Buzzcocks consists of John Maher (drums), Pete Shelley (guitar, vocals), Philip Barker (drums), Steve Diggle (guitar, bass), Tony Barber (bass).
Buzzcocks are a British rock music group.
They were one of the key first generation punk rock bands in the mid to late 1970s. Inspired by the Sex Pistols, the band themselves were an important influence on both the Manchester music scene and the independent label movement.
Many of Buzzcocks' singles have had a pop-punk sound, which later influenced later bands such as Green Day. Other songs have had a harder edge, and served as a basis for such bands as Crucifucks. " Ever Fallen in Love?"--one of Buzzcocks best-known songs--has been covered by many other artists.
Like many other groups whose name appears to be a plural noun (for example, Eurythmics), Buzzcocks' name is frequently rendered incorrectly with the definite article "The" in front it. The group's name is simply Buzzcocks. The name itself comes from local quaint slang (used mostly by the elderly) meaning "youngster". The group's adoption of the name was influenced by its use in the television drama serial Rock Follies.
The band was formed by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto soon after they had met and travelled to London together to see the Sex Pistols in February 1976. Shelley and Devoto were impressed by what they saw and arranged for the Sex Pistols to come and perform at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, in June 1976. Buzzcocks intended to play at this concert but were unable to do so as they lacked both a bassist and a drummer at the time. Once they had recruited Steve Diggle and John Maher to the band, they finally made their debut opening for the Sex Pistols' second Manchester gig in July 1976.