Buzzcocks - The Complete History. Tony McGartland
at 364 Lower Broughton Road.
Meanwhile, since realising the great demand for drummers, Maher has still been trying unsuccessfully to join several bands as a guitarist, but, with his suspicions now confirmed, he hires a kit for £20 and, soon afterwards, trades all his guitar equipment in to buy his own drum kit. He teaches himself by playing along to records in the front room of his house, but the neighbours are not impressed, so, after several complaints, he starts looking through the adverts in Melody Maker.
John recalls the first time Howard introduced himself: ‘At this stage I’d owned a drum kit for about six weeks. It didn’t take long for my parents and the neighbours to start complaining about the noise. I figured the best way to get the kit out of the house was to join a band. I spotted a “musicians wanted” advert in Melody Maker with a Manchester phone number. It said something along the lines of, “Girl drummer wishes to meet other beginner musicians to form band.” Classing myself as a beginner, I gave her a call from the local phone box. She explained she was aiming to hook up with a guitarist and bass player at similar novice level – the idea being they could all progress together.’
A few days later, John is about to cycle back to school to sit his chemistry O-level when the doorbell rings. It’s Howard. He explains how he’s got his address and, when he asks what kind of music he’s into, he says ‘high-energy pop’.
‘I was invited to Lower Broughton Road for my first rehearsal with Buzzcocks the following Saturday. Then Howard jumped over the garden gate and ran off down the street at high speed. I remember thinking that was a bit odd.’ Shortly after, just before Maher leaves his house to sit his chemistry O-level, Devoto calls round to ask if he would be interested in joining Buzzcocks, without an audition.
Jun 12th
Every Saturday between this one and the debut gig, Maher rehearses with Devoto, Shelley and Diggle in the basement of Devoto’s flat, in preparation for the rearranged debut gig, now on 20 July. It is a large terraced house, big enough for rehearsals, but the noise does little to please the neighbours.
Owen Jordan is living next door to Devoto at 366 Lower Broughton Road, and, since he is a youth-club leader in the area, he offers the young band the chance to put on a concert for the kids of the youth club and the space to rehearse at St Boniface’s Primary School in Salford. The building is adjacent to St Boniface Church and youth club, which is the building they would soon play in. It is a thinly veiled manoeuvre to eradicate the noisy band from his home life. They accept nonetheless.
Jun 16th
Maher decides against a job with the Methodist Insurance Company in Manchester and formally joins Buzzcocks.
Jun 22nd
Boon leaves Reading University after four years studying art. Putting off vague plans to take a postgraduate teacher-training course, he moves in with Devoto in Lower Broughton Road: ‘I didn’t really know what to do once I’d graduated. There was a room available in this notorious house, so I moved into it.’
Jul 19th
Pete Shelley and Richard Boon enjoy a drink in Cox’s Bar the night before Buzzcocks’ debut at Lesser Free Trade Hall.
Jul 20th
Buzzcocks (finally) play their first full gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall, supporting the Sex Pistols. Local glam rock band Slaughter & the Dogs also play. Songs from the set include ‘Breakdown’, ‘Oh Shit!’, ‘I Love You, You Big Dummy’, ‘Time’s Up’ and ‘I Can’t Control Myself’.
Shelley buys a cheap Woolworth’s Audition guitar especially for the preplanned destruction of the gig to follow. At the end of the set, both Devoto and Shelley pull violently at the strings, ripping them from the new instrument, while Maher runs through the crowd and out into the night. A New Zealander friend of Devoto’s called Mark Roberts makes an 8mm soundless film of the performance. Among those in the audience is Boon’s friend from Leeds University, Sue Cooper, who becomes a close friend of the band and eventually moves up to Manchester to assist Boon at the New Hormones office.
After the gig, Buzzcocks meet Linder Sterling, a graphic artist who produces some early artwork for the band, using only her first name. They go for a drink to the Conti Club. Devoto and Linder soon start going out together. Through Linder, the band meet Malcolm Garrett, her friend from Manchester Polytechnic. This marks the beginning of a long association as Garrett produces the Buzzcocks logo and works on the band’s visual presentation throughout their career. Meanwhile, despite selling four hundred tickets at £1, Buzzcocks make a profit of only £10.
Jul 21st
Back in Salford, Buzzcocks play an unpublicised gig at St Boniface’s Church Youth Club, by way of repaying the church hall for allowing them to rehearse there. Owen Jordan remembers, ‘I was living next door to these young lads and, after they moved in, I could hear the music coming from the cellar below. I didn’t know what it was. I got to know Howard. We started talking and I told him I was a youth leader in the area. He offered to play at the youth centre and I let them use the old school building to rehearse. They played for about thirty minutes. They were nice lads.’
Since the majority of the gig’s audience are so young (only eight or nine years old), Devoto suggests they change the words of ‘Oh Shit!’ to ‘Oh Spit!’. The six-number set also features ‘Fast Cars’ being played for the first time. Diggle uses his bass amplifier to stop the bass drum sliding around. Meanwhile, several kids run around in circles, sliding on the floorboards in their sock soles and shrieking loudly as the band play.
Owen invites his friend Peter Adamson to the gig as he is a trainee music teacher and has a keen interest in music. Adamson says, ‘It was the St Boniface’s old Primary School, which is now effectively disused. The building was adjacent to the church and new youth club, which was the building they played in. The gear was in that building and I went along to help carry it. The funny thing about the gig was there were only about ten people in the audience. Owen, Vinny Burke and myself and a handful of kids. Before the gig started I asked Howard Devoto what sort of music they played and he said, “You’ll soon find out.” I asked the kids afterwards what they thought of the band and they replied, “Rubbish!”’
Jul 31st
Because McLaren had ferried many journalists to the Lesser Free Trade Hall gig from London, Buzzcocks were seen on their full debut by many top writers. Consequently, a review of Buzzcocks’ debut gig appears in Sounds under the headline ‘Anarchy in the UK’. After seeing his name in print, Pete Shelley buys three copies.
Aug 6th
During rehearsals at St Boniface’s, Shelley’s guitar strap comes off and his guitar falls to the floor. He picks it up and throws it across the room, breaking it into two pieces.
After meeting a photographer called Phil Mason from the New Manchester Review, Devoto invites him to shoot some pictures of Buzzcocks during one of the rehearsals. ‘The band had been together for two months,’ recalls John Maher, ‘and played two gigs. Howard arranged for Phil Mason to come along to one of our rehearsals at St Boniface’s in Salford and conduct our first ever photo shoot. Prior to the session, Howard dug out a selection of clothes in an attempt to improve our image. Steve got the stripy cardigan. I was advised to replace my V-neck jumper with the jeans-style jacket. Howard’s polka-dot top was an inverted plastic carrier bag from a French supermarket, with slots cut for his head and arms. He didn’t offer any replacements for my flares and spoon shoes.’
Aug 12th
Buzzcocks play the Ranch Club, Manchester. The venue was originally a gay club, adjoining Foo Foo’s Palace, a drag artist’s residence. The stage is in a small