Buzzcocks showcased hits old and new in front of a packed and appreciative crowd at the legendary punk venue.
There was little space for Buzzcocks’ traditional one by one start at the 100 Club on Friday.
A sold-out benefit gig for autistic children, Chris Remington’s bass and Mani Perazzoli’s guitar add to Danny Farrant’s beats pretty much simultaneously as Steve Diggle fails to catch the tambourine he throws in the air on the short journey to pick up his Telecaster. Then we’re off, ‘What Do I Get’ quickly finding its big feet behind nods and smiles from the frontman.
Billed as a warm-up ahead of their early turn across town at Dog Day Afternoon, not much more than 14 hours after this show finished, Buzzcocks were white hot throughout, as anybody who’s caught them in the last 18 months would expect.
So, proven new/newer songs rub up nicely against the band’s prime time. Chronologically, ‘Senses Out Of Control’, first single from the ‘Sonics In The Soul‘ LP, hits every bit as hard as the opener. ‘Bad Dreams’ sits comfortably between ‘Autonomy’ and ‘Why Can’t I Touch It’ while ‘Third Dimension’, from 2014’s ‘The Way’, dazzles like a melee with Queens Of The Stone Age.
Diggle, typically, is passion personified, stepping around the 100 Club stage teeth clenched, hoisting his guitar head high, acknowledging everyone in front of him with a fist bump or a low five and accommodating the Pete Shelley nuances when singing his late compadre’s songs.
The players head for the dressing room after ‘Manchester Rain’, another recent single, which is a bonafide Buzzcocks’ classic already, before filing back five minutes later, ready to ring those promised changes.
‘Love Is Lies’, Diggle’s big moment from 1978’s ‘Love Bites’, is the first of a seven-song encore, followed by ‘Sonics In The Soul’s’ ‘Nothingless World’ and ‘Just Got To Let It Go’, with its ‘Psychic Attack’ chops. ‘Girl From The Chainstore ‘ kicks like cage fighter ahead of ‘Chasing Rainbows’ / ‘Modern Times’, another from ‘The Way’, then we’re back on track with Buzzcocks’ biggest single.
“This is for Pete Shelley,” Diggle says, pointing at the ceiling:
‘You spurn my natural emotions
You make me feel I’m dirt, and I’m hurt
And if I start a commotion
I run the risk of losing you, and that’s worse’.
The band beat the odds to deliver ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)’ in a manner its writer would be sure to applaud every bit as rapturously as these fans.
An elongated ‘Harmony In My Head’ wraps the evening perfectly, Diggle using the extra time to lambast the dearth of libraries one minute, and ticket inspectors the next before calling almost desperately for unity by way of John Lennon. ‘I don’t wanna be a soldier, I don’t want to kill no one, I don’t want to be a soldier, I don’t want to see some fucker die, die, die…’
“We love you,” Steve Diggle says, soaked with sweat but still smiling after the last ‘Harmony’ jumps are finally done – by band and audience. Then, I’m out in the open clattering shoppers around…
Buzzcocks have more live dates planned over the Summer. For dates and ticket info look HERE.
All pics taken by Ruth Rae.
Follow Buzzcocks on Their Socials
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Suburban Legends, London New Cross Inn, 15th May 2026
Suburban Legends are not going to be outdone at their own show. Not since the early UK shows of Less Than Jake have we seen
Album review: Geordie DIY Punks IRKED drop debut ‘The Grievance’
From the North East of England, IRKED slot somewhere between modern garage punk, ’80s hardcore and eggy post-punk. They’ve just released their first full-length record,
Album review: The Flatliners bring surprising warmth in ‘Cold World’
With their latest album, ‘Cold World’, Canadian punk stalwarts The Flatliners show that it is possible to continue to evolve even after 24 years together.
Vicious Bishop support Mental Health Week with a new song and a shoutout for CALM
Lancaster punk band Vicious Bishop released their new single ‘Raining Guillotines’ yesterday, which aims to raise recognition for this week’s UK Mental Health Awareness Week.
Album Review: Spit Takes release brand new album ‘Teeth’ on Whiplass Records
Whiplass Records are big supporters of their local burgeoning femme-scene, and this is their very first album release:./ ‘Teeth’ collects together all of Spit Takes’
Exclusive Video Premiere – LiVES & Dolium Collide on ‘Shame!’
Blurring the line between collaboration and confrontation, Dolium x LiVES collide on ‘Shame!’, a high-friction joint single. Rooted in indie rock and sharpened by punk
Writer/hip old gunslinger. Written about/reviewed live music records/recording for years – in the process interviewing Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, David Johansen & Syl Sylvain, Pete Shelley & Steve Diggle, Hugh Cornwell, JJ Burnel, Dave Vanian & Captain Sensbile, Seggs, Jaz Coleman, Youth and more…
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
