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I Buzzcocks furono una delle formazioni piu` dotate del punk-rock britannico
e sarebbero state altrettanto influenti dei Sex Pistols
sulle generazioni future. Se i Sex Pistols aprirono la corrente "hardcore" del
punk-rock, i Buzzcocks aprirono quella "punk-pop". Entrambi erano figli dei
Ramones, ma isolarono di quel gruppo visionario
due elementi diversi: da un lato la violenza, dall'altro la melodia.
I Buzzcocks si erano formati a Manchester.
Howard Devoto (canto), Pete Shelley (chitarra),
Steve Diggle (basso) e John Maher (batteria) approfittarono del boom del
punk-rock per pubblicare
il singolo ormai storico Orgasm Addict (ottobre 1977), e soprattutto
l'EP Spiral Scratch (New Hormones, 1977 - Mute, 1999), che sarebbe
comunque importante perche' fu una delle prime incisioni "indipendenti".
Il brano Boredom valeva anche in se', essendo uno degli inni punk
piu` epici del periodo.
Le canzoni che il gruppo aveva composto nel 1976 verranno pubblicate soltanto
un quarto di secolo dopo su Time's Up (Mute, 1999).
Quando Devoto se ne ando` (per formare i Magazine),
Shelley prese il comando e i Buzzcocks presero a sfornare canzoni molto
piu` melodiche della media. Se le liriche parlavano ancora
dell'angoscia adolescenziale dei ragazzi, le musiche svelavano invece
l'influenza di Kinks e Who, da
What Do I Get (febbraio 1978) a I Don't Mind
(1978), con coro epico alla Clash, e Ever Fallen In Love (1978),
il loro massimo hit e la loro romanza pop per eccellenza.
Gli album
Another Music In A Different Kitchen (UA, 1978) e
Love Bites (UA, 1978) sfiguravano in confronto a tale dovizia di
melodie memorabili.
A ritornelli facili e sentimentali come Promises si
contrapponevano brani dalla struttura piu` complessa come
Everybody's Happy Nowadays, vagamente psichedelico, o
Harmony In My Head, sospinto da un riff "duro", o
Something's Gone Wrong Again, un boogie decadente.
I primi otto singoli vennero raccolti su Singles Going Steady (IRS, 1979).
Shelley aveva ormai raggiunto la maturita` e le canzoni intellettuali
di A Different Kind Of Tension (UA, 1979),
in particolare You Say You Don't Love Me e I Believe, ne
facevano gia` uno dei piu` creativi cantautori inglesi del momento.
Vide la luce anche l'album che Pete Shelley aveva composto nel 1974,
Sky Yen (Groovy, 1979), un'opera sperimentale di musica elettronica.
Iniziatori della scena di Manchester, i Buzzcocks fusero Beatles e Stooges
in un "punk pop" poetico (invece che polemico) e patetico (invece che epico).
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(Translated by Giorgio Curcetti)
The Buzzcocks were one of the most valid outfits of British punk rock and would have prouven to be as
influential as the Sex Pistols on future generations. If the Sex Pistols opened the punk rock "hardcore"
movement, the buzzcocks opened the "punk pop" one. Both heirs of the Ramones, but of that visionary
group the Buzzcocks isolated two different elements: on one hand the violence, on the other the melody.
The Buzzcocks were formed in Manchester. Howard Devoto (singer, real name Howard Trafford), Pete
Shelley (guitar, real name Peter McNeish), Steve Diggle (bass) and John Maher (drums) took advantage
of the punk rock boom in order to release the nowadays historical single Orgasm Addict (October 1977)
and moreover the E.P. Spiral Scratch (New Hormones, 1977 - Mute, 1999), which would have been of
primary importance because it was the very first one "independent" release. The song Boredom had a
particular importance per se, being one of the most epic punk anthems. The songs the group wrote in
1976 would be released only a quarter of a century later on Time's Up (Mute, 1999).
When Devoto left (in order to form Magazine), Shelley took control at the helm and the Buzzcocks started
releasing songs much more melodic in compared to the average trend. If the lyrics still talked about the
kids' adolescent anguish, the music revealed instead the influence of bands like the Kinks and The Who,
from What Do I Get (February 1978) to I Don't Mind, with epic backing vocals … la Clash, and Ever Fallen
In Love (1978), their most famous hit and their pop epic par excellence.
The albums Another Music In A Different Kitchen (United Artists, 1978) and Love Bites (United Artists,
1978) were slightly undertone compared to their previous cornucopia of memorable melodies.
Easy and sentimental choruses were opposed to songs with a more complex structure like Everybody's
Happy Nowadays, vaguely psychedelic, or Harmony In My Head, pushed by a hard riff, or Something's
Gone Wrong Again, a decadent boogie. The first eight singles were gathered in a compilation called
Singles Going Steady (IRS, 1979).
Shelley had just reached artistic maturity and the intellectual songs of A Different Kind Of Tension (United
Artists, 1979), particularly You Say You Don't Love Me and I Believe, made him just one of the most
creative English singer-songwriters of the time.
Even the album Pete Shelley had composed in 1974, Sky Yen, was released on Groovy in 1979, an
experimental work of electronic music.
Kickstarters of the Manchester scene, the Buzzcocks fused Beatles and Stooges whose result was a
poetic "punk pop" (as opposed to polemic) and pathetic (as opposed to epic).
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