Since
forming in the summer of '76 in Manchester, England, The Buzzcocks have
released a string of critically-acclaimed albums--Another Music in
a Different Kitchen, Love Bites, and A 
Different
Kind of Tension--in 1978 and 1979 before calling it quits while preparing
to record a fourth album in 1981. Though not as overtly political as The
Clash or as shocking and scandal-ridden as The Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks
have nonetheless carved out their own important place in the annals of
rock as punk-pop pioneers with such memorable and catchy songs as "Autonomy,"
"Orgasm Addict," and "What Do I Get?" The band's recent catalogue--1993's
Trade
Test Transmissions, 1996's All Set, 1999's Modern, and
2003's self-titled release (Merge Records)--not only features a new rhythm
section in bassist Tony Barber and drummer Phil Barker, but it picks up
where the band left off and rightfully reaffirms their legendary status.
Tidal
Wave's P. J. Osborne recently caught up with guitarist, vocalist, and
first-time author Steve Diggle before the band opened for Pearl Jam in
Columbus, OH. Diggle's memoir,
Harmony in My Head, about his life
in the band is due to hit bookshelves near you soon.
Tidal
Wave: Although the band hails from Manchester, do you have any fond
memories of the summer of '76--the so-called "Summer of Hate" in London?
Steve
Diggle: Yeah, It was one of the hottest summers on record; I remember
that. We had three weeks to get the band together to support The Sex Pistols
in the summer of '76. They were kind of unheard of then; they had only
done a few shows in London at Chelsea College and a couple of [other] places.
When we came to Manchester, we opened up for them, and the press came to
review them and discovered a punk band in Manchester, so that kind of put
us on the map and set us on our way. It was quite an amazing summer. It
was a summer of frustration, too, in terms of there being no music scene
relevant to the generation at the time.
TW:
Let's
fast forward a bit. Having performed at KROQ's Inland Invasion 2 festival
in September, what sets from other bands on that bill could you not afford
to miss?
SD:
The Sex Pistols for old time's sake, and The Damned were really good as
well. We met up with them, [The Damned], in Japan a couple of years back;
we saw their shows there, and they were really quite good. That's part
of the nucleus that we started with, and I think the most significant bands
that performed there.
TW:
Colin
Newman of Wire recently said their reunion was a reaction to the sad state
of current music. Do you and your bandmates share his sentiments?
SD:
Yeah, I think it's important The Buzzcocks came and are still around in
this world, you know. On this tour--we've been over here about three weeks
now--the warmth from the crowd seems like it has heightened, so it seems
to justify us being around. It's been an amazing tour, in terms of the
reception we've had from people. It's almost like this punk thing has become
fashionable again, you know. Buzzcocks's music has tended to transcend
a lot of fashions over the years, and the records still sound as fresh
as they did when you first put them on years ago. It was just time for
us to come out and put out a new record and tour again, and it's been going
incredibly well.
TW:
One
of the band's original members, Howard DeVoto, collaborated with Steve
Shelley for an album last year (Buzzkunst), and he also co-wrote
two songs ("Stars" and "Lester Sands") for the new album. What events led
to his recent contributions?
SD:
Well, one of the songs we did right at the beginning when we first got
together--"Lester Sands"--was on our first demo tape. As we were putting
songs together for the album, we realized that song had never been released,
and we just started playing it in rehearsals for the new record. We thought
that after all these years, we'd make it official and put in on the album.
And of course, the other song ["Stars"] is off the Shelley-
DeVoto
album they did, and we wanted to put a vocal on it, and do a full Buzzcocks
version of it, because the original is more electronic, so we put those
two on, and we thought they'd complement the batch of songs we had at the
time for the album. Howard wasn't in the studio or anything like that;
we didn't collaborate in that way.
TW:
How
hard do you find it to transfer the sort of energy that you possess on
stage to a record?
SD:
It's not that difficult, really, but then again, for most bands it has
always been difficult to capture that magic. I think we've got a live feel
on the new album, and it's polished as well. It's a very basic sounding
record; we've got the guitars a bit louder on it, and it's a simple, straightforward,
full-on album; it's very direct, and it seems to work, because a lot of
people seem to say it's a return to form. On the last album, ["Modern"],
we had a few electronic noises here and there and a few weird guitar noises.
On this one, we're going straight for the throat and staying to the basics.
But playing live is a different ball game; it's a different place; you
react differently. It's the feedback from the crowd and us giving it back.
It generates something else. When playing live, you're out to capture that
magic from the record, and you only have that hour and a half to do it.
That's the beauty of playing live.
