As one of many key Manchester bands to form in the late 1970s, Buzzcocks’ sound was one of distinction, melding the frenetic aggravation of punk with the emotionalism of what would become the synthpop genre of the 80s. Founded in 1976 by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto (who quickly became disillusioned with punk as a concept and therefore left Buzzcocks early on to form Magazine), Buzzcocks’ began recording (albeit crudely) and touring almost immediately. In Devoto’s absence, it was Shelley who took the reins on vocals, lending the band’s songs a more mellifluous approach to the punk sensibility.
Their first record, Another Music in a Different Kitchen, was released in ’78, the title of the record being based on one of Linder Sterling’s collages, which Devoto had described as “another housewife stews in her own juice in a different kitchen.” Reworked to an abridged version of the sentence, one of the lead singles from the record became “I Don’t Mind,” a prime early example of Shelley’s brand of “I don’t care, because I care so much persona.”
It was on their quickly released sophomore album (which also came out in ’78), fittingly titled Love Bites, that offered one of their most resonant singles, “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).” Again, Shelley’s fraught, earnest vocals lend the song its undeniable sincerity despite the image of punk as a genre intended to be about rebellion and rage, as opposed to anything that might pertain to something as “mushy” as love. But it was Shelley (perhaps so sensitive as a result of sharing the same last name as the great English Romantic poet) who was instrumental in redefining the parameters of punk with his unique ardor and tormented-for-other-reasons-than-government nature.
With “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve),” Buzzcocks were rapid in proving their range and versatility–after all, their very first single was called “Orgasm Addict,” thus proving the band could be just as romantic as they were carnal. And even “What Do I Get?,” another chart-topping early single from 1977, finds Shelley expressing the frustration of never quite being able to find a relationship–whether one that is equitable or at all.
This theme of being in distress while in love is at its most salient on “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve),” with Shelley describing the constant rock and hard place he’s in between as he sings, “You spurn my natural emotions/You make me feel I’m dirt/And I’m hurt/And if I start a commotion I run the risk of losin’ you/And that’s worse.” Yes, what is a person to do when they can’t control the love they feel for another? Even if they know it is a love tainted by emotional abuse, inequity (whether of affection or feeling) and a general sense of having to play games in order to keep the person around.
Despite knowing that he “can’t see much of a future”–at least not unless “we find out what’s to blame, what a shame”–Shelley, like his listener is too susceptible to surrendering to the ephemeral pleasure that he knows will be part of long-term pain. And so all he can do is take a collective poll to ensure that he is not the only one willing to engage in this overt form of masochism by repeat chanting, “Ever fallen in love with someone? Ever fallen in love?/In love with someone/Ever fallen in love?/In love with someone/You shouldn’t’ve fallen in love with?” Just to confirm: yes Pete, we all have. Or at least those of us who are decidedly human in our patheticness. And so, though Shelley might have died on December 6th, his legacy in being the pied piper of an anthem that calls to all of us poor souls that are attracted to the wrong people lives on.
