Spiral Scratch (EP)

Infobox Album
Name = Spiral Scratch
Type = EP
Artist = Buzzcocks


Released = Jan 29, 1977
Recorded = Dec 28, 1976 in Manchester, United Kingdom
Genre = Punk, Indie
Length = 10:01
Label = New Hormones ORG1
Producer = Martin Hannett
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wzfwxqq5ld6e~T0 link]
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"Spiral Scratch" was a four-track EP by the punk band Buzzcocks, recorded in 1976 and released in January 1977. It was the first punk record to be self-released (that is, without the support of a record label), and only the third ever by a British punk band. When reissued in 1979, it reached number 31 in the UK Singles Chart.

Recording and release

Buzzcocks recorded the tracks on 28 December 1976 at Indigo Sound, Manchester on 16-track tape. According to Devoto, "It took three hours [to record the tracks] , with another two for mixing." [Savage, J. "England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock" (Faber and Faber 2001), pp.296-7] Produced by Martin Hannett (credited as Martin Zero), the music was roughly recorded, insistently repetitive, and energetic.

The band, having no record label support, had to borrow £500 from their friends and families to pay for the record's production and manufacture. [Perry, A. in "Mojo" 95, P.90] The EP was released 29 January 1977 on the band's own New Hormones label, making Buzzcocks the first English Punk group to establish an independent record label. Despite this, the disc quickly sold out its initial run of 1,000 copies, and went on to sell 16,000 copies, initially by mail order, but also with the help of the Manchester branch of music chain store Virgin, whose manager took some copies and persuaded other regional branch managers to follow suit. ["Mail order was very important. Rough Trade was just a shop with a mail order service in those days." - Richard Boon in Reynolds, S. "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984" (Faber and Faber 2006), p. 92]

"Boredom"

"Boredom", probably the EP's most well-known song, announced punk's rebellion against the status quo while templating a strident musical minimalism (the guitar solo consisting of two notes repeated 66 times, ending with a single modulated seventh [Lee, C.P. quoted in Sharp, S. "Who Killed Martin Hannett?" (Aurum 2007), p.27] ). At the same time the lyrics already showed boredom with punk itself ("You know the scene is very humdrum" and "I'm already a has-been!") - indeed Howard Devoto left the band on the eve of the record's release, saying "I get bored very easily and that boredom can act as a catalyst for me to suddenly conceive and execute a new vocation." He added that punk rock had already become restrictive and stereotyped. [Reynolds, S. "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984" (Faber and Faber 2006), pp.17-18]

Richard Boon, the band's manager, asserts that "Boredom" was a satirical song. [Savage, J. "England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock" (Faber and Faber 2001), pp.296-7]

The song was placed at Number 11 in "Mojo" magazine's list of "100 Punk Scorchers" in 2001. [Savage, J. and Perry, A. "100 Punk Scorchers!" in "Mojo" 95, (October 2001), P.90]

Influence

Simon Reynolds in his book "Rip It Up and Start Again" states that some consider "Spiral Scratch" to be a more important record than the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK" - because, whereas the Sex Pistols' single showed that anyone could be in a rock band (a novel idea at the time), "Spiral Scratch" proved that anyone could release a record, without needing an established record label, of which there were very few in 1977.

Further to this, he states that the EP was "a regionalist blow" by the Manchester band against the London-based music industry. Jon Savage states that it was instrumental in helping establish the small labels and scenes in both Manchester and Liverpool. [Savage, J. "England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock" (Faber and Faber 2001), p.298]

It is often said that the many small DIY labels that sprang up across the country in 1977 took "Spiral Scratch" as their inspiration. [for instance, "Spiral Scratch" helped to codify the DIY-or-die fervor that resulted in so many scrappy English 7”s over the next few years" in [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/rhythm-of-cruelty-howard-devoto-magazine-and-the-post-punk-revival.htm Harvell, J. "Rhythm of Cruelty:Howard Devoto, Magazine and the Post-punk Revival"] (Retrieved 29 June 2007)]

The EP was also an exercise in the demystification of the record-making process (for example, its title was taken from the music's being recorded literally as a spiral scratch on each side of the vinyl; also, the listing of take numbers and overdubs on the record sleeve). This was a landmark event for many, Reynolds adds. "People were buying "Spiral Scratch"...for the sheer fact of its existence, its existence as a cultural landmark and portent of revolution." [Reynolds, S. "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984" (Faber and Faber 2006), p.93]

Bob Last founded his Fast Product label after "Spiral Scratch" came out. "I had absolutely no idea there'd been a history of independent labels before that. "Spiral Scratch" turned my head around." [Reynolds, S. "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984" (Faber and Faber 2006), p.94] .

Eighties Indie band Orange Juice mentioned "Boredom", used a line from it and adapted the guitar solo on their 1982 single "Rip It Up." [Todd Hutlock: "And then there it is: that same ringing, repeating guitar riff that Buzzcocks put in our heads years previous" in [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/seconds/buzzcocks-boredom-orange-juice-rip-it-up.htm Buzzcocks:boredom/Orange Juice;Rip It Up] ]

The success of this EP also helped to establish the reputation of Martin Hannett in the music industry. [This is stated in his Wikipedia article]

Collecting

The original EP is priced at £40 by "Record Collector" in their 2008 price guide. [Shirley, I. (ed) "Rare Record Price Guide" (Diamond 2008, ISBN 0953260151)), p.187] .

Track listing

ide one

# "Breakdown" ("Third take no dubs")
# "Time's Up" ("First take guitar dub")

ide two

# "Boredom" ("First take guitar dub")
# "Friends of Mine" ("First take guitar dub")

Personnel

*Howard Devoto: vocal
*Pete Shelley: guitar
*Steve Diggle: bass
*John Maher: drums

*Martin Hannett: Production
*Phil Hampson:Engineer

Reissues and alternate versions

The EP was reissued in the UK in 1979, having been deleted when Buzzcocks signed to United Artists in 1977. [Perry, A. in "Mojo" 95, P.90] Remaining on the New Hormones label, but credited to "Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto" the record was distributed by Virgin records and reached No 31 in the charts, staying in for six weeks. [Brown, T. et al. "The Complete Book of the British Charts" (Omnibus Press 2002), P.178]

The EP was reissued as a CD by Mute Records in 1999. [In Scaruffi, P. [http://www.scaruffi.com/vol4/buzzcock.html "Buzzcocks"] (retrieved 29 June 2007)]

"Time's Up", a former bootleg LP recorded in 1976, features early, rough versions of the songs. This was also released by Mute. [Wilkinson, R. in "Q (magazine) Punk special edition (EMAP 2002), P.135]

ee also

*DIY ethic
*Self-publishing
*Music of Manchester

References

External links

* [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15776-spiral-scratch?artist_title=15776-spiral-scratch A review of the EP]
* [http://www.philhampson.com/history.html Phil Hampson on engineering "Spiral Scratch"]
* [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/seconds/buzzcocks-boredom-orange-juice-rip-it-up.htm Influence on Orange Juice]