May. 26, 2010 - Issue #762: Timeland

Buzzcocks timeline 1975 to 2006

Buzzcocks have taken their share of twists and turns

1975
Bolton Institute of Technology student Howard Trafford places a notice on campus looking for musicians who share his affinity for the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray." The notice is answered by fellow student Peter McNeish and the two go on to recruit other musicians to form a band. After changing their stage names to Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley respectively, a nascent version of Buzzcocks is born.

1976
Buzzcocks makes its debut in February, opening for the Sex Pistols in Manchester. By the end of the year, the band had recorded a four-song EP, entitled Spiral Scratch, that it released on its own label, New Hormones. Buzzcocks was only the second punk band to embrace the spirit of DIY by establishing its own label to release its own records.

1977
Howard Devoto leaves the band and the solidified lineup of Shelley on guitar and vocals, Steve Diggle on guitar, Steve Garvey on bass and John Maher on drums signs to record label United Artists and releases the single "Orgasm Addict." Though the BBC refuses to play the song, the single sells well and the group's next single, 1978's "What Do I Get?" reaches the UK's Top 40 charts, peaking at number 37.

1978
Buzzcocks releases its first two albums, Another Music in a Different Kitchen in March and Love Bites in September. Both albums managed to hit the charts, with Another Music ... peaking at number 15 and Love Bites number 13. Love Bites contained the group's most commercially successful—and arguably best-known—song, "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)," which peaks at number 12 on the singles chart and whose chorus lyrics were lifted from the musical Guys 'n' Dolls.

1979
The release of Buzzcocks' third album, A Different Kind of Tension, which allmusic.com describes as the "most fragmented" of the three albums from the group's first phase of existence. Although there are plenty of songs in the pop music vein the group was known for, increasingly experimental sounds start to creep into the songs. Though the spine of the vinyl cover would state, "this is only the third album," it turned out to be the group's last for quite a while.

1981
With leader Pete Shelley focused on an electronic music-based solo career, the group disbands.

1989
The furor which erupted over Steve Diggle's use of the Buzzcocks name to promote his solo project inadvertently leads to a band reunion.

1993
Buzzcocks releases its first album in 14 years, Trade Test Transmissions. The album is the first to feature bassist and drummer Tony Barber and Phil Barker, who replaced Garvey and Maher in 1992. Between 1992 and 2006 this lineup would remain stable, getting together to tour with the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, as well as release four more albums: 1996's All Set, 1999's Modern, 2003's Buzzcocks and 2006's Flat-Pack Philosophy.

2006
Danny Farrant replaces Phil Barker on drums to form Buzzcocks' current lineup. V

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Fri, May 28 (8 pm)
Buzzcocks
With guests
New City, $25

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