Howard Devoto might have left the band after the release of the Spiral Scratch EP, but the band decided that one of the songs he had co-written with Pete Shelley should be the debut single now that they had signed with United Artists, one of the first punk groups to end up at a major label.
The choice of said single was designed to court controversy, as was all the rage in November 1977:-
mp3 : Buzzcocks – Orgasm Addict
Not surprisingly, it was banned from radio stations up and down the country and so very few people got to hear it and even fewer bought it. That so few copies were purchased before UA deleted it means you need to pay £10-£15 nowadays for a copy that’s in decent condition.
Incidentally, Pete Shelley now considers the song to be embarrassing. I’m sure that Howie D also doesn’t consider it to be his finest moment, funny as it probably seemed at the time.
Here’s your bass-heavy and rough b-side in which Pete struggles occasionally to hit his high notes:-
mp3 : Buzzcocks – Whatever Happened To….?
Enjoy.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Not one I return to often I must admit. The real deal starts next week!
Not one of the Buzzcocks’ best singles but that is very possibly my favourite ever sleeve by any act.
I tried this song once and found it alright for kicks…
Like Swede says – next week the fun really starts!
I still find this song amusing. I’m not sure how significant it is hat when the song started my partner left the room.
First song a lot of us Yanks heard by Buzzcocks as neither of the first 2 LPs got a US release. instead we got the Singles Going Steady comp. Brilliant 7″ cover art only shown in miniature on the record sleeve. Still, I love this song and every A and B side on the comp (except Noise Annoys).
The cover art is one of punk’s definitive sleeves. I like the song. Played it in the car with the mother in law once. She didn’t quite know what to make of it.
Malcolm Garrett’s artwork and typography is both iconic and legendary. JTFL is correct, once again, US record labels thought they knew best and held back any Buzzcocks releases until Singles Going Steady. You had to be in a city with an import record store scene to get music you read about in NME, Melody Maker or Sounds.
There’s something so very different about Punk as it came out of Manchester in comparison with Punk from London. To this New York City Boy’s ears, it seemed to have much more in common with what I was experiencing as it was much more straightforward and not steeped manifestoes or politics of those London bands.
One of the great things about Singles Going Steady is that it allowed the B-sides to shine on equal footing. Whatever Happened To…? is certainly one of their finest.
To be honest, I’m thinking everyone will know most of the somgs in the series and it was the idea of putting up the artowrk that nailed it. What I’d fogotten until I loooked again at the UA releases is that the are marked as Side A and Side 1….maybe an indication of the band wantimg both songs on the 45s appreciated or maybe it was allpart of the wonderful designs.
Love this single, everything about it. My comment will roughly be the same for most of this series!
Imagine being at Manchester Poly with Garrett and Saville and Linder Sterling and the creative scene that was growing with and around them. I have a close, close friend that has told me some of the stories of those days, but to have been around it must have been fun/wild.