Buzzcocks: “Singles Going Steady” (2021) Vinyl Review

Newbury Comics, based in Massachusetts, has been putting out a series of exclusive limited edition color vinyl pressings for a while now, each week releasing a few new titles. Sometimes there are as few as 500 copies pressed (and in at least a few cases, only 300), and sometimes more like 1,500. In August, they put out a special color vinyl edition of the Buzzcocks’ Singles Going Steady, which was the first Buzzcocks record I ever purchased. I was thirteen or fourteen at the time, and had to keep my mom from looking at the track list when she picked my friend and me up at the mall. She would not have cared for “Oh Shit.” And “Orgasm Addict”? Forget it. I had learned about Buzzcocks through a strange 1984 film titled The Party Animal. The movie isn’t great (though I fucking love it), but it has what might be the best soundtrack of any movie ever. Unfortunately, no official soundtrack album was ever released (my fingers are still crossed that someday someone will honor the world with that record). Much of the music is by Buzzcocks, and the movie opens with “Why Can’t I Touch It?” playing as Pondo travels to college in the back of a truck. I was hooked from the very beginning of that first song, on the movie and on the band. That song is included on Singles Going Steady, as are all the Buzzcocks songs chosen for that movie. This new multi-color vinyl edition contains a booklet with a piece written by Clinton Heylin, as well as photos of all eight singles.

Side 1

The first side contains the A sides to all eight singles, presented in chronological order, beginning with “Orgasm Addict,” which was released in October 1977. Obviously, this song delighted me in my early teens. But I still love it. I still find it a pretty damn funny song, particularly that section listing off some of the person’s sexual partners, and even as he imitates a climax. It’s a wonderfully ridiculous song of excess. It’s followed by “What Do I Get?” This one came out in February 1978 and it is, in a way, the opposite of “Orgasm Addict.” Here it is someone who is looking for just one lover and is in distress because he needs a caress, and instead gets sleepless nights. “What do I get?/Nothing at all, at all, at all, at all/At all, at all, at all ‘cause I don’t get you.”

“I Don’t Mind” is one of the songs used in The Party Animal, and one of my personal favorites. Check out these lines: “When everything I see/Just makes me feel you’re putting me down/And if it’s true, this pathetic clown/Will keep hanging around/That’s if you don’t mind.” It’s a great punk pop song. “Love You More” came out in June of 1978. What always makes this song stand out for me is its surprising final line, and the way it comes to a sudden end right after it, leaving us wondering what just happened. That’s followed by “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?).” This is one of the band’s best songs, no question about it. It is pure punk pop bliss, and as such it’s been covered by a fairly diverse group of artists, including Fine Young Cannibals, Pete Yorn, and Yonder Mountain String Band.

“Promises” is one I used to play a lot in my teen years, turning the volume up and dancing around in my room. And it totally holds up. That’s followed by “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays,” one of my absolute favorites. It is so catchy, with a great beat, but with lyrics that call into question our very existence. “Life’s an illusion, love is a dream/But I don’t know what it is/Everybody’s happy nowadays.” This came out in March of 1979. Was everybody happy then? Of course not. This song creates an image of an empty happiness, a mindless sort of contentment. Still, listening to it makes me happy. The first side concludes with “Harmony In My Head,” which has a harder edge. Both “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” and “Harmony In My Head” were featured in The Party Animal.

Side 2

The second side of the record contains the flip sides of those eight singles, again presented in chronological order. But don’t go thinking these songs are any less than those on the first side. In fact, when I was a teenager, I didn’t realize these were flip sides. They all seemed like A sides to me. So we go back to 1977 for “What Ever Happened To?” It is interesting to me how many of these songs are questions. Anyway, it’s another excellent track. Then we get that delicious, fast-paced gem, “Oh Shit!” As you can imagine, this one got a lot of volume on my stereo in my teen years as I hurled myself about the place, shouting out those final lines: “Admit, admit/You’re shit, you’re shit/You’re shit, you’re shit/You’re shit.” That’s followed by another great track, “Autonomy,” from April 1978. “I, I want you/Autonomy.”

“Noise Annoys” is the one that excited me the most in my teens. It’s catchy and is a whole lot of fun, and features some great work on drums, something which always made me happy. And yes, I’ve heard my mommy say “Noise annoys.” That’s followed by “Just Lust,” which has perhaps the best set of lyrics of this album. Check out these lines: “You shattered all my dreams, and my head’s about to bust/Is it all real, that’s how it seems/But it all comes down to dust.” And these: “I was slow to catch on/And that just makes it worse/If passion is a fashion/Then emotion is a curse.” Then “Lipstick” is fun, but for whatever reason, it never excited me as much as the rest of these tracks, perhaps because I was always eager for what follows it.

“Why Can’t I Touch It?” is the song that started it all for me, the song that got me interested in this band. A six and a half minute punk song? A punk song the band jams on? I mean, sure, the lyrics might seem simple, but that rhythm, that bass line… that groove is just so goddamn good. I saw Buzzcocks in concert only once – in 1993 or thereabouts – and they ignored my repeated requests for this song. Still, it was a great show. Anyway, I never tire of this song. The record wraps up with “Something’s Gone Wrong Again,” which is probably the Buzzcocks song that comes most often to mind. Every time something minor goes wrong and I find myself irritated by it all out of proportion, I sing the title line from this song.

Record Track List

Side One

1. Orgasm Addict
2. What Do I Get?
3. I Don’t Mind
4. Love You More
5. Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?)
6. Promises
7. Everybody’s Happy Nowadays
8. Harmony In My Head

Side Two

1. What Ever Happened To?
2. Oh Shit!
3. Autonomy
4. Noise Annoys
5. Just Lust
6. Lipstick
7. Why Can’t I Touch It?
8. Something’s Gone Wrong Again

This special vinyl edition of Singles Going Steady was released on August 13, 2021. It is a limited edition of only 1,000 copies.