Search - Buzzcocks - Auf Widersehen on DVD

Great historic performance, average presentation

Bill Wikstrom | Long Island, NY | 01/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was to be The Buzzcocks last show before they broke up in March 1981 and then re-formed some eight years later.

The performance is blistering setting things alight at the start

with a great version of Diggle's "Why She's A Girl From The Chainstore" (marred a bit by Shelly's carelessly erratic vocals).

John Maher plays like a machine (in the best possible sense) - he's really solid and it shows here.

The show was originally broadcast on the German show Rockpalast, which is why the camera work here is your basic television show set-up.

An audience member apparently stabbed a camera man so forgive the minimal canera work during "Fiction Romance".

The audience - who were vaguely aggresive and seemed to have their own agenda - responded to the band like Neanderthals.

It's cool to hear them play four of the songs from

Parts 1, 2 & 3, which they only played around this time.

Those songs are: "Strange Thing", "Airwaves Dream", "What Do You

Know" and "Why She's...Chainstore". Very cool.

It's also nice to see an entire show from the classic line-up.

Indeed the only complaint is the wildly erratic singing (off and sometimes on-key) of Pete Shelly.

If you're a fan of the band you'll love this, so pick it up."