{"product_id":"singles-going-steady-1","title":"Singles Going Steady","description":"\u003cp\u003eIf ever a group needed a greatest hits collection, it was Buzzcocks. One of the most interesting acts to emerge from Manchester's fertile punk scene in the mid 70s, the group knocked out an immaculate run of highly charged, deeply confessional pop singles. At a time when hatred was prescribed as a universal topic, leader Pete Shelley's kitchen sink writing ruminated on love and openly paraded the personal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter their stunning \u003ci\u003eSpiral Scratch\u003c\/i\u003e EP, original leader Howard Devoto departed in 1977, leaving Shelley with Lieutenant Steve Diggle to create these brief pop masterpieces. By the time the group had reached \u003ci\u003eEver Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't’ve)\u003c\/i\u003e in September 1978, the formula was complete and the band became chart regulars. Released quickly after their third studio album, \u003ci\u003eA Different Kind Of Tension\u003c\/i\u003e, in 1979, \u003ci\u003eSingles Going Steady\u003c\/i\u003e collected their first eight United Artists singles, A-sides on the first side, with B-sides on the reverse. From the hits \u003ci\u003eLove You More\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePromises, Everybody’s Happy Nowadays\u003c\/i\u003e to the bleak \u003ci\u003eSomething’s Gone Wrong Again\u003c\/i\u003e and the repetitive, mantra-like \u003ci\u003eWhy Can’t I Touch It\u003c\/i\u003e, this captures the group at their fleeting best, as essential to the late 70s as the Sex Pistols or The Clash.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was difficult to emulate the quality control established by this album, and during rehearsals for their fourth album, Buzzcocks split up. Although they were to reform in the late 80s and continue to the present day, they would never match this quality again. One of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time, \u003ci\u003eSingles Going Steady\u003c\/i\u003e is a towering achievement; an affectionate tribute to the smartness and sensibility of writing to order to fill a three-minute pop single.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Music On Vinyl","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50450307809611,"sku":"1008555","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/7eaeff86-b352-4db4-ac4c-8474d099e9c8_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727110522","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/products\/singles-going-steady-1","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}