Buzzcocks

Buzzcocks are an English rock music group from Manchester, most famous for their part in the punk boom during the late 1970s.

They were one of the key first generation punk rock bands in the mid to late 1970s. Inspired by the Sex Pistols, the band themselves were an important influence on both the Manchester music scene and the independent label movement.

Many of Buzzcocks' singles have had a pop-punk sound, which later influenced later bands such as Green Day. Other songs have had a harder edge, and served as a basis for such bands as Crucifucks. "Ever Fallen in Love?", one of Buzzcocks best-known songs, has been covered by many other artists, most famously by Fine Young Cannibals.

The name Buzzcocks comes from local quaint slang (used mostly by the elderly) meaning "youngster". The group's adoption of the name was influenced by its use in the 1970s ITV television drama serial Rock Follies.

The band was formed by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto soon after they had met and travelled to London together to see the Sex Pistols in February 1976. Shelley and Devoto were impressed by what they saw and arranged for the...