Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. They achieved commercial success with singles that fused pop craftsmanship with rapid-fire punk energy. These singles were collected on Singles Going Steady, an acclaimed compilation album described by music journalist and critic, Ned Raggett, as a "punk masterpiece". Devoto and Shelley chose the name "Buzzcocks" after reading the headline, "It's the Buzz, Cock!", in a review of the TV series Rock Follies in Time Out magazine. The "buzz" is the excitement of playing on stage; "cock" is northern English slang meaning "friend". They thought it captured the excitement of the nascent punk scene, as well as having humorous sexual connotations following Pete Shelley's time working in a Bolton adult shop. Devoto left the band in 1977, after which Pete Shelley became the principal singer-songwriter. After releasing three albums, as well as Singles Going Steady, the band broke up in 1981 following a dispute with their then-record label, but reunited in 1989, since releasing six more albums. Shelley died in 2018, but the band has remained active. Steve Diggle, the guitarist and co-founder of the band, is now singer. They added a new guitarist Mani Perazzoli. They are still touring. Career Early years Howard Trafford, a student at Bolton Institute of Technology, placed a notice in the college looking for musicians sharing a liking for The Velvet Underground's song "Sister Ray". Peter McNeish, a fellow student at the institute, responded to the notice. Trafford had previously been involved in electronic music, while McNeish had played rock. By late 1975, Trafford and McNeish had recruited a drummer and formed an embryonic version of what would become Buzzcocks. The band formed, officially, in February 1976; McNeish assumed the stage name Pete Shelley and Trafford named himself Howard Devoto. They performed live for the first time on 1 April 1976 at their college. Garth Davies played bass guitar and Mick Singleton played drums. Singleton also played in local band Black Cat Bone. After reading an NME review of the Sex Pistols' first performance, Shelley and Devoto travelled to London together to see the Sex Pistols in February 1976. Shelley and Devoto were impressed by what they saw and arranged