Pete Shelley's Homosapien LP - classic or dud?

xps yeah this is all over my FB feed in a way that surprises me and warms my heart

just gonna c&p this great remembrance from Lou Barlow:

I sat next to Pete Shelley for the duration (2-3 hrs?) of the Mojo magazine awards a few years back and it was one of th best -getting drunk with a stranger- moments I’ve ever had.. his asides and comments on the assembled group of rock stars around us in his heavy (and ofter indecipherable) Mancunian accent was as hilarious as u can imagine.. the fact that he was one of the greatest songwriters of all time (his raw, sexual, emotionally vulnerable lyrics were a huge influence on me) was initially too much take but I had no choice but to relax, share the free flowing wine and let it happen (and never let on how much his music meant to me.. that would have blown the vibe) ..the two funniest things I remember were: #1 when the Zombies rose to accept an award he said ‘who are they?’ and commented that the way they stood in line, facing forward in profile silhouette, resembled an LP cover (it did).. and #2 at the end of the night he insisted that he had met my mother, when I assured him that was not in any way possible, he wouldn’t take my word for it until we stumbled out to the sidewalk (right into Joe Elliott from Def Leppard who was v nice and not at all bothered when I spat out ‘hey, yer the guy from Def Leppard!!’) .. it finally became clear that Pete thought I was Kevin Shields.. anyway, Pete Shelley seemed t b living the life that a lot of those Manchester punk/post punk genius guys did/do .. prob partying till the end, not giving a shit in the most glorious way.. he spoke the immortal words ‘no Moët no show-ay’ after all (in reference to his rider requirement).. the Buzzcocks recorded many of my favorite songs that only get better and more miraculous sounding with age.. their first recordings invented hardcore and the sophistication of the songwriting puts them shoulder t shoulder w the Beatles etc. and Pete Shelley was a good hang, condolences t all his friends and loved ones..

wow`

no Moët no show-ay

better than "homo superior-ah in my interior-ah"

def

Sweet story, although that was definitely a Lancasheeeeere accent Pete had and not a Manchester one

... not that Lou Barlow could be expected to spot that!

Here’s my favorite Buzzcocks story—and I wish I could remember if it happened at WFMU or at a college radio station. At any rate, it was sometime in the mid-‘90s, in the U.S.

— Douglas Wolk (@douglaswolk) December 6, 2018

man that's great. I got to see them in '91 or '92 (only recently reformed iirc) at the I-Beam in San Francisco and it was the same kinda thing, like one new song and then six total classics in a row and then another new songs and then six more killer oldies played with fire and meaning.

I interviewed him once too and all I can remember is how nice and funny he was. Oh, and I remember calling the hotel's front desk and asking to be transferred to Pete Shelley's room, which was super cool.

Love these stories! Bummed I never saw them/him live

Heard the news late last night and played side 1 of XL-1 just before I went to bed, lovely and appropriate if atypical closer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEyhprjbz3A

Should have posted this, audio synced to the ZX Spectrum computer program that came with the album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4X2FG9Jbqw&t=1080s

don't think anyone's posted this yet, ZX Spectrum code which was the last track on XL-1 and made accompanying visuals for each track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4X2FG9Jbqw

xp gah

looks like I was a second late but got the link right lol

:)

win.

Gratified by how much coverage his death is getting.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/07/pete-shelley-tributes-glen-matlock-pete-hook-jon-savage

Nice, thanks. I clicked through to the other relevant stuff as well. Enjoyed Malcolm Garrett referring to him as the “P.G. Wodehouse of Punk.”

So sad reading that, especially Marc Riley discovering the news while on air. Sounds like one of those guys, like George Michael, whose generosity of spirit and the affection felt for him only becomes widely known after their passing.

> especially Marc Riley discovering the news while on air

same happened when MES died.

(my thoughts went out to radcliffe and maconie when i heard, except radcliffe is off ill and maconie wasn't doing the show this week)

clicked through to the other relevant stuff as well

That Suzanne Moore piece is really good.

only found today. irl i was playing various buzzcocks and shelley for my pop-punk-fan kid the very day he passed! really bummed.

standard style response from me is “someday, sadly, mccartney will pass, and i will say, ‘what a talent! no pete shelley, but RIP.’” damn.

This afternoon I watched They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, the documentary about the making of Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind, which plays "Why Can't I Touch It" over the end credits--something that would have surprised me even if the song wasn't suddenly, sadly timely.

Didn't even occur to me that I was playing the Buzzcocks at the dinner table just a couple of weeks ago, because they're awesome

Yeah, I dug out the "Product" box about a month ago, and had the "Operator's Manual" cd in the car.

Oh, and..

. Sounds like one of those guys, like George Michael, whose generosity of spirit and the affection felt for him only becomes widely known after their passing.

― Dan Worsley, Saturday, December 8, 2018 2:36 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Actually, so many people had said what a nice bloke Pete was over a long period, generous to other bands even back then - along with Johnny Clarke.

better than "homo superior-ah in my interior-ah"

I had never seen the video for “Homosapien” before. I like how they went out of their way to place Pete inside the most interior looking of all interiors (hey, and it’s obviously his, he wears matching clothes!). Can’t decide whether this was supreme irony or a way of providing plausible deniability, or a combination of both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64sxycxRIvI