Pete Shelley

Pete Shelley (born Peter Campbell McNeish; 17 April 1955 – 6 December 2018) was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist in 1977 when Devoto left. The group released their biggest hit “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)” in 1978. The band broke up in 1981 and reformed at the end of the decade. Shelley also had a solo career; his song “Homosapien” charted in Australasia and Canada in 1981 and 1982.

Shelley was born to Margaret and John McNeish in Leigh, Lancashire. His mother was an ex-mill worker in the town and his father was a fitter at Astley Green Colliery. He had a younger brother, Gary. Shelley’s stage name is inspired by Percy Bysshe Shelley, his favourite poet.

Shelley formed Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto after they met at the Bolton Institute of Technology (now the University of Bolton) in 1975 and subsequently travelled to High Wycombe, near London, to see the Sex Pistols. The band included bass guitarist Steve Diggle and drummer John Maher; they made their first appearance in 1976 in Manchester, opening for the Sex Pistols.

In 1977 Buzzcocks released their first EP, Spiral Scratch, on their independent label, New Hormones. When Devoto left the band in February 1977, Shelley took over as the lead vocalist and chief songwriter. Working with the producer Martin Rushent, the band created the punk/new wave singles “Orgasm Addict”, “What Do I Get?” and “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)”, along with three LPs: Another Music in a Different Kitchen (1978), Love Bites (1978) and A Different Kind of Tension (1979). Difficulties with their record company and a dispute with Virgin Publishing over the UK release of their greatest hits record, Singles Going Steady, brought the band to a halt in 1981.

Shelley developed a different personal image from many of his rebellious 1970s punk contemporaries, telling Melody Maker in 1978, “I won’t be nasty. We’re just four nice lads, the kind of people you could take home to your parents.”