Autonomy: Portrait of a Buzzcock

Diggle’s fun memoir details his career as a guitarist in the popular English punk band Buzzcocks. Growing up in post-war industrial northern England, Diggle had no ambition to work. However, he had a passion for books and music, particularly rock and pop music, thanks to the Beatles, David Bowie, and the Rolling Stones. As a teenager “on the dole,” he began learning to play and compose music, absorbing music theory and developing his own style. The popularity of the anarchic Sex Pistols in 1976 signaled a welcome change to the rock music genre. Through an introduction by Malcolm McLaren, Diggle would join the Buzzcocks headed by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley. The band would score a series of hits, including their best-known song, “Ever Fallen in Love (with Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).” This book follows the standard format of many memoirs (childhood, teenage years, mainstream fame, money woes, band troubles). Still, Diggle is full of good humor and presents a straightforward insider’s view of the English punk scene and the perils of mainstream success.