The impact that Buzzcocks have had on not just punk, but music not tied to major label folk is incalculable. The band may not have been the first punk band to release a single – the Damned beat them to that by more than a year. But the Manchester based Buzzcocks were the first British punk act to release a single on an independent label. And while by 1978 in the States there were Bomp! and a few others functioning outside of the major labels axis, the Buzzcocks Spiral Scratch EP did as much musically as it did culturally.
The disc and its four songs were an obvious departure from the London punk acts – the Pistols, the Damned and the Clash – which incorporated a pop sensibility into the proceedings much like the Ramones. However, the well read and all too intellectual dudes in the Buzzcocks were still steeped in Beefheart, the Velvets and any variety of weirdo bands that not too many folks cared about. That explains Peter Shelley’s "Moving Away from the Pulsebeat." But even that sort of broadening of the punk palette wasn’t enough for founding member Howard Devoto. And after the release of the Spiral Scratch EP, he exited the group in order to work with more difficult music.
Devoto formed Magazine the same year that he left the Buzzcocks. And oddly enough, while the band does work within a different frame work, there are more than just a few passing similarities. Devoto was tired of the restrictions inherent in working as a punk band. But Magazine’s fan base, initially, was as much a part of the punk scene as anything else. The music doesn’t fit into any singular category, but the aforementioned Beefheart plays a role – they even cover “I Love You, You Big Dummy.”
The music isn’t really too outrageous. And the band’s biggest single is pretty much straight punk with a bit of political polemic thrown in for good measure. I guess there’s a guitar solo – and that didn’t always play in front of punk crowds. The rest of that first disc from Magazine, Real Life, was not at all tied to the single though. Surely, Devoto would have been as upset at being pegged as a new wave act as he was to have been in a band performing only punk. But after a listen to any Magazine disc, it’s more than apparent that Devoto’s work presaged what the industry would deem new wave.
Gone were the break neck tempos, but in its place were a wash of keyboard effects and noise. The propulsive quality that was and is so much a part of punk still works with Magazine. The drummer, Martin Jackson, while probably not a punker worked out the crazy rhythms (yes, that’s a Feelies reference) to good effect. It’s just those keyboards that are troublesome. The reconstituted band has played around the UK over the last few months and probably the keyboards are as prevalent as ever. But I saw the Buzzcocks a few years ago. They were decent. Magazine probably is still as well.