Buzzcocks co-founder Pete Shelley, British punk pioneer, dies at 63
- Influential band from northern England debuted in 1976 as the opening act for the Sex Pistols
Pete Shelley, the lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks, has died aged 63, his bandmates have said.
“It’s with great sadness that we confirm the death of Pete Shelley, one of the UK’s most influential and prolific songwriters and co-founder of the seminal original punk band Buzzcocks,” the band said on Thursday evening.
“Pete’s music has inspired generations of musicians over a career that spanned five decades and with his band and as a solo artist, he was held in the highest regard by the music industry and by his fans around the world.”
The songwriter died of a suspected heart attack on Thursday in Estonia, where he was living, the BBC quoted the band’s management as saying.
Shelley wrote the band’s most famous song Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve), which was released in 1978 – about two years after Buzzcocks formed.
Shelley was born in Leigh, near Wigan, in 1955 and began forming Buzzcocks in Bolton in 1975 with Howard Devoto, later of Magazine.