LONDON — The punk band Buzzcocks has confirmed “with great sadness” the death of the band’s co-founder, Pete Shelley, whom it called “one of the U.K.’s most influential and prolific songwriters.” He was 63.

The band announced the news late Thursday in a tweet on its website. It did not elaborate on the details of Shelley’s death but said that more information would be released later.

Shelley, whose real name was Peter Campbell McNeish, was born in the English town of Leigh in 1955.

He founded Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto after they met at what is now the University of Bolton and the band debuted in 1976 in Manchester, opening for the Sex Pistols.

The band’s punk/new wave singles including “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).”

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