spiral Scratch EP in 1977 on their independent label, New Hormones. It was one of the first independent releases during the UK punk era of the late 70s, put out without the help of major record labels. Adhering to the DIY punk ethos, the success of this release inspired other bands and DIY labels to put out music on their own. Shortly after this release, Howard Devoto left the group, with Shelley taking the lead vocal/lead guitar role in the group. Steve Diggle switched to rhythm guitar from bass and bassist Steve Garvey would eventually join the group that when combined with drummer John Maher, formed the classic Buzzcocks band lineup.

Signing to United Artists, during Buzzcocks initial run with the classic band lineup they released three full-length albums, Another Music In A Different Kitchen (1978), Love Bites (1978) and A Different Kind of Tension in 1979. They also put out numerous singles and B-sides during this time period, most of which were collected for the 1979 compilation album Singles Going Steady. Originally released via I.R.S. Records in 1979, this compilation was put together to coincide with a tour that the band were doing of the US. It was also the first Buzzcocks album to be released in North America and also served as an introduction of the band to US audiences. Due to the strength of the songs in this collection, many people often cite this as one of the band’s best albums despite the fact that it is a compilation album made up of singles and their corresponding B-sides. At the time of this album’s release, Buzzcocks were on the verge of collapse and in 1981 the band split.

In addition to playing in Buzzcocks, Shelley’s also had a solo career, beginning with 1980’s Sky Yen. This album ventured into electronic and drone music. 1981’s Homosapien explored electronic pop and synthesizer based music in its early pioneering days. The music created during this period yielded three solo albums all within a similar synth rock vein. The first two albums Shelley recorded were produced by Martin Rushent. Homosapien (1981) and XL1 (1983) both explored what was new musical technology at the time such as synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines. The sound created on these albums were in part experiments with new sounds, but at the same time they still showcased Shelley’s ability to write catchy pop songs. “Homosapien” and “Telephone Operator” are good examples of Shelley's songwriting in the 80s when armed with different musical landscapes and technologies. The sounds he created were later explored to greater success with The Human League, whose album Dare was also produced by Rushent. In 1986, Shelley released Heaven & The Sea. Produced by Stephen Hague, the album added more texture and layers to the sound that Shelley developed on Homosapien and XL1.

Buzzcocks reformed in 1989 and an album followed in 1991 entitled Trade Test Transmissions. The lineup of the band would shift at this time and during different time periods in the later parts of Buzzcocks career, but the band toured from 1989 pretty much until Shelley’s passing in December 2018. Many albums were recorded and released in between this period including All Set (1996), Modern (1999), Buzzcocks (2003), Flat-Pack Philosophy (2006) and The Way in 2014. Buzzcocks mastered the art of the short pop song. The song “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) from Buzzcocks 1978 album Love Bites, was inspired by a line from the movie Guys and Dolls and has been called a pop masterpiece by many. The music he created with Buzzcocks often combined elements of punk, pop and power pop, to create catchy, memorable songs, often dealing with love gone wrong. Lyrically, his songs were often witty and open to interpretation and challenged the conventions of song writing. The songs that he created often spoke to people in a certain way, people of all types and will continue to do so.

Love Bites: The Music of Pete Shelly & Buzzcocks Playlist:

1. Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (Live Lesser Free Trade Hall 7-21-1978) (Love Bites (Deluxe Edition) - EMI - 2010)
2. Buzzcocks - Boredom (Spiral Scratch EP - New Hormones - 1977)
3. Buzzcocks - Lester Sands (A Drop In The Ocean) (Time's Up - Voto - 1978)
4. Buzzcocks - Don't Mess Me Around (Time's Up - Voto - 1978)
5. Buzzcocks - Whatever Happened To (Demo) (Another Music In A Different Kitchen (Deluxe Edition) - EMI - 2010)
6. Buzzcocks - Fast Cars (Peel Session 09-07-1977) (The Peel Sessions Album - Strange Fruit - 1989)
7. Buzzcocks - Fiction Romance (Another Music In A Different Kitchen - United Artists Records - 1978)
8. Buzzcocks - Love You More (Singles Going Steady - I.R.S. Records - 1979)
9. Buzzcocks - Promises (Singles Going Steady - I.R.S. Records - 1979)
10. Buzzcocks - Nostalgia (Love Bites - United Artists Records - 1978)
11. Buzzcocks - Sixteen Again (Love Bites - United Artists Records - 1978)
12. Buzzcocks - E.S.P. (Love Bites - United Artists Records - 1978)
13. Buzzcocks - You Say You Don't Love Me (A Different Kind of Tension - United Artists Records - 1979)
14. Buzzcocks - Hollow Inside (A Different Kind of Tension - United Artists Records - 1979)
15. Pete Shelley - Homosapien (Homosapien - Genetic Records/Arista Records - 1981)
16. Pete Shelley - Yesterday's Not Here (Homosapien - Genetic Records/Arista Records - 1981)
17. Pete Shelley - Telephone Operator (XL1 - Genetic Records/Arista Records - 1983)
18. Pete Shelley - XL1 (XL1 - Genetic Records/Arista Records - 1983)
19. Pete Shelley - On Your Own (Heaven & The Sea - Mercury Records - 1986)
20. ShelleyDevoto - Can You See Me Shining? (Buzzkunst - Cooking Vinyl - 2002)
21. Buzzcocks - Morning After (Buzzcocks - Cherry Red/Merge Records - 2003)
22. Buzzcocks - Flat-Pack Philosophy (Flat-Pack Philosophy - Cooking Vinyl - 2006)
23. Buzzcocks - Everybody's Happy Nowadays (Singles Going Steady - I.R.S. Records - 1979)
24. Buzzcocks - Noise Annoys (Peel Session 10-04-1978) (The Peel Sessions Album - Strange Fruit - 1989)
25. Buzzcocks - What Do I Get? (Singles Going Steady - I.R.S. Records - 1979)
26. Buzzcocks - I Look Alone (C81 - Rough Tapes - 1981)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for February 9.