A piece of punk history (Spiral Scratch - Buzzcocks)

Member Name: otalgia

Product:	Spiral Scratch - Buzzcocks
Date:	06/05/08 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent vocals from Magazine frontman Howard Devoto

Disadvantages: None

Spiral Scratch was the first single by the Manchester band The Buzzcocks. The four track EP was recorded in a day on a shoestring budget in Manchester in 1976 and released in Early 1977 on independent label New Hormones.

The line up of vocalist Howard Devoto , Pete Shelley on Guitar, Steve Diggle on Bass and John Maher on drums was short lived with Devoto leaving to form Magazine shortly after this release.

Undoubtedly it is Devoto's inimitable singing that makes this four track a punk classic.

The opening track on side one is 'Breakdown' features a gritty sounding guitar with Devoto sneering about not fitting, falling to pieces and despair.

Second up is the wonderful 'Times Up'. This is a descending 3 chord punk riff with Devoto whining about the pains of waiting, assumedly for his partner. Anecdotal yelps from Pete Shelley throughout this are amusing, and possibly the first appearance from Pete as a singer in the band?

Third up is the timeless classic, 'Boredom'. A classic riff (so good that they used this riff to open their first LP, albeit without Devoto) with overdubbed guitar. Devoto sings about Boredom of the local scene, acting dumb and futility. Whether this was sang tongue in cheek or it represented Devoto's own Boredom with the growing punk scene is unclear. However this track remains a Punk classic and was frequently high placed in the annual John Peel festive 50 charts.

Closing the EP is 'Friends of Mine' where Devoto muses about the peculiarities of several of his friends, possibly fictional, and their effect on his general health. A great song in its own right but overshadowed by the wonderful 'Boredom'

Listening to this reissued EP on a CD is a bit odd, as the songs and sound is quite dated. It's also very odd not to have to flip the record over after 2 tracks. However, both lyrically and historically this is one of the essential punk rock records and every punk should own it.

Summary: Four tracks of perfect punk pop history