Alongside Pete Shelley, Steve Garvey and John Maher in the classic Buzzcocks line-up, Steve Diggle has been responsible for some of the finest songs from that initial ignition of punk in the UK. Originally the band’s bassist, Diggle assumed guitar duties after founding member Howard Devoto’s departure following the release of the Spiral Scratch EP in 1977, adding the melodic soul to Shelley’s guitar lines.

Buzzcocks called it a day in 1981 after three albums and a handful of untouchable singles, during which time Diggle formed Flag of Convenience. Buzzcocks reformed almost a decade later for a world tour and had a subsequent 90s resurgence, releasing a further six albums up until Pete Shelley’s death in 2018. Since then Diggle has kept the show on the road with the now three-piece Buzzcocks having released their tenth album Sonics in the Soul in 2022. We caught up with Steve for a chat ahead of the band’s upcoming Irish tour…

You’ve played Ireland manys a time over the years and Buzzcocks are doing four nights in a row this month in Belfast, Galway, Cork and Dublin. Do you still enjoy touring, the whole lifestyle?

Always loved playing Ireland. The crowds all have great spirit and get the Buzzcocks…all great gigs. Yes, four shows in Ireland - always a great place to visit. I enjoy the passion of the people and touring is great.

Did you ever share bills here or in the UK with any of the Irish punk bands in the early days of the band - The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, Boomtown Rats, Rudi, etc.?

We never shared a bill with any Irish bands at the time although I’m told at the first Dublin show a young band called U2 opened for us. We were in the pub having a Guinness.

Buzzcocks and The Undertones share a side each on an interesting Australian bootleg LP from 1984 called Live To Air. There’s a copy on eBay at the minute for about £100. Have you ever spent silly money on a record or instrument or the like?

I’ve spent a lot of money on guitars. Now they are worth more than I paid for them.

Speaking of guitars, were you a self-taught musician?

I was self-taught. I did the theory of music to grade 5 at school, but there was nobody to show me rock’n’roll so I taught myself, which I think because you don’t know, you come up with new ideas.

Did you switch from bass to guitar after Spiral Scratch out of necessity from the vacuum left by Howard Devoto? Was there ever mention of someone replacing Devoto?

I switched to guitar as I was a guitarist. I played ten shows on bass in less than six months then when Howard left I moved to guitar, so it all worked out and that became the classic line-up of Buzzcocks and all the songs I wrote and all the songs Pete wrote.

Was Devoto leaving after the release of Spiral Scratch a shock? Did the band try to convince him to stay on? 

It was a shock for one minute then me and Pete said we will carry on. We never thought about it, we just got on with it. It seemed very natural and it was the right thing.

Incidentally, there’s an apocryphal scene in 24 Hour Party People with the Devoto character having sex with Tony Wilson's wife in the club toilet when the real Devoto breaks the fourth wall to say he doesn’t remember it ever happening. What did you make of that film’s representation of the Manchester scene and its personalities?

24 Hour Party People was about The Hacienda. There was the Manchester punk scene for four years before, I remember that more. It had more significance for me.

What was the songwriting dynamic in the band, especially after Devoto’s departure? Did you have to fight to get your songs on the records?

My first song for Buzzcocks was ‘Fast Cars’ so they changed the verse as one of them was going to sing it at the time. I’ve written over 80 songs for Buzzcocks like ‘Autonomy’, ‘Promises’, the chords and groove to ‘Why Can’t I Touch It?’ It was never a problem. It became that I had my songs and Pete had his - it became half and half - although I put many important riffs on his songs that made them.

I was at a Buzzcocks show in The Academy many years ago when the band played the Another Music in a Different Kitchen and Love Bites records back to back. You seemed almost apologetic or reluctant to be playing ‘Love Is Lies’. Why was that?

When we played ‘Love is Lies’ on the tour playing the Love Bites album it all seemed a bit rushed doing that song at the time, but we have been playing it live over the last year and I now enjoy playing it.  It has pride of place in the set, and the sentiment? It’s a playful song about love.

Do you have a favourite composition of your own?

I’ve written over 80 songs for Buzzcocks and 100 songs solo and for Flag of Convenience. I’m kinda known for ‘Harmony In My Head’ but I like a song called ‘Terminal’ from the Serious Contender solo album.

You’ve spoken a lot about The Who over the years. Did you ever meet them? Could you ever imagine having gone down the whole ‘rock opera’/concept album route with Buzzcocks?

I’ve met Pete Townshend a few times. The rock opera thing seems to get long and drawn out apart from the music. I wasn’t that bothered about the concept at the time, but it was good for them to do and a great concept. I never would have imagined Buzzcocks doing that at the time, but if I had time I would consider it.

What circumstances led to Buzzcocks breaking up after three albums?

We broke up after three albums as the wheels came off the wagon and we needed a break.

You and John Maher formed Flag of Convenience after Buzzcocks disbanded. How was that received?

I formed Flag of Convenience and asked John to play. He played one on EP then left. I carried on and made many albums. It was my band.

At the time, did you ever foresee a Buzzcocks reunion? Was there any pushback from Pete or others by Flag of Convenience’s later name change to Buzzcocks FOC?

I think they weren’t happy it was called Buzzcocks FOC but that’s how we were billed in Europe at some places. The manager I had at the time said carry on with it. I wasn’t that bothered about it. However, that was the catalyst that got the band back.

Did you have much contact, if any, with Pete in the intervening years until the 1991 reunion?

I would run into Pete and have a drink a few times but I was busy with FOC.

How was the experience of recording Sonics in the Soul as a three-piece and as sole songwriter in the wake of Pete’s death, and the live shows in his absence?

When I recorded Sonics in the Soul I just got on with it and wanted to take it to other places as well as keep the thread. I’ve also just finished the follow-up album to Sonics - gotta keep moving on - and the live shows have been electric. It’s a new situation with new songs, not a greatest hits only thing.

So, there’s a new Buzzcocks album on the way…

I have just finished a new album with new twists and turns, so Buzzcocks are still relevant.

Buzzcocks were releasing music all through the Britpop era. What did you make of what was going on musically at that time?

Britpop was a good era and many of those bands cited Buzzcocks as an influence. We just carried on making albums and carved our own path.

What do you listen to these days? Has your musical taste changed much over the years?

I listen to what I grew up with, but it’s good to see that there’s a lot of kids forming bands and playing guitars again.

You were a mod in your younger days, what was that scene like living in Manchester?

I was a mod back in the day and I would see on the television the swinging sixties and Carnaby Street, but I was born in Manchester. There was a place called The Twisted Wheel and another one called The Pendulum Club, a soul club in Manchester.

What attracted you to it?  Was it more the music or the fashion and lifestyle - as Pete Meaden summarised, “... clean living under difficult circumstances”?

It was both the music and the fashion. In 1965 I heard ‘My Generation’ and saw The Who on television, but before them I heard soul records.

Was it easy to seek out soul records in Manchester at that time?

There were many record shops and records on market stalls. You had to search but you could find interesting things although it’s a mystery how they got there.

What about the intersection between punk and mod culture?  Was it tribal back then?

For me punk was about attitude and the magic of the music so if you were a punk, mod or Rasta, many were drawing from the same well. There were odd incidents with Teddy Boys but basically everybody was on the same page.

Do you ever cross paths these days with your contemporaries from the early days?

Yes, I run into members of The Clash, Pistols and Jam. There’s a bond from the summer of 1976.

Has anyone taken issue with how they have been represented or with your retelling of events in Autonomy: Portrait of a Buzzcock?

The Autonomy book is the story of my journey. I had no time to criticise anyone.

A USA-Mexico-South American jaunt is coming up.  What are you looking forward to on that trip?

It’s such an amazing experience to meet the people and see these countries.

A pint of Guinness in my local costs €6.40 at the time of writing. Buzzcocks were no strangers to the pub. How much was a pint when you were recording Another Music in a Different Kitchen?

A pint of Guinness might have been a pound in 1976 [laughs].

What advice might the Steve Diggle of today give to his younger self?

You have to believe in what you are doing and follow your own path of realisation

Buzzcocks play Cyprus Avenue, Cork on 19 March, Róisín Dubh, Galway on 20 March, Limelight 2, Belfast on 21 March, and The Academy, Dublin on 21 March. Tickets available here.