One of the great punk bands from the late 70s were Buzzcocks. It began with Howard DeVoto (who named the band) and Pete Shelley, along with Steve Diggle (bass), and John Maher (drums). Howard DeVoto only stayed long enough to participate in the classic 4-track EP, Spiral Scratch, which was released in 1977. After that, DeVoto left to form another great band, Magazine. But before even Spiral Scratch, there was the stunning album of demos songs recorded live known as Time’s Up, which was released in 1976.
The good news is that Time’s Up will be reissued on both CD and 180g-weight vinyl LP. The CD reissue will feature a 4-page booklet with more notes and pictures than the original bootleg issue. The LP release will provide ‘no extra cost’ access to downloadable digital files of he album’s eleven demo tracks that includes “Orgasm Addict”.
Both reissues of Time’s Up will be released on March 10 via Domino Records.
As a further bonus to the legacy of Buzzcocks is the upcoming reissue of Spiral Scratch, planned for January 27. Spiral Scratch will be reissued on a 7″ vinyl edition, and will be relegated to only 500 copies of the classic EP. What’s more, purchases of the 7″ vinyl EP will include the four songs as downloadable tracks. The EP will be housed in a sleeve that includes all original artwork, and a plastic inner sleeve to help preserve the vinyl.
If you’re a Buzzcocks fan (especially with DeVoto), this is indeed great news!