10 7" Singles That Defined Punk

3. Orgasm Addict - Buzzcocks (1977)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2Mi995ggFU Whereas The Clash were tied to CBS and the Pistols products of many a high profile label such as A&M and EMI, Buzzcocks were truly independent. Before eventually consigning themselves to United Artists, the Bolton group managed to release a sumptuous EP entitled Spiral Scratch on their own New Hormones label. This EP was a rough-and-ready four-song suite that featured €˜Boredom€™, a song noted for an infamous anti guitar-solo that consisted of a string of repeated notes, an astute comment on the sleep-inducing guitar histrionics of prog. After the departure of founder member, Howard Devoto (who had grown weary of punk before it really became popular), the group, under the guidance of Pete Shelley, opted to release €˜Orgasm Addict€™ as their first UA single. Bold and controversy-inviting in title alone, the track€™s lyrical content and graphic €˜sex noises€™ merely stoked Buzzcocks€™ provocative fire. The first verse, focusing on a youth€™s explorations of masturbation €˜with dirty magazines€™ creating €˜stains on his jeans€™ is abrasive but undeniably funny, Shelley€™s words and vocal inflections distilling the best that Northern wit had to offer into a deliciously dirty pop single. By the second verse, the protagonist has progressed into getting his kicks with real people, regardless of shape, size or gender (€˜international women with no body hair€™ and €˜even the lady who puts the little plastic bobbins on the Christmas cakes€™), proving an unquenchable thirst for sexual completion. Banned by the BBC on its release, Pete Shelley€™s ingenious slice of sexual advocacy still crackles with the crude humour it possessed in 1977. A delightfully filthy gem responsible for some of the most unique and hilarious sensual imagery ever committed to record.