Buzzcocks

Key players at the birth of punk rock, The Buzzcocks took the visceral energy of the genre but replaced snarling antagonism with joyously adolescent, breakneck power pop. One of the first bands outside of London inspired by the burgeoning punk scene, Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley arranged the Sex Pistols' legendary Lesser Free Trade Hall gig in Manchester, 1976; before the band went on the road with The Clash, signed to United Artists Records and had their first mainstream single Orgasm Addict banned by the BBC. Centred around the songwriting partnership of front man Shelley and guitarist Steve Diggle, the band became a favourite of Radio 1 DJ John Peel and inspired generations of post-punk starlets with the albums Another Music In A Different Kichen (1978), Love Bites (1978) and the classic single Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn''ve). The band split in 1981 but reformed in 1989, supporting Nirvana on their last ever UK tour and Pearl Jam in 2003.