Buzzcocks to play 2 gigs with Howard Devoto
Buzzcocks to play gigs with Howard Devoto?
Buzzcocks are planning two very special gigs next year.
Tickets will be dispensed on a first-come-first-served basis.
Available from all the usual suspects from 9am Friday 2nd December 2011.
Buzzcocks are planning some special gigs next year with Howard Devoto singing with them for part of the set. Our hunch is that this means both the ‘Spiral Scratch’ EP and the ‘Times Up’ demos will be getting played.
The plan seems to be that the current line up plays first, then the ‘classic’ line up that In a three-part evening of pure Buzzcocks entertainment, they will kick off with new and contemporary material featuring the current line-up of Pete Shelley (vocals / guitar), Steve Diggle (vocals / guitar), Chris Remington (bass guitar) and Danny Farrant (drums).
Part two sees Pete and Steve perform the United Artists classic years tunes featuring the classic line-up of Shelley / Diggle and Steve Garvey (bass guitar) and John Maher (drums) before the evenings proceedings will be brought to a clamouring close in part three by Pete, Steve, and John being joined on stage for the first time in over 33 years by original co-founder and front man, Howard Devoto!
Performing the four tracks featured on the bands debut Spiral Scratch EP : Breakdown , Times Up, Boredom and Friends Of Mine, Spiral Scratch is / was / will evermore be the most important EP ever. Roughly recorded in December 1976, then boldly manufactured, released and distributed by Buzzcocks themselves in 1977, the entire UK independent record industry owes its existence to that very act of autonomy. Never was so much owed by so many to so few….
There are two shows…
Manchester Apollo on May 25th
Brixton Academy on May 26th
tickets will be available soon from the usual places…and from gigcartel
The original Buzzcocks line up is one of the key groups of punk. They only played 11 gigs, and released one EP but their importance is massive.
We would argue that they invented punk rock DIY by putting on the two legendary Sex Pistols gigs in Manchester in the summer of 1976; they extended this by self releasing the classic 4 track ‘Spiral Scratch’ EP in January 1977. The rudimentary sound of that EP is as close as you can get to the real sound of punk rock without any major label polish. The songs were rough and ready but also complex and brilliantly constructed with Howard Devoto’s brilliantly clever lyrics and sardonic singing style so key. There is a very good argument that the whole so called ‘indie’ scene started here. Along with local artist Linder they were the creative core that provided the platform for the post punk creativity that came out of Manchester.
Howard Devoto left the band in the first week of 1977 to eventually form Magazine making him the first person to become disillusioned with punk Itslef, an act so punk rock that it’s perfect.
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Super-keen on this!
Wow! That sounds amazing. Fingers crossed.
[...] of probably less than 3,000 people. Does that apply to any of you? (we may need proof). However I just read via Louder Than War that the original members are going to play two very special shows t…. The concerts take place May 25/26 in Manchester and London and I know that’s a long way off [...]
[...] of probably less than 3,000 people. Does that apply to any of you? (we may need proof). However I just read via Louder Than War that the original members are going to play two very special shows t…. The concerts take place May 25/26 in Manchester and London and I know that’s a long way off [...]
I can’t see how they are claiming it is the original line up when the original drummer isn’t in the line-up. Maher was a member from start to finish from 1976 til they spilt in the eighties!!!
awesome …
[...] of this unlikely village that, for too long, has suffered from the painful vacuum of Compo and co. Buzzcocks arrived fresh from the news of fleeting reunion gigs with Howard Devoto and John Maher in … A fact that will be sure to throw a new spotlight on the band’s enduring, and evergreen legacy. [...]
Quote Helen “I can’t see how they are claiming it is the original line up when the original drummer isn’t in the line-up. Maher was a member from start to finish from 1976 til they spilt in the eighties”
Maher is in the Line up and as incredible as these gigs are going to be, can’t wait, if you want to split hairs on the original line up what about the original Bass player Garth or the Original Drummer Mick Singleton?(Pre Maher)