08/27/2021
Prior to the death of Buzzcocks front man Pete Shelley, a music journalist and Buzzcocks fan named Louie Shelley (no relation) conducted a series of interviews with the musician. The interviews are presented in this book, offering insight into the music of one of the earliest and most influential punk bands to come out of Manchester, England. In the interviews, Pete Shelley discusses the inspiration behind each song released by the Buzzcocks, as well as details about recordings, album sleeve designs, and tours. His sudden death at 68 makes the release of these interviews as close as fans will get to a memoir of the Buzzcocks icon. Transcripts of the raw interviews are interspersed with footnotes from Louie that are sometimes as fascinating as Pete's insights. Readers will also appreciate the introduction and conclusion that put the group into historical context, as well as photos of the band and of ephemera important to the Buzzcocks and Pete Shelley's work. VERDICT Buzzcocks fans will enjoy this work, but given that the book situates the group within the larger Manchester and UK punk scenes and explores their influence, it will also appeal to music history buffs.—Rebekah Buchanan, Western Illinois Univ., Macomb
