Pete Shelley Had The Most Punk Guitar Ever
No explanation needed.
Buzzcocks helped the Sex Pistols/Punk Rock gain national recognition
With the two early DIY punk shows at the Lesser Free Trade they played a big part in helping punk break out of London, which also led to the Pistols get their first TV appearance through Manchester’s Tony Wilson.
Buzzcocks basically started the DIY Punk Scene
The Pistols and The Clash were great but they signed major record deals. Buzzcocks released their own Spiral Scratch EP in January 1977, paving the way for all DIY punk bands to release their own records, making them arguably the most important of the first wave of bands. No, I don’t want an argument.
They Had The Most Punk Guitar Solo Ever
Pete’s Non-Macho Stance & Love Songs
Anarchy in the UK, White, Riot etc we boss but Pete said it was OK to be a punk and not be macho, writing a string of classic love songs. This opened up punk to many people who otherwise probably wouldn’t have thought they could write songs or be in a band.
Listen: Buzzcocks – What Do I Get?
Buzzcocks also gave us Magazine!
When Howard Devoto left to form Magazine it gave us another classic and totally different band.
Listen: Magazine – Shot By Both Sides
Amazing Pop-Art Record Covers
After years of dreary hippy album covers Buzzcocks designer Malcolm Garrett produced brilliant edgy and imaginative covers for their records.
They helped establish Independent Records Labels & Shops
Their New Hormones label as the first DIY label, paved the way for Independent labels such as Factory, Rough Trade etc. and establish ‘indie’ as a genre…and that includes releases by loads of great bands such as Joy Division, The Fall, Pere Ubu, The Raincoats etc. (not just the drippy indie stuff).
Buzzcocks helped bring back the classic 7″ Pop Single
Before punk, in the corporate prog era, the album was king. Punk helped bring back credible music to the pop charts with the great singles from 1977 onwards. Buzzcocks did as much as anyone with a string of singles that stand up against even the likes of The Ronettes, The Supremes, The Beatles as classic three minute pop songs.
Listen: Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love
Buzzcocks helped give us The Fall
Buzzcocks were very supportive of the early Fall and Buzzcocks manager Richard Boon, stumped up the money for The Fall to record their first Bingo Masters Breakout EP. Thanks Richard.
Listen: The Fall – Bingo Masters Breakout EP