With their crisp melodies, Pete Shelley's biting lyrics, and Shelley's and Steve Diggle's driving guitars, Buzzcocks were one of most influential bands to emerge in the initial wave of punk rock. Buzzcocks were inspired by the Sex Pistols' energy, but they didn't copy the Pistols' angry political stance. Instead, they brought that intense, brilliant energy to the three-minute pop song. Kicking off with the "Spiral Scratch" single -- made when Howard Devoto was their lead singer -- their initial run of singles were powered by Shelley's alternately funny and anguished lyrics about adolescence and love backed by melodies and hooks that were concise and memorable. They released two albums in 1978 (Another Music in a Different Kitchen and Love Bites) that tightened up and refined their pop-punk sound, then the more experimental A Different Kind of Tension in 1979 before the fast pace of their career and problems with their record label led the band to break up in 1981. When the band re-formed in 1989, it began a long string of tours and albums that exhibited the same spirit the band had shown from the start, including a self-titled record for Merge in 2003 and The Way in 2014, which turned out to be Shelley's last album with the band before his 2018 death. The group's powerful punk-pop proved to be enormously influential and timeless, with echoes of their music being apparent in bands like Hüsker Dü, Nirvana, and the Exploding Hearts, along with almost every band who ever attempted to blend the hooks of pop with the energy of punk.nnBefore Buzzcocks, the teenaged Pete Shelley had played guitar in various heavy metal bands. In 1975, he enrolled in the Bolton Institute of Technology. While he was at school, Shelley joined an electronic music society, which is where he met Howard Devoto, who had enrolled at BIT in 1972. Both Shelley and Devoto shared an affection for the Velvet Underground, and Devoto was also fascinated by the Stooges. While they were still in school, Shelley and Devoto began rehearsing with a drummer, covering everything from the Stooges to Brian Eno. The trio never performed live and soon fell apart. Shelley and Devoto remained friends and several months after their initial musical venture dissolved, the pair read the first live review of the Sex Pistols in NME and decided to see the band in London. After witnessing the show twice in February 1976, the pair decided to form their own band, with the intent of replicating the Pistols' London impact in Manchester.nn Both musicians decided to change their last names -- Peter McNeish became Pete Shelley and Howard Traford became Howard Devoto -- and took their group's name from a review of Rock Follies, which ended with the quotation "get a buzz, cock." Buzzcocks began rehearsing, picking up local drummer and bassist Garth Smith. Shortly after their formation, Shelley and Devoto booked a local club, the Lesser Free Trade Hall, with the intent of persuading the Sex Pistols to play in Manchester. They succeeded, but the Buzzcocks had to pull out of their own gig when both the bassist and drummer left the group before the concert. At the Pistols show, Shelley and Devoto met Steve Diggle, who joined Buzzcocks as their bassist, and the group found their drummer John Maher through an advertisement in Melody Maker. Within a few months, the band played its first concert, opening for the second Sex Pistols show at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in July of 1976. By the end of the year, Buzzcocks had played a handful of gigs and helped establish Manchester as the second biggest punk rock city in England, ranking just behind London.nnIn October of 1976, Buzzcocks recorded their first demo tape, which remained unreleased. At the end of 1976, the group joined the Sex Pistols on their Anarchy Tour. After the tour was completed, Shelley borrowed a couple hundred pounds from his father and the band used the money to record their debut EP, Spiral Scratch. The record was the first D.I.Y., independently released record of the punk era. Spiral Scratch appeared on the band's New Hormones record label in January 1977; there were initially only 1,000 copies pressed. Shortly after the release of the EP, Devoto quit the group and returned to college; later in the year, he formed Magazine. Following Devoto's departure, Pete Shelley assumed the role as lead vocalist, Steve Diggle moved to guitar, and Garth Smith became the band's bassist. By June of 1977, Buzzcocks were attracting the attention of major record labels. By September, they had signed with United Artists Records, which gave the band complete artistic control.nnBuzzcocks certainly tested the limits of that artistic control with their debut single, "Orgasm Addict." Released in October of 1977, the single didn't become a hit because its subject matter was too explicit for BBC radio, but it generated good word of mouth. Following its release, Garth Smith was kicked out of the group and was replaced by Steve Garvey. Buzzcocks' second single, "What Do I Get?," became their first charting single, scraping the bottom of the Top 40. In March, the band released its first album, Another Music in a Different Kitchen. In September of 1978, Buzzcocks released their second full-length record, Love Bites.nnThe rapid pace of the band's recording and performing schedules quickly had an effect on the group. Not only were the concerts and recordings wearing the band down, the members were consuming alcohol and drugs in high numbers. Early in 1979 they recorded their third album, A Different Kind of Tension, which displayed some signs of wear and tear. Following the album's release in August, they embarked on their first American tour and later in 1979, the singles collection Singles Going Steady was there.nn All of the inner and outer tensions afflicting the band culminated in 1980, when they drastically cut back their performance schedule, but they persevered with recording, cutting the EP Parts 1, 2, 3, which was released as three separate singles over the course of the year. During 1980, United Artists was bought out by EMI, which cut back support of Buzzcocks. The group began working on its fourth album in early 1981, but was prevented from recording by EMI. The label wanted to release Singles Going Steady in the U.K. before the band delivered its fourth album. Buzzcocks refused. Consequently, EMI didn't give the band an advance to cover the recording costs of the fourth album. Shelley decided to break up the band instead of fight the label, and they split in 1981.nnImmediately afterward, Shelley pursued a solo career that initially produced the hit single "Homosapien" and saw the singer experimenting with electronic pop. Steve Diggle formed Flag of Convenience with John Maher, who quit the band shortly after its formation. Steve Garvey moved to New York, where he played with Motivation for a few years. In 1989, Buzzcocks re-formed and toured the United States. The following year, Maher left and former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce joined the band on tour. By 1990, the reunion had become permanent; after Joyce's brief tenure with the band, the lineup of the reunited Buzzcocks featured Shelley, Diggle, bassist Tony Barber, and drummer Phil Barker. The new version of the band released its first album, Trade Test Transmissions, in 1993. After its release, the band toured frequently. In spring of 1996, Buzzcocks released their fifth studio album, All Set. Modern followed three years later, and a self-titled record for Merge appeared in 2003. Flat-Pack Philosophy arrived in 2006 on the Cooking Vinyl label. An anniversary set simply called 30 was released in 2008 on Cooking Vinyl. In 2014, yet another new lineup -- Shelley, Diggle, bassist Chris Remington, and drummer Danny Farrant -- emerged with a new studio album, The Way, which was supported by an extensive North American tour in addition to their usual roadwork in the U.K. and Europe. On December 6, 2018, Pete Shelley's family and management announced that the singer and guitarist had died in his home that morning of a suspected heart attack; he was 63 years old. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine