It’s the age-old question, as a band loses its original members, at what point does it become simply a tribute band. We all know how important original singer and songwriter Pete Shelley was to the Buzzcocks. Now that Shelley has passed away, can they even be called Buzzcocks, and are they worth seeing?
The short answer, it depends.
If you like Steve Diggle’s contributions to the Buzzcocks, if you love their (his) 2026 album, Attitude Adjustment, which is really good by the way, then of course you go see them. As an added bonus, you’ll get to hear a generous portion of Pete Shelley’s hits. If you don’t know what those magnificent, youth-altering Shelley songs are supposed to sound like, even better, you’ll hear them through fresh ears. Alas, I do know those Pete Shelley songs…