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Few songwriters have captured matters of the heart the same way that theBuzzcocks vocalist Pete Shelley did.
Its one that will forever live on through dive-bar jukeboxes and rightfully so.
Still, its just as uncompromising as anything theyd go on to write.
I Dont Mind
After Devoto left Buzzcocks, Shelley took up the reins as vocalist.
Its packed with brilliance from start to finish, with spitfire singles, including What Do I Get?
Im lost without a clue / So how can I undo the tangle of these webs I keep weaving?
Turns out theyre just fictitious for a reason, though.
No wonder the bands guitarist, Steve Diggle, once described them as punks with library cards.
he asks, before lamenting how he has nothing left at all.
The only way is forward, a conclusion emphasized by the songs galvanizing gallop.
Im in love again, he sings, elated, with a twinge of apprehension.
This times true, Im sure.
While he shares that hes been hurt so many times before, Shelley doesnt care.
Everything comes to an end, yes.
(Theyd break up in 1981, and later reunite.)
Its impossible to single out just one on this essential collection.
But the stunning Everybodys Happy Nowadays is absolute pop perfection, and a fitting distillation of Shelleys tongue-in-cheek worldview.
Lifes an illusion, love is the dream.
Oh Shit
Buzzcocks single What Do I Get?
got some movement on the U.K. charts upon its release in 1978.
Shelley seethes, before laying into someone for not being forthright with him.
