Love Bites by The Buzzcocks

Love Bites, the second Buzzcocks album, came out on United Artists on 22 September 1978, and it's the sound of a Bolton punk band that has figured out the secret is the tune. Howard Devoto was long gone to Magazine by now, leaving Pete Shelley as the main songwriter and singer, and the classic lineup was locked in: Shelley and Steve Diggle on guitars, Steve Garvey on bass, John Maher on drums.

Martin Rushent produced, and he keeps the guitars buzzing like a faulty fridge while letting Shelley's lovelorn yelps come through clean. It's punk that wants to hold your hand and then worries about it all night, and "Just Lust" is a prime example, all nerves and hooks. It became the band's highest-charting album.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.