Pete Shelley of The Buzzcocks (1955-2018)

I'm very sad to hear that Pete Shelley, leader of The Buzzcocks, died of a heart attack today. He was 63.

From The Guardian:

The band formed part of the UKs punk scene and have been closely associated with it ever since. Speaking later about his views on music, Shelley told the Guardian: Im not interested in being able to play. A musician is like another brand of entertainer.

There are plenty of musicians that I enjoy watching that are entertainers. But I wouldnt want to be that, because the thing with an entertainer is that there is always that dishonesty, which is what punk tried to get rid of. It was like, youre not pretending to be something you are not. You are just what you are. Punk is an art of action. Its about deciding to do something and then going out and doing it.

Fellow artists paid tribute to Shelley after the news of his death was confirmed on Thursday. The author Neil Gaiman tweeted: Part of my youth dies with him. RIP Pete Shelley.

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.

— Buzzcocks (@Buzzcocks) December 6, 2018

Pete Shelley wrote perfect three minute pop songs. The soundtrack to being a teenager. Youll be missed Pete but youll be remembered for a long long time for your brilliant music https://t.co/bt03fGbcgd

— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) December 6, 2018

I am totally shocked and saddened to just hear of the untimely death of Pete Shelley.