Pete Shelley, Romantic Punk – Liberation

Died at 63 in 2018, Pete Shelley remains a brilliant pioneer of English punk with his group Buzzcocks. Far from the aggressiveness of the sex pistols, whose first concerts inspired him, his music is above all guided by his exacerbated sensitivity of the son of workers who are lovers of literature. Punk, he only retained energy and passion. Buzzcocks are above all extraordinary melodies to which his high -lined voice gives an ironic dimension. It is obvious in his first two solos albums, Homosapian (1981) and XL1 (1983), reissued today. Beyond the prodigious single, which gives its name to the album and was interpreted as a gay hymn, even if Shelley, notoriously bisexual, never confirmed this intention, Homosapian Fascinates by its strange dance/Synth Pop style and by the use of the machines of the time with sometimes very kitch sound, but which make it the charm. The recovery given by Joe Goddard of Hot cheap As a bonus is also a success. If the electronics remain present in XL1, The guitars make their return to this album unjustly renowned less inspired than the previous one, and just as essential to grasp the singularity of this figure in British pop culture.