Buzzcocks “Love Bites” 1978. As the punk/power pop world knows, Buzzcocks’ vocalist and lead guitarist Pete Shelley died last week on December 6th. Love Bites was Buzzcocks’ second studio LP and the first to feature Shelley as lead vocalist after co-founder Howard Devoto’s departure from the band. The album, which reached #13 on the UK charts, also has several of my favorite Buzzcocks tracks, including “Ever Fallen in Love” (#12 on the UK singles chart and ranked the #1 single in ‘78 by  NME), the propulsive “Operators Manual,” the punky “Just Lust,” “Sixteen Again,” the soaring, anthemic “Walking Distance,” the lovelorn (yet still upbeat!) “Nothing Left,” and the epic instrumental “Late for the Train.” Shelley wrote all of those, with the exception of “Walking Distance” which was written by bassist Steve Garvey; also “Late for the Train” is credited to all the members of Buzzcocks).

Allmusic says about Love Bites, “More musically accomplished, more obsessively self-questioning, and with equally energetic yet sometimes gloomy performances, Love Bites finds the Buzzcocks coming into their own. With Devoto and his influence now fully worked out of the band’s system, Shelley is the clearly predominant voice, with the exception of Diggle’s first lead vocal on an album track, the semi-acoustic, perversely sprightly “Love is Lies.” Though the song received even further acclaim on Singles Going Steady, “Ever Fallen in Love,” for many the band’s signature song, appears here. With its note-perfect blend of romance gone wrong, a weirdly catchy, treated lead guitar line, and Shelley’s wounded singing deserves its instant classic status, but it’s only one of many highlights. The opening “Real World” is one of the band’s strongest: a chunky, forceful yet crisp band performance leads into a strong Shelley lyric about unrequited love and life. “Nostalgia”’s strikingly mature, inventive lyrics about where one’s life can lead, and the sometimes charging, sometimes quietly tense, heartbroken “Nothing Left” are two other standouts. The group’s well-seasoned abilities, the members’ increasing reach and Martin Rushent’s excellent production make Love Bites shine. The Garvey/Maher rhythm section is especially fine; Maher’s fills and similar small but significant touches take the music to an even higher level. His undisputed highlight is the terribly underrated concluding instrumental “Late for the Train.” Originally done for a John Peel radio session and rerecorded with even more a dramatic sweep here, it gives the group’s motorik/Krautrock new power. Not far behind it is “E.S.P.,” a strong rock burn that only fades out at the end very slowly and subtly.”

We had the opportunity to see Buzzcocks play live almost 20 years ago when I was writing concert reviews for Milwaukee’s local paper Shepherd Express. They were touring for the album Modern and we caught them at The Rave in November ‘99. I remember them rocking hard and Shelley’s distinctively snotty vocals still having their cutting, wry humorous edge. He will truly be missed by the music world.