Buzzcocks survivor Steve Diggle: 'The band's on fire now!'

British punk band Buzzcocks return to play in NZ November 2024 Photo: Supplied

British punk pioneer Steve Diggle of Buzzcocks reflects on life in one of the UK’s pioneering punk rock bands. From his home in the affluent suburb of Highgate, London, he recalls, “All those bands had an individual style,” and adds, “We were doing our thing in Manchester.”

Diggle’s house is just down the road from Ray Davies of The Kinks, one of his early music idols, and now someone he “goes down the pub with.” Having lived in the area for years, he has watched various celebrities come and go. “Across the road used to be George Michael, and next door was Kate Moss. She’s moved now, but she lived there as well.” Diggle even describes spotting Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) buying a newspaper in his neighbourhood.

2024 has been a significant year for Buzzcocks, who have been touring the world, and Diggle has also released a new memoir, Autonomy: Portrait of a Buzzcock. He explains that it came about after Omnibus Press encouraged him to put pen to paper.

Despite this achievement, it’s not what he expected. “You think you’d be proud and kind of like, ‘Oh, got a book out,’ but it’s almost like a third person in a way.”

When Diggle was 20, Buzzcocks brought the Sex Pistols to Manchester, a defining moment that helped him find his place on stage. Their popularity created a buzz around Buzzcocks’ new music.

What was it like being part of that early crop, the beating heart of British punk rock when it was really born in the UK?

“It’s 1976, and there’s a lot of progressive music where one song can take up the whole side of an album, you know? That had run its course. The landscape was barren and boring in '76, and we were thinking, ‘Remember the three-and-a-half-minute song?’ It was exciting!”

What made Buzzcocks so unique?

“We were doing our thing in Manchester. We started two days before The Clash, and we all became friends. Each band had an individual style, which is amazing when you look back. They inspired the next crop, which I don’t think ever quite matched that initial wave. But Buzzcocks had a very unique sound. We had powerful, catchy songs that really blew people’s minds.”

Their first EP, Spiral Scratch, was completely DIY. The band believed a record company would reject it, so they pooled their resources to produce a modest 1,000 copies. To their surprise, “it got great reviews. Then we had six record companies signing it up. You know the irony of that?”

The musical legacy of Buzzcocks is enduring. Diggle notes that Nirvana, R.E.M., and U2 have all acknowledged the band's influence.

However, the past few years have been challenging for the band. In 2018, founding member and front man Pete Shelley passed away suddenly from a heart attack in Estonia while they were in the midst of anniversary shows. Diggle and Shelley had been musical collaborators and friends for 43 years.

“It was coming up to Christmas. We’d finished the tour, and I said, ‘We’ll see you after Christmas and stuff.’ By the time I got home, I received the call that he had a heart attack and died. We had a big gig booked at the Royal Albert Hall as The Buzzcocks, so I made a tribute to Pete for that.”

Diggle shared that his manager encouraged him to keep the band going. Now, he fronts the group and has released two singles and an album. For Diggle, it’s crucial to move forward rather than dwell on the past. He promises to incorporate both old favourites and new songs, ensuring it’s not just a nostalgia trip for the audience.

“I take the elements of what people know from The Buzzcocks and the sound of the other records, and I try to move on a bit. The wheels are back on the wagon with the band and have been for six years. The band's on fire now!