TWENTY five years since the Buzzcocks played in Manchester Academy for its opening night, the band is back to mark the venue's anniversary celebrations.

From the band's humble roots in Bolton in 1976 where Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto joined together to create a punk band at the former Bolton Institute of Technology, they went on to become one of the most influential bands to come out of Manchester.

They, along with Steve Diggle and John Maher, organised THAT Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976, and went on to help shape the British punk scene.

Steve said: "It was a very exciting time back then. We brought the Sex Pistols to Manchester and warmed up for them at that gig. That's where it started off really, although Pete and Howard initially got together at college in Bolton. They came and saw what was happening in Manchester and that really gave the city a buzz and revived it musically.

"It brought the town to life and inspired so many bands after then such as Joy Division, John Cooper Clarke and Mick Hucknall who started out in a punk band before forming Simply Red."

The band released a string of catchy hits such as Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've), I Don't Mind and Harmony in My Head.

Steve said: "The band has got better and better over the years. It's like people say about old blues players — they get better with age. A bit like a nice whiskey. We have a very distinctive style — we have catchy songs and are tight as a band. I guess we kind of helped invent British punk following on from the likes of the Ramones in America.

"Some of the songs that we did then are still played now and I can't believe they have travelled the world with us and are still relevant. Plus it's good that people like the new stuff too. These days we spend more time of planes rather than vans, which helps when you're playing a European festival and then UK gigs."

Steve admits that things have calmed down for the band these days.

He said: "It was a little crazier in the early days. In your 20s you have got to enjoy the haziness of it all — you would be mad not to. But now our fun on tour is a bit more controlled.

"Over time, punk became more misinterpreted than the Bible. People were telling us what we could and couldn't do to be 'punk', despite the fact that we invented it."

Despite a few "breaks" and line up changes — the band now features Pete Shelley, Steve Diggle, Danny Farrant and Chris Remington — they are still releasing material, including last year's album The Way.

Steve says the band will play a mix of classic hits and a few new songs at Manchester Academy — which is situated just up the road from where he grew up in Rusholme.

He said: "We did the opening gig at the academy so it's good to be back playing there again 25 years later. I have not lived in Manchester for years so haven't seen the building for a long time, so I'm really looking forward to returning."

Buzzcocks will play the Manchester Academy on Saturday. Doors open at 6pm