''Spiral Scratch'' is an EP and the first release by the English

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

. It was released on 29 January 1977. It is one of the earliest releases by a British punk band (preceded by the Damned's " New Rose" in October 1976). ''Spiral Scratch'' and the album ''Time's Up'' are the only Buzzcocks studio releases with original singer

Howard Devoto Howard Devoto (born Howard Andrew Trafford, 15 March 1952) is an English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for punk rock band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, an early post-punk band. After Magazine, he went ...

, who left shortly after the EP's release to form one of the first

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

bands,

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

. When reissued in 1979, it reached number 31 in the UK singles chart. In 2017, it was at the top of the UK Physical Singles Chart after being re-issued on its 40th anniversary.

Recording and release

Buzzcocks recorded the tracks on 28 December 1976 at Dave Kent-Watson's Indigo Sound Studios in Manchester on 16-track Ampex tape. According to Devoto, "It took three hours o record the tracks with another two for mixing." Produced by

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991) was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Cert ...

(credited as "Martin Zero"), the music was roughly recorded, insistently repetitive and energetic. The band, having no record label support, had to borrow about £750 from their friends and families to pay for the record's production and manufacture. The EP was released on 29 January 1977 on the band's own New Hormones label, making Buzzcocks the first English punk group to establish an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

. Despite this, the disc quickly sold out its initial run of 1,000 copies, and went on to sell 16,000 copies, initially by mail order, but also with the help of the Manchester branch of the music

chain store A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many p ...

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

, whose manager took some copies and persuaded other regional branch managers to follow suit.

"Boredom"

"Boredom", probably the EP's most well-known song, announced punk's rebellion against the status quo while templating a strident musical minimalism (the guitar solo consisting of two notes repeated 66 times, ending with a single modulated seventh). At the same time, the lyrics already showed boredom with the movement itself ("You know the scene is very humdrum" and "I'm already a has-been!") Indeed, Devoto left the band on the eve of the record's release, saying, "I get bored very easily, and that boredom can act as a catalyst for me to suddenly conceive and execute a new vocation." He added that punk rock had already become restrictive and stereotyped. Richard Boon, the band's manager, says that "Boredom" was a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

song.

Release

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture. Reynold ...

, in his book ''Rip It Up and Start Again'', writes that some consider ''Spiral Scratch'' to be a more important record than the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." because, whereas the Sex Pistols' single showed that anyone could be in a rock band (a novel idea at the time), ''Spiral Scratch'' proved that anyone could release a record without needing an established

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

. Reynolds also contends that the EP was "a regionalist blow" by the Manchester band against the London-based music industry.

Jon Savage Jon Savage (born Jonathan Malcolm Sage, 2 September 1953) is an English writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his definitive history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, ''England's Dreaming'' (1991). Early life and educati ...

says that it was instrumental in helping to establish the small labels and scenes in both Manchester and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. It is often said that the many small DIY labels that sprang up across the UK in 1977 took ''Spiral Scratch'' as their inspiration. The EP was also an exercise in the demystification of the record-making process (for example, its title was taken from the music's being recorded literally as a spiral scratch on each side of the vinyl; also, the listing of take numbers and overdubs on the record sleeve). This was a landmark event for many, Reynolds adds. "People were buying ''Spiral Scratch'' ..for the sheer fact of its existence, its existence as a cultural landmark and portent of revolution." Bob Last founded the Fast Product record label after ''Spiral Scratch'' came out. "I had absolutely no idea there'd been a history of independent labels before that. ''Spiral Scratch'' turned my head around."

Legacy

"Boredom" was placed at number 11 in '' Mojo'' magazine's list of "100 Punk Scorchers" in 2001. The 1980s indie band

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mentioned "Boredom", used a line from it and adapted the guitar solo on their 1982 single " Rip It Up". The self-publication of ''Spiral Scratch'' is cited as an event which led to the rise of independent record labels and ultimately resulted in the name "indie" being used to describe a style of music as well as a publishing model. "Boredom" was featured in the 2021 movie, '' Ghostbusters Afterlife''.

Reissues and alternative versions

The EP was reissued in the United Kingdom in 1979, having been deleted when Buzzcocks signed to United Artists in 1977. Remaining on the New Hormones label, but credited to "Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto", the record was distributed by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

and reached number 31 in the charts, staying in for six weeks. As a consequence of Buzzcocks' signing to UA, and later EMI, none of the tracks on ''Spiral Scratch'' appeared on subsequent EMI compilation albums '' Singles Going Steady'', ''Product'' or '' Operator's Manual: Buzzcocks Best''. The EP was reissued as a CD by

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

in 1999. The original EP was priced at £40 by ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'' in its 2008 price guide. In 2017, ''Spiral Scratch'' was reissued on vinyl by Domino Records to commemorate its 40th anniversary. On the week of 3 February the EP entered the top spot on the UK physical singles chart.

Track listing

All songs written by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley. ; Side one # "Breakdown" – 1:58 # "Time's Up" – 3:07 ; Side two # "Boredom" – 2:51 # "Friends of Mine" – 2:15

Personnel

;Buzzcocks *

– vocals *

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 rock, punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist ...

– guitar, backing vocals *

Steve Diggle Stephen E Diggle (born 7 May 1955) is an English musician best known as a guitarist and later lead vocalist in the punk rock, punk band Buzzcocks. In 1976, Diggle was recruited as a bassist for Buzzcocks, playing bass on the ''Spiral Scratch'' ...

– bass guitar * John Maher – drums ;Technical *

– production * Phil Hampson –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control 1977 debut EPs Albums produced by Martin Hannett Buzzcocks albums DIY culture Self-released EPs UK singles chart number-one singles