'You Know Me': Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley Gave Punk A Heart
Pete Shelley, the Mancunian co-founder and singer of Buzzcocks, embedded a vulnerability and honesty into early punk's genetic code, forever changing the genre.
by Jason Heller
Dec 07, 2018
4 minutes
Pete Shelley was the first person to make punk rock for everyone.
The singer-guitarist, who , fronted the pioneering punk band Buzzcocks. While never quite as well known as contemporaries The Sex Pistols and The Clash, the group was historic for being the first in British punk to release a record on their own independent label, which helped kick off a DIY revolution in punk that continues to this day. But Buzzcocks touched many people's lives for a far less academic reason. Shelley's songs weren't only aimed at punk's perceived target audience in the '70s: the tough, the cool, the angry, the edgy. Instead, he took punk's raw, aggressive irreverence and gifted its fire to any shy,
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