It’s the age-old question, as a band loses its original members, at what point does it become simply a tribute band. We all know how important original singer and songwriter Pete Shelley was to the Buzzcocks. Now that Shelley has passed away, can they even be called Buzzcocks, and are they worth seeing?
The short answer, it depends.
If you like Steve Diggle’s contributions to the Buzzcocks, if you love their (his) 2026 album, Attitude Adjustment, which is really good by the way, then of course you go see them. As an added bonus, you’ll get to hear a generous portion of Pete Shelley’s hits. If you don’t know what those magnificent, youth-altering Shelley songs are supposed to sound like, even better, you’ll hear them through fresh ears. Alas, I do know those Pete Shelley songs.
The concert began with Shelley’s “What do I Get,” “I Don’t Mind,” and “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays.” I should have been swept away by an uncontrollable tidal wave of joy, of nostalgia, of THIS IS SICK! I wasn’t. Not at all. It sounded like bad karaoke. It’s not like they weren’t capable of playing the songs the way Pete Shelley intended, not at all. The drummer, Danny Farrant, is red hot and the guitar player, Mani Perazzoli, and bass player, Chris Remington, are more than equipped to play the right notes at the right time. No, it seemed on purpose.
Either Diggle wanted to make a statement that this was HIS band, or maybe he thought the audience would be confused by two very different styles of songs. Either way, the Pete Shelley Buzzcocks gems sounded castrated. The songs were awful.
The set list pivoted to 25, mostly Steve Diggle compositions, all played to perfection. I did my best to regain enthusiasm. After all, I am a HUGE Buzzcocks fan, and was not going to let my disappointment that this was clearly not the Pete Shelley show ruin the night. I downed my Jack n Coke and was treated to a strong finish of “Boredom,” “Ever Fallen in Love,” and Harmony in my Head,” which is a Steve Diggle song that rivals the best of Shelley’s. At the behest of Diggle, who was having the time of his life up on stage, I screamed out along with the enthusiastic crowd the lyrics of these all-time favorite songs.
They’re definitely not a tribute band. They are Buzzcocks, but they’re Steve Diggle’s Buzzcocks, not Pete Shelley’s Buzzcocks. In spite of my earlier kvetching, I’m happy for this 71 yr. old man. He didn’t just phone in the gig, he exposed his heart and soul and left it all out there. I believe Pete Shelley would want nothing less. Long live the memory of one of the greatest punk bands ever, and long live Steve Diggle’s Buzzcocks also.
