Inspired by the Sex Pistols, the band themselves were an important influence on both the Manchester music scene and the independent label movement.

Many of Buzzcocks' singles have had a pop-punk sound, which later influenced later bands such as Green Day. Other songs have had a harder edge, and served as a basis for such bands as Crucifucks. "Ever Fallen in Love?", one of Buzzcocks best-known songs, has been covered by many other artists, most famously by Fine Young Cannibals.

The name Buzzcocks comes from local quaint slang (used mostly by the elderly) meaning "youngster". The group's adoption of the name was influenced by its use in the 1970s ITV television drama serial Rock Follies.during the late 1970s.
The band was formed by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto soon after they had met and travelled to London together to see the Sex Pistols in February 1976. Shelley and Devoto were impressed by what they saw and arranged for the Sex Pistols to come and perform at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, in June 1976. Buzzcocks intended to play at this concert but were unable to do so as they lacked either a bassist and a drummer at the time. Once they had recruited Steve Diggle and John Maher to the band, they finally made their debut opening for the Sex Pistols' second Manchester gig in July 1976.

By the end of the year, Buzzcocks had released a four-track EP, Spiral Scratch on their own New Hormones label, thus heralding the independent label movement. The music was roughly recorded, insistently repetitive, and energetic. "Boredom" announced punk's rebellion against the status quo while templating a strident minimalism (the guitar "solo" consisting of two repeated notes over and over). The demos recorded while Devoto was in the band were later issued officially as Time's Up. Long available as a bootleg, this album includes the Spiral Scratch EP.

Vocalist Devoto immediately left the band, already aware of the rapid co-opting of punk's attitude by the mainstream. He formed Magazine. Pete Shelley continued as vocalist, his high singing voice an antidote to the gruff pub-rock flavour of many contemporaries. Steve Diggle switched from bass to guitar, and Steve Garvey became the bass player after a few months with Garth Smith playing the instrument. The Shelley / Diggle / Garvey / Maher lineup signed to United Artists Records.

True to their name, the first Buzzcocks single, "Orgasm Addict", played with sexuality in a way few punk groups dared. Later, more ambiguous songs staked out a territory defined by Shelley's bisexuality and punk's aversion to sex except as bodily function. Their trademark sound was a marriage of catchy pop melodies with punk guitar energy, with an unusually tight and skilled rhythm section-an anomaly in punk.

Their original career consisted of three LPs: Another Music in a Different Kitchen, Love Bites, and A Different Kind of Tension, each an advancement in musical sophistication. By the end they were quoting W. S. Burroughs ("A Different Kind of Tension"), declaiming their catechism in the anthem "I Believe", and tuning in to a fantasy radio station on which their songs could be heard ("Radio Nine").

But it was for their singles that they are primarily remembered, a string of would-be hits that demonstrated a strong grasp of the vernacular of pop song craftmanship. These were collected on Singles Going Steady, the CD version of which is a complete document of their 7" releases.

Shelley and Devoto teamed up in 2002 for the first time since 1976, producing the album Buzzkunst, a play on the German word for 'Art'. "After all those years of cocks, we thought kunst would make a change"[citation needed]. The album was a mix of electronics, punk, and mannered sub-Luxuria outings.[citation needed]

In 2006 they release a new album called Flat Pack Philosophy.

Review of Flat Pack Philosophy - Pitchfork Media
'Maybe you don't need to hear another three-chord rhumba about conspicuous consumption. Perhaps you're left lacking by the prospect of hearing 50-year-old men plugging in their amplifiers to compare affairs of the heart to assembling an Ikea Robin media shelf. Or maybe you already own the Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady and don't think there's any point seeing what the minds behind evergreen gems like "What Do I Get?" or "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" are capable of in the 21st century. It's a shame, then, that you won't hear how good they sound on Flat-Pack Philosophy. Yes, the Buzzcocks are doing what they've always done-- writing raucous pop songs-- but there's something to be said for honing and plying one's craft. If anyone's earned the right to beat this dead horse into sniffing glue, it's the firm of Shelley & Diggle, and they beat it like nobody's business. Flat-Pack Philosophy, the group's seventh full-length, squeezes 14 tunes into just 36 minutes, many of which could give even some Steady moments a run for the filthy lucre. Hyperbole, sure, but it's hard to argue when the breathless chorus of "Wish I Never Loved You" is rattling between your ears long after the song is finished.'