The Buzzcocks

Andy J Ryan Apr 06, 2023

The Buzzcocks Century Theatre - September 9th 2007

Initially the crowd were respectfully distant and reserved in their appreciation, understandable really; it had been thirty years since the band first blazed onto the scene. Here standing before us was one of the major driving forces of punk music and the instigators of the do-it yourself ethos, they were worthy of some dues. But the strength of the band and the reason for their deserved legacy are the songs. While the snarling ferocity in their delivery may have been toned down over time, the themes within the songs still ring true.

Nearly everyone present, whether barely legal or the wrong side of 50, would have surely fallen in love with someone (they shouldn’t have), questioned at some point what on earth they were going to do with their life, and well I’m sure they’ve had an orgasm or two too (and I suspect, quite liked it).

The Buzzcocks have not at all been merely trading on past glories; they come brandishing their latest album Flat Pack Philosophy, their fifth since reforming in 1989. The band are still questioning the way of the world, but instead of kicking against a world they are yet to, or not wanting to, be a part of, they are more objective and reflective. The regretted love is still present with Wish I Never Loved You, the stomping Sell You Everything and the album’s title track question the money and product focussed world we now occupy.

The crowd soon loosened both their voices and inhibitions, many people who were probably old enough to know better venturing to the front of stage to join a spirited, if not overly physical mosh-pit.

The true timelessness of the Buzzcocks’ most notable moments were proved, with the songs both delivered and sung along to with the same passion and relevance some three decades after they were written. The band’s second ever gig would shape the minds and next musical generation of their home town of Manchester. While I’m not holding much hope for the emergence of a world-changing music scene in Sydney in 2010, with all its protagonists similarly in attendance at the Century Theatre on September the 9th, I sure know there would have been some great old records pulled out across homes in Sydney that night, some dusty guitars may have been strummed in rudimentary chords, and perhaps a leather jacket or two were dug out from a space bag. And hopefully there was a harmony in one or two heads.