When this prestigious gig was originally announced in June 2018 it was supposed to be Buzzcocks’ big birthday show. Tragically however founding member Pete Shelley passed away in December of the same year and the Royal Albert Hall show was respectfully turned into a celebration of his life. The great and the good are out in force for this special one-off night and the RAH is the perfect host for such a special occasion. Pauline Murray and PENETRATION kick off the show with a high-quality thirty-minute set including the anthemic ‘Don’t Dictate’ and in the blink of an eye they’re gone. You sense THE SKIDS have been desperate for tonight’s show because they hit the ground running and deliver a rousing performance that more than deserves the standing ovation. ‘Circus Games’, ‘New World Order’ and a fist-pumping ‘Yankee Dollar’ all get the heads bobbing but it’s the emotive ‘The Saints Are Coming’ that almost lifts the iconic roof. Jobson dancing hasn’t improved but his physique puts men half his age to shame and his vocal delivery is Punk perfection. Stuart Adamson is rightly remembered as is Pete Shelley as The Skids do a quick ‘Ever Fallen In Love Somebody’ and ‘Pretty Vacant’ before ‘Masquerade’ leads the crowd ‘Into The Valley’.
Steve Diggle looks slightly uncomfortable as he takes to the expansive stage and acknowledges the rapturous applause. A huge video screen above the stage shows a career spanning images of Buzzcocks and Pete Shelley. Sadly the massive screen’s sound misses a good third of Howard Devoto’s heartfelt message, not cool. An adrenalin fueled ‘Fast Cars’ kicks into a spat out ‘Promises’ as Diggle delivers the words before pointing to the sky, thumping his chest and speaking proudly of “Brother Peter”. The first few songs flash by before the special guests are wheeled out by Paul Morley who does an imperious compere’s job. First up is Captain Sensible who takes on lead vocals on ‘Boredom’ and he does a fair job. Original Buzzcocks members John Maher and Steve Garvey join Penetration’s Pauline Murray for ‘Love You More’ before The Only Ones Peter Perret bangs out ‘Why Can’t I Touch It’. Richard Jobson rejoins Diggle for ‘Fiction Romance’ before (for me) the night’s highlight. The Damned’s Dave Vanain’s rich voice is perfectly suited to the RAH’s stunning acoustics. He smothers ‘What Do I Get?’ and ‘Somethings Gone Wrong Again’ with his distinctly dark and melted delivery, if you were looking for a “moment” then this was it. Thurston Moore, Tim Burgess both tread the hallowed boards before Eugene Butcher from Vive Le Rock presents Steve Diggle with a VLR award which is dispatched before the finale of the big hits. ‘Harmony In My Head’, ‘Orgasm Addict’ and ‘I Don’t Mind’ while the stage fills with all the guests for the grand finale of ‘Ever Fallen In Love With Someone’. The Royal Albert Hall is fast becoming the Punk bands birthday, anniversary and now sadly it’s wake venue of choice. Friday the 21st of June was a night for remembering, celebrating and inhaling the music of Buzzcocks and its founding member Mr Pete Shelley. Thank you, and rest easy sir.