Wow!! So much new for me here!! I’d only heard of Pete Shelley in relation to one song he had on the soundtrack to the 1987 movie “Some Kind of Wonderful”. Obviously, this was pre-internet and I had no clue who Pete Shelley was. Given how many small and obscure artists appeared on the soundtrack, I probably assumed he was a small independent artist who hafn’t ever really done much. WRONG!!
I’d also been aware of The Buzzcocks and knew the track “Ever Fallen in Love” but I never knew Pete Shelley was the lead singer or quite how influential The Buzzcocks were. And I never knew anything about Shelley’s solo career outside of the one track I mentioned above.
I enjoyed the track Homosapien and am really looking forward to giving the album a listen and tuning in to part two of this story!!
Thanks, Mark. I can wholeheartedly recommend digging a bit deeper into his catalogue. My personal favourite is his second solo album, XL1 (1983). It’s a bit more pop-leaning — closer in spirit to Dare by The Human League.
I was more familiar with his solo work, but I didn’t fully appreciate the Buzzcocks until I started researching this piece. He wrote so many great songs, and in my view he’s on the same level as Morrissey. You can clearly hear where Morrissey drew inspiration — he was actually in the audience at those two early Sex Pistols shows Shelley and Devoto organised in Manchester.
All in all, I discovered a lot I either didn’t know or hadn’t previously connected. Sadly, Pete passed away in 2018. I would have loved to see him live or meet him. He comes across as a truly wonderful human being, on top of being a great artist.
Curious to hear what you think after reading part 2 next Friday. Thanks for reading and reacting, Mark — have a great weekend!
I can already tell you I cannot wait for Part 2. Particularly the banning of the song (sadly, the BBC has a penchant for censoring and/or manipulating information).
I loved reading more about your relationship with punk, and how Pete Shelley simultaneously embraced his bisexuality and his punk fire.
The way this newsletter blends personal stories, historical rigour, socio-cultural implications, record industry insights, and your passion for music is extraordinarily brilliant in every single respect. Chapeau 🎩
Thanks, Andy. That’s a compliment I truly cherish, as it’s exactly what I aim for with my writing and with this newsletter.
Part 2 focuses on the ban, and I’m really curious to hear your thoughts once you’ve read it. I could understand the reaction in Frankie’s case (not that I condone it), but with Homosapien it all felt rather overblown. Anyway — more on that next Friday.
Thanks for reading and reacting. Have a great weekend!
Wow!! So much new for me here!! I’d only heard of Pete Shelley in relation to one song he had on the soundtrack to the 1987 movie “Some Kind of Wonderful”. Obviously, this was pre-internet and I had no clue who Pete Shelley was. Given how many small and obscure artists appeared on the soundtrack, I probably assumed he was a small independent artist who hafn’t ever really done much. WRONG!!
I’d also been aware of The Buzzcocks and knew the track “Ever Fallen in Love” but I never knew Pete Shelley was the lead singer or quite how influential The Buzzcocks were. And I never knew anything about Shelley’s solo career outside of the one track I mentioned above.
I enjoyed the track Homosapien and am really looking forward to giving the album a listen and tuning in to part two of this story!!
Thanks, Mark. I can wholeheartedly recommend digging a bit deeper into his catalogue. My personal favourite is his second solo album, XL1 (1983). It’s a bit more pop-leaning — closer in spirit to Dare by The Human League.
I was more familiar with his solo work, but I didn’t fully appreciate the Buzzcocks until I started researching this piece. He wrote so many great songs, and in my view he’s on the same level as Morrissey. You can clearly hear where Morrissey drew inspiration — he was actually in the audience at those two early Sex Pistols shows Shelley and Devoto organised in Manchester.
All in all, I discovered a lot I either didn’t know or hadn’t previously connected. Sadly, Pete passed away in 2018. I would have loved to see him live or meet him. He comes across as a truly wonderful human being, on top of being a great artist.
Curious to hear what you think after reading part 2 next Friday. Thanks for reading and reacting, Mark — have a great weekend!
I'm looking forward to digging into his catalog and will definitely check out XL1 as I was a big fan of Human League back in the day.
I can already tell you I cannot wait for Part 2. Particularly the banning of the song (sadly, the BBC has a penchant for censoring and/or manipulating information).
I loved reading more about your relationship with punk, and how Pete Shelley simultaneously embraced his bisexuality and his punk fire.
The way this newsletter blends personal stories, historical rigour, socio-cultural implications, record industry insights, and your passion for music is extraordinarily brilliant in every single respect. Chapeau 🎩
Thanks, Andy. That’s a compliment I truly cherish, as it’s exactly what I aim for with my writing and with this newsletter.
Part 2 focuses on the ban, and I’m really curious to hear your thoughts once you’ve read it. I could understand the reaction in Frankie’s case (not that I condone it), but with Homosapien it all felt rather overblown. Anyway — more on that next Friday.
Thanks for reading and reacting. Have a great weekend!