Standard Issue Singles Going Steady was the Buzzcocks' classic Singles compilation originally released in 1979. Re-mastered from the original tapes and with the artwork restored under the supervision of Malcolm Garrett (designer of the original sleeves) along with the addition of essays penned by Jon Savage and Clinton Heylin, the packaging is a wonder to behold. Released quickly after their third studio album, A Different Kind Of Tension, in 1979, Singles Going Steady collected their first eight United Artists singles, A-sides on the first side, with B-sides on the reverse. From the hits Love You More, Promises, Ever Fallen in Love, Everybody’s Happy Nowadays to the bleak Something’s Gone Wrong Again and the repetitive, mantra-like Why Can’t I Touch It, this captures the group at their fleeting best, as essential to the late 70s as the Sex Pistols or The Clash.
