Story perspectives

Buzzcocks' Diggle Reflects on Reunion and Shelley's Loss

1/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

Steve Diggle, guitarist for Buzzcocks, says he and Pete Shelley, frontman of Buzzcocks, were estranged before the band's 1981 split.
The pair reunited in 1989, reigniting their camaraderie.
Diggle recalls touring with Nirvana.
He recalls Kurt Cobain's good spirits despite Cobain's tragic fate.
After Pete Shelley died in December 2018, Diggle expressed shock and disarray, revealing that Shelley had contemplated leaving the band shortly before his passing.

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Story summary

Steve Diggle, guitarist for Buzzcocks, says he and Pete Shelley, frontman of Buzzcocks, were estranged before the band's 1981 split.
The pair reunited in 1989, reigniting their camaraderie.
Diggle recalls touring with Nirvana.
He recalls Kurt Cobain's good spirits despite Cobain's tragic fate.
After Pete Shelley died in December 2018, Diggle expressed shock and disarray, revealing that Shelley had contemplated leaving the band shortly before his passing.