Читать книгу Buzzcocks - The Complete History - Tony McGartland - Страница 63

Howard Devoto (vocals), Pete Shelley (guitar) and newcomer Steve Diggle (bass) have their first rehearsal in the cellar at 364 Lower Broughton Road.

Meanwhile, since realising the great demand for drummers, Maher has still been trying unsuccessfully to join several bands as a guitarist, but, with his suspicions now confirmed, he hires a kit for £20 and, soon afterwards, trades all his guitar equipment in to buy his own drum kit. He teaches himself by playing along to records in the front room of his house, but the neighbours are not impressed, so, after several complaints, he starts looking through the adverts in Melody Maker.

John recalls the first time Howard introduced himself: ‘At this stage I’d owned a drum kit for about six weeks. It didn’t take long for my parents and the neighbours to start complaining about the noise. I figured the best way to get the kit out of the house was to join a band. I spotted a “musicians wanted” advert in Melody Maker with a Manchester phone number. It said something along the lines of, “Girl drummer wishes to meet other beginner musicians to form band.” Classing myself as a beginner, I gave her a call from the local phone box. She explained she was aiming to hook up with a guitarist and bass player at similar novice level – the idea being they could all progress together.’

A few days later, John is about to cycle back to school to sit his chemistry O-level when the doorbell rings. It’s Howard. He explains how he’s got his address and, when he asks what kind of music he’s into, he says ‘high-energy pop’.

‘I was invited to Lower Broughton Road for my first rehearsal with Buzzcocks the following Saturday. Then Howard jumped over the garden gate and ran off down the street at high speed. I remember thinking that was a bit odd.’ Shortly after, just before Maher leaves his house to sit his chemistry O-level, Devoto calls round to ask if he would be interested in joining Buzzcocks, without an audition.