Spiral Scratch

Biography

Spiral Scratch is a four-track EP by the British punk rock 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. It is often said that the many small DIY labels that sprang up across the country in 1977 took Spiral Scratch as their inspiration. Buzzcocks recorded the tracks...

Spiral Scratch is a four-track EP by the British punk rock 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. It is often said that the many small DIY labels that sprang up across the country in 1977 took Spiral Scratch as their inspiration. 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." 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. 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. "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.) 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. 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. 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." 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." The success of this EP also helped to establish the reputation of Martin Hannett in the music industry. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.