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Magazine (band)

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Magazine

Magazine were an English Post-punk group active between 1977 and 1981. Their debut single, "Shot By Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic[1][2][3][4][5][6] and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time[7][8][9][10][11] The band was formed by Howard Devoto after leaving punk band Buzzcocks in early 1977, deciding to create a more experimental and less punk band who later influenced many musicians. Magazine will reunite in February 2009 for a tour through Britain, with almost all the most remaining and "classic" line-up during their brief time, with the exception of guitarist Noko, who played with Devoto in Luxuria.

Biography

File:Magazine 1977.jpg
First Magazine line-up in 1977. From left to right: keyboardist Bob Dickinson, drummer Martin Jackson, guitarist John McGeoch, frontman and singer Howard Devoto, and bass guitarist Barry Adamson
File:Magazine 1978.jpg
Second Magazine line-up in 1978. Front: Howard Devoto. Behind him, left to right: Dave Formula, John McGeoch and Barry Adamson. Behind them, Martin Jackson

The band was formed in Manchester by Howard Devoto shortly after he left The Buzzcocks in early 1977. In April 1977 he met guitarist John McGeoch, then an art student, and they began writing songs, some of which would appear on the first Magazine material[12]. They then recruited Barry Adamson on bass, Bob Dickinson on keyboards and Martin Jackson (previously of The Freshies) on drums, to form the first line-up of the band, which signed to Virgin Records. The band played their debut live gig at the Rafters, in Manchester, on 28 October 1977.[13]

Dickinson, whose background was in classical and avant-garde music, left shortly after a number of gigs in late 1977, and in early 1978 the band released their first single Shot By Both Sides, recorded by the band as four-piece and an only guitar-bass-drums sound similar to punk. Shortly after the single's release, Dave Formula,who had also played with a 1960's shortly famed rock band from Manchester called St. Louis Union, joined as keyboardist. "Shot By Both Sides", the chorus of which shared the same progression as The Buzzcocks' "Lipstick," reached the Top 50 in the UK singles chart. Its cover was an early example of the goth influence in punk. The band, with Formula on keyboards, made its first major TV appearance on Top Of The Pops in February 1978, performing the single.

Following a British tour to promote their first album Real Life, Jackson left in late July[14], and was replaced briefly by Paul Spencer, who performed with the band for gigs across Europe and some television appearances, including the Old Grey Whistle Test, where they played "Definitive Gaze". Spencer quit partway through the tour, joining The Speedometors shortly afterwards, and he was replaced in October[15] by John Doyle, who completed the Real Life promotional tour and remained in the band.

In 1979 the second album, Secondhand Daylight, a more experimental and more keyboard and synthesizer based material, followed. The same year, McGeoch, Adamson and Formula joined electronic project Visage, recording and releasing the single Tar.

After the release of the album, Devoto decided to change producer, choosing Martin Hannett, who produced their next album in the same year, The Correct Use of Soap. Following its release John McGeoch decided to leave the band, tired of the low sales of the band's previous recordings and their not so guitar playing-oriented songs joining Siouxsie And The Banshees. To replace him the band called Robin Simon, who previously was in Ultravox and Neo. That line-up toured across Europe and Australia, recording their next release, the live album Play. Simon made some initial recordings and rehearsals for the Magic Murder And The Weather album, including co-writing the song "So Lucky", but he left the band before the album was released so that he could record on the John Foxx solo album The Garden.

Again without a guitarist, Devoto called in his former college mate at Bolton, Ben Mandelson (former Amazorblades member). This lineup completed the recording of Magic, Murder And The Weather in 1981, but Devoto quit in May of the same year[16] months before its release of the album. A year later, After The Fact, the first Magazine compilation was released.

Adamson continued collaborating with Visage, and also began to work with The Birthday Party and Pete Shelley, Formula continued as member of Visage and joined Ludus, Mandelson joined The Mekons [17], and Doyle joined The Armoury Show in Scotland in 1983, along with John McGeoch. After a brief solo outing and two albums with Luxuria Devoto quit music to become a photo archivist until a collaboration with Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley produced the Buzzkunst album in 2002.

Legacy

Magazine's music continues to be an influence in modern music today. While having roots in the punk and new-wave movements, Magazine combined elements of avant-garde and pop. Radiohead in particular draws on the lyrical style of the group, and have performed "Shot By Both Sides" in concert. What's more, Radiohead's 1995 single "Just", with its ascending guitar hook, bears a passing resemblance to "Shot By Both Sides". Former Smiths singer Morrissey, a fan and acquaintance of Devoto's, covered "A Song From Under The Floorboards" as a B-side to his 2006 single "The Youngest Was the Most Loved". "Floorboards" was covered by My Friend The Chocolate Cake on their 1994 album Brood. Half Man Half Biscuit have performed live covers of a number of Magazine songs. "The Light Pours Out Of Me", from the album Real Life, has been covered by both Peter Murphy and Ministry. Swedish punk band No Fun At All did a cover of "Shot By Both Sides" on their record "And Now For Something Completely Different". Devoto co-wrote two songs with Mansun, "Everyone Must Win" and "Railings", contributing vocals to the latter, and the band later covered "Shot By Both Sides" for John Peel.

Reformation

It was confirmed in July 2008 that Howard Devoto and Magazine are to reform for five dates in February 2009. Their lineup will include Devoto, Formula, Adamson and Doyle.

On September 18, the band's official myspace confirmed a second performance at The Forum in London.

On October 1, the bands official myspace confirmed a further two performances, in Glasgow and Manchester. [18]

In November 2008, the band's myspace and wire-sound blog announced Noko, Devoto's bandmate in Luxuria, would be the guitarist in the reformation lineup, taking the place of the late John McGeogh, who died in 2004.

Discography

All records were released on Virgin. All listings are UK releases.

Cult Following

Magazine have a strong cult following. There fan base consists of young and old alike, though they are particularly popular amongst financial services professionals from the north west of England.


Albums

Singles and EPs

  • "Shot By Both Sides" b/w "My Mind Ain't So Open" (VS200, 1978) UK #41
  • "Touch and Go" b/w "Goldfinger" (VS207, 1978)
  • "Give Me Everything" b/w "I Love You You Big Dummy" (VS237, 1978)
  • "Rhythm of Cruelty" b/w "TV Baby" (VS251, 1979)
  • "A Song From Under The Floorboards" b/w "Twenty Years Ago" (VS321, 1980)
  • "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" b/w "The Book" (VS328, 1980)
  • "Upside Down" b/w "The Light Pours Out Of Me" (VS334, 1980)
  • "Sweetheart Contract" EP (VS36812, 1980) UK #54
  • "About The Weather" EP (VS412-12, 1981)

Compilations

  • After The Fact (1982) - IRS Records
  • Rays and Hail 1978-1981: the Best of Magazine (1987) - Virgin
  • Scree - Rarities 1978-1981 (1991) - Virgin
  • BBC Radio 1 in Concert (1993) - BBC Windsong
  • Where The Power Is (2000) - Virgin
  • (Maybe It's Right to Be Nervous Now) (2000) - Virgin
  • The Complete John Peel Sessions (2008) - Virgin

See also

References

  1. ^ Strong, M.C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 95. ISBN 1-84195-335-0. A classic debut single, "Shot By Both Sides" established Magazine's post-punk credentials, its stark, uncompromising approach and lyrical despair paving the way for countless gaggles of miserable young men in trenchcoats.;
  2. ^ Mojo (October 2001) - 100 Punk Scorchers, Issue 95, London;
  3. ^ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 484. The song was originally written with Pete Shelley during their shared days as Buzzcocks, but while that band would record it as yet another shattered love song, Magazine would turn it into a masterpiece of paranoid indecision.;
  4. ^ Joynson, Vernon (2001). Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk. Wolverhampton: Borderline Publications. p. 217. ISBN 1-899855-13-0. Stunning… This was one of their finest moments, epitomising all that was best about their futuristic music. A lush, multi-layered web of driving bass and keyboards mixed with Devoto's somewhat unnerving vocals. It climbed to No.41 and would probably have got higher had they not sacrificed an appearance on 'Top of the Pops' by refusing to mime to it.;
  5. ^ Gardner, Steve (1996). "Hiljaiset Levyt: 100 Best Punk singles".;
  6. ^ Buckley & Ellingham (eds) (1996). Rock: The Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides. p. 535. ISBN 1-85828-201-2. An astonishing debut – a gritty ode to alienation that built to a shuddering conclusion though McGeogh's expansive guitar work. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help);
  7. ^ The Guardian (November 2007). 1,000 Albums To Hear Before You Die. London. Released in April 78, Magazine's debut was the first post-punk album. And Howard Devoto was the first post-punk anti-star, with his cryptic lyrics and anxious-young-man persona. Real Life had punk energy and art-rock ambition, with complex song structures and sophisticated musicianship.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link);
  8. ^ Dimery, Robert (2005). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell. p. 407. Were Magazine the band that dragged British punk rock into a new thinking dimension? Or were they just a dilution of the original energy into some kind of nerdy 'maturity'? As Real Life shows, they were a bit of both, except they were only nerdy in the cool sense.;
  9. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Review of Real Life on [[Allmusic]]". One of the post-punk era's major jump-off points. Punk's untethered energy is rigidly controlled, run through arrangements that are tightly wound, herky-jerky, unpredictable, proficiently dynamic. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  10. ^ Strong, M.C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 95. Its icy keyboard textures and spiky sonic artistry announced the arrival of an unique talent although Devoto's hyper-intelligent wayward genius was nothing new for fans who'd admired the punk maverick since his Buzzcocks days.;
  11. ^ Buckley & Ellingham (eds) (1996). Rock: The Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides. p. 536. One of the great post-punk albums, an LP that threw down the gauntlet to those who still thought three chords and an attitude were enough. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help);
  12. ^ Real Life CD album reissue booklet (2007)
  13. ^ NME - Magazine biography
  14. ^ Secondhand Daylight album reissue booklet (2007)
  15. ^ Secondhand Daylight album reissue booklet (2007)
  16. ^ NME: Magazine biography
  17. ^ "The Great Rock Discography", p. 112. Edited by M.C. Strong. Published by Giunti, 1998. ISBN 8809215222, 9788809215221
  18. ^ "Teletext Planet Sound News" Retrieved on 2008-08-05.
  19. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 585. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links

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