Ever Fallen in Love: The Lost Buzzcocks Tapes

by Pete Shelley, Louie Shelley (With)

Overview

Newly discovered recordings of a music legend in his own remarkable words: punk, Buzzcocks and the inspiration behind some of greatest songs ever written.

***

A ROUGH TRADE UK BOOK OF THE YEAR
A LOUDER THAN WAR BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Fascinating"
- MOJO

"As close as anyone was ever going to get to really understanding Pete Shelley"
- UNCUT

"The memoir that Pete Shelley never had a chance to write"
- LOUDER THAN WAR

"Lots of great stories... A fascinating insight."
- JOHN MAHER, Buzzcocks 

When Pete Shelley, lead singer of legendary punk band Buzzcocks, passed away in 2018 we lost the chance to hear one of music's brightest stars tell his story.

Or so it seemed.

Now, recordings have surfaced of a series of remarkable interviews in which Pete tells the story of his life, his band and his place at the beating heart of the punk explosion in fascinating detail.

Recorded over a series of late-night calls with a close friend, the tapes hear Pete talk song-by-song through Buzzcocks releases to reveal the personal memories behind the music and the inspiration for masterpieces such as 'Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)' and 'What Do I Get?'.

Published for the first time and with the blessing of Pete's estate, Ever Fallen In Love: The Lost Buzzcocks Tapes is a tribute to a founding member of punk and a chance to hear one of music's true visionaries tell his own story at last.

"Perfectly executed, highly detailed, incredibly interesting."
- HENRY ROLLINS, Black Flag

"Pete and Buzzcocks were there right from the beginning."
-BERNARD SUMNER, Joy Division, New Order

"A true gentleman and a great artist and songwriter."
- PETER HOOK, Joy Division, New Order

"Shot through with self-doubt and mild regret, Pete Shelley's lovesick pop classics have a bittersweet charm that will forever speak to the young romantic"
- JOHN COOPER CLARKE

"Buzzcocks were the blue touchpaper for my love of music. Pure pop met punk and the result was perfection."
- TIM BURGESS, The Charlatans

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781788403641
Publisher:	Octopus Books
Publication date:	11/05/2024
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Pete Shelley was the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of iconic punk band Buzzcocks. He wrote some of punk's most enduring songs, including 'Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)', 'Orgasm Addict' and 'What Do I Get?', as well as solo hits such as 'Homosapien', which was subsequently banned from being played on the BBC. Regarded as one of the finest songwriters of his generation, Pete died in 2018.

Louie Shelley was a close friend of Pete Shelley's, and no relation. She first met Buzzcocks while working as a journalist on the Manchester music scene in the late 1990s, going on to work with them in various capacities in the ensuing years. She remains involved in Buzzcocks projects, as well as the Pete Shelley Memorial Campaign.

Table of Contents

Foreword Henry Rollins vii

Foreword by Kid Strange xi

Preface xv

Introduction 1

Reality's a Dream: The Buzzcocks Story 3

The Tapes 53

Pre-Punk 55

Orgasm Addict 67

Whatever Happened To? 83

What Do I Get? 87

Oh Shit 94

I Don't Mind 98

Autonomy 102

Another Music in a Different Kitchen 106

Love You More 127

Noise Annoys 134

Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) 137

Dust Lust 145

Love Bites 149

Promises 166

Lipstick 170

Everybody's Happy Nowadays 173

Why Can't I Touch It? 178

Harmony in My Head 181

Something's Gone Wrong Again 185

You Say You Don't Love Me 190

Raison d'être 193

A Different Kind of Tension 197

Part 1 Are Everything 222

Part 1 Why She's a Girl from the Chainstore 228

Part 2 Strange Thing 231

Part 2 Airwaves Dream 236

Part 3 Running Free 238

Part 3 What Do You Know? 241

I Look Alone 245

Conclusion 253

What Do I Get? The Enduring Legacy 255

Index 290

Acknowledgements 296

Editorial Reviews

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

Library Journal