Buzzcocks
London Brixton O2 Academy
25th May, 2012

Buzzcocks showcased material from three different line-ups, the first set being from Pete Shelley, Steve Diggle, Danny Farrant and Chris Remington, who blasted through material from Flat Pack Philosophy and earlier albums, Modern, Buzzcocks and Trade Test Transmissions, alongside a revitalised Lester Sands. A tad overlong and blighted by muddy sound, after a break, we got the classic-era band. From 1977 to 1980, Buzzcocks released peerless punk-pop driven by John Maher (drums) and Steve Garvey (bass). There was a rapturous reception as they churned out the hits, with only a slight derailment as Diggle freestyled through Harmony In My Head. But with What Do I Get?, Love You More, Orgasm Addict, Ever Fallen In Love and a brisk Moving Away From The Pulsebeat, all was forgiven. The dénouement saw the re-formation of the original line-up, with Howard Devoto on vocals and Diggle reverting to bass for a sprightly thrash through four Spiral Scratch tracks, and an encore of The Troggs’ I Can’t Control Myself.