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Pete Shelley

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (April 17, 1955-December 6, 2018)
    Born in Leigh, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
    Birth name was Peter Campbell McNeish
    Co-founder and lead singer of the Buzzcocks
    Recorded the solo albums ‘Homospaien’ (1982), ‘XL1’ (1983) and ‘Heaven and the Sea’ (1983)
    Recorded the singles ‘Homosapien’ (1982) and ‘Telephone Operator’ (1983)

Why he might be annoying:

    He noted about his drug use in the punk days, ‘I took lots and lots of acid, coke, heroin, everything - I went to the point where time doesn't exist any more.’
    Many Buzzcocks fans were confused when he switched to electropop for his solo career. (Or as Trouser Press headlined it: ‘He ditched the Buzzcocks for a synthesizer!’)
    ’Homosapien’ was banned by the BBC for being sexually explicit.
    He said, ‘I honestly think Morrissey stole my idea of the non-gender specific lyric.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was not bitter that many of the bands influenced by himself and the Buzzcocks – such as REM and Nirvana -- were far more successful commercially: ‘I could do with more, but I didn’t sign my life away for £10.’
    He was openly bisexual.
    He wrote the theme music for Channel 4’s coverage of the Tour de France.
    Tim Burgess of the Charlatans wrote, ‘Pete Shelley wrote perfect three minute pop songs. The soundtrack to being a teenager.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 68 Votes: 69.12% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 60 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 71 Votes: 50.70% Annoying