R.I.P. Pete Shelley

[adap2it]

Magazine_-_Shot_By_Both_Sides_single_picture_cover.jpg Pete co-wrote this with Howard Devoto, MAGAZINE'S first single SHOT BY BOTH SIDES.

[markwoll]

I'm sure that there have been many ProgEars threads/conversations about "punk" etc vs "prog"


what's curious is what a fan of music is attracted to?? songwriting? chops? lyrical content? fashion/cultural bent? etc


I can see how someone could love both (as I do) but I'm always bummed when one slags the other, as surely there are slivers of punk in prog at places and vice versa. I'm not the biggest DC hardcore fan just as I am not a Dream Theater Fan; both seem like reductions of their forms. base.



this topic is what I love about the E.G. / Eno cabal in the 70s and Touch and Go Records in the 80s/90s, where art met form and cultural intent etc



anyways, Pete was surely a master of craft whom made his way via "punk". one thing is for sure is that a good 'tune' and melody will last forever. songs can always be played/interpreted by someone. vamps or hyper arrangements can but don't often hold up apart from the creator


/blah/

Back in the early 80's I had a 'falling out' with prog. Not sure why, I still liked the music, just not the direction it was heading at the time.
I had a walkman with tapes that I listened to on my mile walk to and from campus.
Magazine ( Real Life, Secondhand Daylight ) , Buzzcocks (A Different Kind of Tension ), Gang of Four, Joy Division , XTC, Simple Minds, etc
They fit my somewhat nihilistic mood and made the walk go faster.
Sort of a situational thing. I focused more on how the songs went together than the lyrical content ( which today I probably would not embrace as much )
Great beat, made me want to move.

[yamishogun]

Gang of Four, Joy Division , XTC, Simple Minds, etc

Simple Minds is why I know Homosapian and finally heard the original today. Sad that he was only 63.

[Sunlight Caller]

Magazine_-_Shot_By_Both_Sides_single_picture_cover.jpg Pete co-wrote this with Howard Devoto, MAGAZINE'S first single SHOT BY BOTH SIDES.

... and reused part of it for Promises.

[adap2it]

... and reused part of it for Promises.

Yes he did, I believe it was the guitar parts, which is what he wrote in SBBS. Incidentally, if you are a MAGAZINE fan, you might be interested to know that included on the 5th album, put out in 2011, called No Thyself, it includes another Pete Shelley co-written tune from 1979 called DO THE MEANING.

[Sunlight Caller]

I have that a Magazine album, I love that band, but I hadn’t realised Pete had co-written that song, I’ll add it my Pete Shelley requiem playlist. Today was the first time in forever that I had given Homosapien a spin too.

[spellbound]

Rest in peace.

[interbellum]

Magazine_-_Shot_By_Both_Sides_single_picture_cover.jpg Pete co-wrote this with Howard Devoto, MAGAZINE'S first single SHOT BY BOTH SIDES.

Shelley also co-wrote (with Devoto and McGeoch) The Light Pours Out Of Me from Magazine's Real Life.

Here's a cover by Peter Murphy from his solo-debut Should The World Fail To Fall Apart:



And speaking of New Wave VS Progressive music: The wonderful duo I Monster included Magazine's Parade (also from Real Life) on their mix-album The Art Of Chill 6 next to songs by Happy The Man, Goblin, Gentle Giant, Bo Hansson, Tim Buckley and Yazoo!
Recommended.

PS RIP Pete Shelley.

[bRETT]

... and reused part of it for Promises.

It was "Lipstick," which includes the Shot By Both Sides riff. Shelley/Devoto are credited with writing both songs,.

[Sunlight Caller]

It was "Lipstick," which includes the Shot By Both Sides riff. Shelley/Devoto are credited with writing both songs,.

Ah yes you are quite correct, it was on the same 7" single!

[FrippWire]

Rest In Power, Pete Shelley. The Buzzcocks were an important band for me because at the time they helped bridge the gap between my hard rock/heavy metal roots and the punk/post-punk/new wave I was becoming more and more attracted to all while maintaining a healthy appetite for jazz, Classical and prog.

[spacefreak]

He was a very important voice of a generation.

And beyond his punk offerings, he had roots in experimental stuff and krautrock. His solo album "Sky Yen" and contibutions in the projects Free Agents, Sally Summit And Her Musicians and Strange Men In Sheds With Spanners. Plus a very interesting record with Howard Devoto as ShelleyDevoto.

Definitely he went more progressive than many prog musicians dared to. Big loss.