#250 Buzzcocks, 'Singles Going Steady' (1979)

Previously #360

‘Singles Going Steady’ was intended to introduce Buzzcocks to the US market by compiling their 8 singles on Side A, followed by their corresponding B-Sides on Side B. The result is the “best album Buzzcocks never made,” according to NME. Of course, it is. It’s an album that’s cherry picked arguably the best songs from their career (singles aren’t always the best songs, but often they’re the most accessible). In their 5 years together, Buzzcocks became a major influence in the 1970s Manchester music scene.

Buzzcocks were one of the earliest pop punk bands, while maintaining their punk edge, their music was accessible to a wider audience. Green Day cited Buzzcocks as a major influence on them, as did Nirvana and R.E.M. They wouldn’t be the only ones. You can argue that Buzzcocks would have had a strong influence on most of the pop punk bands of the ‘80s, ‘90s and early 2000s, and this would have been the record to do it. Generally I’m not a huge fan of greatest hits compilations being featured in this list, but I can understand how this one would have been a major influence, considering it was the first release from the band in the US market. And it must be said, did LCD Soundsystem rip off ‘Something’s Gone Wrong Again’ on ‘North American Scum’? It’s uncannily similar.

#rs500albums