Celebrating 50 Years of Buzzcocks
In a darkening musical landscape where viral fads and AI-generated fakery share chart-space with the self-absorbed products of the nationβs stage schools, Buzzcocks shine out as a gleaming beacon of hope.
A constant, ever-evolving presence over the last 45 years of pop culture, the bandβs legendary status will be set in stone β literally β with their inclusion in the Music Walk Of Fame in September, joining an illustrious roll call including David Bowie, The Who, Madness and Amy Winehouse.
The bandβs never-better live shows, meanwhile, are electrifying reminders of rock musicβs power to inspire, educate and inform. All delivered with an energy and conviction of a band half their age.
βItβs my lifeblood,β says Steve Diggle β 68 years young β of a non-stop touring schedule which over the summer will see them play to thousands of fans across Europe and the UK.
βIβve still got the fire in my belly. Some musicians get bored of being on the road, but Iβm institutionalised. Iβve done 50-odd years of staying in hotels. Itβs what I signed up for. Ever since I saw Bob Dylan in the back of a black taxi in (D.A. Pennebakerβs 1967 documentary) Donβt Look Back, I always wanted to live this kind of life β being interviewed in the back of a black taxi on the way to the studio.β
While most of their punk peers are content to traverse the globe in jukebox-style revue shows, Buzzcocks continue to move with the times, attracting new fans wherever they go. A case in point being the huge all-ages crowd the band pulled at the Iggy Pop-headlined Dog Day Afternoon in July.
βThereβs not a lot of intellectual or emotional thinking in music these days,β observes Steve. βPeople are being controlled. Theyβll watch a video of someone falling over a banana skin and think theyβre being entertained. They donβt realise the beauty of words, and the power of music. Iβd like to think young kids who come to see us feel the same excitement I got from Little Richard and Chuck Berry. It goes back to the punk thing. It was about attitude and a way of thinking. We had the questions, but we didnβt have the answers. But the questions are the important thing.β