Punk All-Dayer: Steve Diggle of Buzzcocks talks about music legacy and shares memories of the Glasgow Apollo

Buzzcocks, one of the pioneering bands of punk, quickly became known for their raw energy, catchy melodies, and unapologetic approach to performance. Formed in 1976 in Bolton by guitarist Pete Shelley, bassist Steve Diggle, and drummer John Maher, the band first performed at the legendary Manchester venue The Electric Circus. Buzzcocks gained early attention for their bold songwriting that combined high-energy guitar with a hint of pop sensibilities.

Buzzcocks’ first full-length album, Another Music in a Different Kitchen, was a departure from the raw, chaotic sound of their early material as Pete Shelley asserted himself as a songwriter and Steve Diggle took over on lead guitar. In 1978, Buzzcocks released their follow-up album, Love Bites, a record that further solidified their reputation as one of the best punk bands of the late ‘70s. The album is considered their best work, with tracks like Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've). The song’s blend of longing lyrics and punchy rhythms earned it a lasting place in punk history.

Buzzcocks disbanding in 1981. Pete Shelley would go on to have a solo career, while Steve Diggle would work on other projects. Buzzcocks reunited in 1989, releasing albums like All Set in 1996 and The Way in 2014. After Pete Shelley died in 2018, the band has continued with Steve Diggle on lead vocals.

We spoke to Steve ahead of the Punk All-Dayer gig at Bellahouston Park on 21 June.

Last month marked 49 years since Buzzcocks played their first gig. Do you think about that and the fact you can still jump out in front of a crowd?

I mean, it's quite amazing really. We opened up for the Sex Pistols in Manchester all those years ago and you never thought how long it would last. It was just for the moment really. Then before you know it, here we are, 49 years down the line.

I met you in a pub in North London a while back and we were talking about the Glasgow Apollo. There were two gigs in 1978 that people have referred to as big moments for music in Glasgow. Folk that went along ended up really inspired and picking up a guitar. What are your memories of the Apollo and playing in Glasgow?

Well, that was fantastic. We played the Apollo a few times, the crowds are just amazing in Scotland to start with. Playing at the Apollo, the first time we did it, it was just incredible really. I mean that's place had so much history. The stage was very high. I mean people fell off that stage I think over the years. I've been close to the edge myself a few times.

I remember the first one, I was at the stage door after, I went out to sign a few things. There was about 200 people there outside. I don't know how many things I signed that night, but just incredible night and of course we went back there. So just a legendary, magical place. The first time, Buzzcocks were just coming into those kind of theatre places and it felt like something was happening. My great grandmother was Scottish, I think Pete said his dad was Scottish, so we've got a bit of a connection already.

Primal Scream said that Buzzcocks were an inspiration, Orange Juice wrote a song inspired by Buzzcocks. Alan McGee said that basically your band changed his life and led him to set up Creation Records. Is it funny thinking about all the little ripples that you guys have made in the world by standing up there and doing your thing over the years?

Yeah, I mean, you kind of don't realise who's in the crowd. It was a new thing back then. The punk rock thing just kind of exploded and it was us, all the other bands, The Clash and the Pistols and stuff, but it was the Buzzcocks that had an individual style , and I guess we didn't realise it at the time, it's amazing how many people were inspired by that style and the songs and the power of them. So, you don't realise it at a time, but Buzzcocks made quite an impact really.

I interviewed Peter Capaldi recently and he was talking about that period in the late seventies and he said he was at art school and everyone was dressed like Neil Young and they went away for the summer and they came back with plastic trousers and bleach blonded hair because punk had happened. It just grabbed everyone's attention. What do you remember about the reaction and the way that people did embrace something that was really new at the time, Steve?

It almost seemed like it was overnight. Yeah, I remember a similar thing, one minute people were wearing flares and long hair and the next minute it was ripped clothes or people wearing plastic bags. My brother was at college and he used to buy a pink shirt, rip the collar and sleeves off it, spray paint it. He bought a pair of black shoes and spray painted them bright green. In the early days it was like that. It ignited a generation. Nobody could afford do buy anything so you made it up yourself. It was, like, “f*** the old thing” but nobody knew where it was going. It was happening but it was for the moment. Talking of Capaldis, I saw Lewis in the pub in Highgate the other week. He was sitting in the corner. I didn't have a word with him, I didn't want to bother him, I just let him get on.

When you are in Glasgow on 24 June, with the Sex Pistols, Undertones, Skids, The Stranglers, there will be people in the crowd who have been there since the start, then there will be the next generation who have found the music. Maybe some of them are in the process of picking up the guitar. Is it fun to think about the way this music just keeps going?

It is. It is amazing that you can inspire people by picking up a guitar and singing some words, but that's really important. People are thinking about their lives through the music, things they can relate to and we can make a connection because its the same things that were happening when we started.

There's been people with us on the whole journey and you kind of have to go on a journey after you make the initial impact. You've got to sustain it. But there's many people come to the gigs now, many young kids, and I kind of look at them in the crowd and I think - they weren't born when we started. But the music really does carry on.

About two years ago we put out a couplel of and that's amazing. I mean we had now about two years ago, a couple of singles, Senses Out of Control, and Manchester Rain. We see young kids at the front singing along to those ones as well. They know the new stuff. They come to hear the classics but you can see they are coming along with us still. They've joined the journey and it's not something you can plan for, or do anything about. But I always say this, they still do Shakespeare and he's a lot older than us.