Buzzcocks: Classic or Dud

By the time you get to "Airwaves Dream," you're a million miles from "Orgasm" (one of the few songs I knew) - it's positively Joy Divisionish.

"Ever Fallen In Love" might be the my favorite single by a first-wave UK punk band.

OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!!

Over-familiarisation with their music ruined the Buzzcocks for me big time.

Try the Fastbacks. "The Question Is NO" is their "Singles Going Steady" (and is just as good says me).

Get the fuck in, Peter Shelley. What a band.

Devoto

Right, they've done Jonathan Ross and Simon thingy as guest presenters.

Let's be having Pete Shelley up next you bbc you.

We need a new recd from Howard about now I think.

Anyone see the Devoto/Shelley piece in Q's Machester Special? Good Slaughter and The Dogs article too.

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And rather fine it is too.

It's good - but if you want to buy one post '89 Buzzcocks album I'd recommend 2003's Buzzcocks (for starters).

Quite apart from being probably the best album they've recorded since they reformed, it includes a version of the original Howie-era song "Lester Sands" (previously only available on the Time's Up bootleg) and a more aggressive take on "'Til The Stars In His Eyes Are Dead" (retitled simply "Stars") from the previous year's ShelleyDevoto album Buzzkunst.

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I prefer TTT myself, but 'Buzzcocks' is pretty damned good too. Haven't heard the new one yet - my copy's in the post. Just don't break your neck to find copies of 'All Set' and 'Modern' cos they're decidedly patchy to these ears.

If you want to head the post '89 band in rip-roaring live form, then the two CDs issued by Dojo in 1995 are what you want: 'French', and the mail-order only 'Encore Du Pain'. IIRC they have been reissued as one double CD called 'The complete French sessions' or some such.

There's 'Totally from the heart' and 'Give it to me' too. The rest of it's a bit shonky, though.

Is 'All set' the only out-of-print Buzzcocks album?

Anyway I picked up the rerelease of TTT (there's lots of copies for £3.95 in SellandBuy in Harrow) and I'm pleased to say that it sounds a lot better than the orig. It's still not a great production - the guitars are a bit diffuse at times and the drums are not well recorded - but it's a lot more listenable than before. I guess we're somewhat spoiled by the classic Rushent productions - urgent and poweful, yet lots of space. I don't know Ralph Ruppert, producer of TTT, anyone know what else he's produced? He's German apparently.

Don't ever recall seeing it myself, but Jeff Hall's discography says:

"CD released (UK) as EMI CZ93"

so maybe it was and it's also OOP?

> I wonder if XL1 will do have the computer graphics that were on the original tape release.

Anyone got a working Speccy to play them on? I'll YSI 'em if anyone wants.

Finally, after all these years, got to see the 'cocks last night at Beverley Leisure Centre - an incongruous venue and even more worryingly it was billed as part of the Beverley Folk Festival.

I wasn't expecting much.

Images of Shelley and Diggle morris dancing onto the stage in aran sweaters were exploded

THEY WERE FUCKING AMAZING!!! Wave after wave of the best pop punk songs on the planet.
Steve Diggle particularly was worth the price alone. A fucking nutter,grinning like a loon, pulling all the poses. Shelley just stood there with that cocked head belting out all the hits for the kids (actually old bastards like me withtheir kids).

The two 'new' guys were unnoticeable apart from laying down the impressive rhythm, which is how it should have been.

I was chuffed to bits for Shelley and Diggle. They seemed to be having a wail of a time. Ditto the audience. Saw a lot of old muckers too which made the night even sweeter for me. Nostalgia indeed.

Why's no-one talking about the 2CD reissues of the first 3 albums, eh?

I did mention them on some other thread, but yeah.

Oh, and they're doing a "Don't look back" gig, consisting of the first two albums in full.

What's so wrong with "tension" then?

Oh, and what they should do, is to miss out "I need" and do it after...

Tension's always been my favourite.

the way that mad mad judy segues into raison d'etre just slays me every time

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I bought this on vinyl 15 years ago,.....this is my favourite Buzzcocks record.

Me too!

The 2CD deluxe reissues were finally made available in the U.S. in February, and at the price of a single CD most places! Appropriately, at their Double Door show on Sunday they will be featuring Another Music in A Different Kitchen and Love Bites. Woo hoo!

I saw Pete walking south on University Place earlier this week. I said "Pete" and saluted him, and he looked at me sideways (somewhat understandably).

A CLASS(IC) ACT

Great, but sure went downhill after Devoto left.

me roommate really hit it off with Steve Diggle after one of their shows the other week. they've been texting each other since. she's pretty =D about it.

me? my.

They played every single song from first two albums in order. I thought I'd take a bar break for "Late For the Train" but even that was much more entertaining live than on record (the drummer had a blast with it). Diggle has aged well (I saw them in 06 but it was my birthday and had too many shots to remember it well) and Shelley looked like Archie Bunker, which made it even more awesome. It was a 110 degree sauna in there, but they were troopers, coming back out to play most of the remaining singles of the era. The set was well over 90 minutes!

I want to discuss A Different Kind of Tension. Even the by-numbers stuff is tinged with dread, beside which even "What Do I Get" sounds facile – I'm thinking "You Say You Don't Love Me."

cheap shot, but It's hard to evoke dread in a brand new jeep.