Magazine

Howard Devoto, after exiting the Buzzcocks during 1977, assembled Magazine alongside guitarist John McGeoch, bassist Barry Adamson, keyboardist Bob Dickinson, and drummer Martin Jackson. Among the earliest post-punk outfits, the group preserved punk’s tense urgency while folding in art-rock textures, shown through dramatic stage presentations and keyboard accents. Devoto’s words fused social observations with poetic shards, and the musicians moved between stark, angular riffs and brooding, expansive sonic textures.

The band debuted onstage in autumn 1977 and secured a contract with Virgin Records before year’s end, by which time Dickinson had already departed. As a four-piece they cut their opening single, “Shot by Both Sides,” which Devoto had co-written with former Buzzcocks partner Pete Shelley. Issued in early 1978, the track earned favorable notices on both sides of the Atlantic and reached number 41 on the U.K. chart. Keyboardist Dave Formula joined before the first album was recorded. Real Life, issued later that year, extended the confrontational, arty pop-punk approach of the single. After an initial tour, Jackson exited and was succeeded by John Doyle. This revised lineup produced the second album, Secondhand Daylight (1979), which shifted toward heavier keyboard use, smoother grooves, and more concise lyrics from Devoto. Despite its scope, the record drew negative press reactions. Around this period McGeoch guested with Siouxsie & the Banshees, while Adamson, Formula, and McGeoch also performed in Visage alongside Steve Strange. Early in 1980 the band delivered its third album, The Correct Use of Soap.

During summer 1980 Magazine issued “Sweetheart Contract,” their second and final British hit, which climbed to number 54. McGeoch then left to join Siouxsie & the Banshees full-time and was replaced by Robin Simon. The group toured the United States and Australia before documenting the shows on the live album Play, released at the close of 1980. Simon departed after the tour; former Amazorblades guitarist Bob Mandelson stepped in. Magic, Murder and the Weather appeared in spring 1981 and stood as the band’s final studio effort for three decades. Devoto quit in May 1981 to launch a solo career, after which the remaining members disbanded.

In the years following the split, Devoto released the solo album Jerky Versions of the Dream (1983), sang lead on a cover of Big Star’s “Kangaroo” for This Mortal Coil’s It’ll End in Tears, issued two albums with the duo Luxuria—Unanswerable Lust (1988) and Beast Box (1990)—and collaborated with Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley on the ShelleyDevoto project Buzzkunst (2001). Adamson proved the most prolific of the ex-members, performing with the Birthday Party and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds while maintaining a steady solo output that began with Moss Side Story (1988). McGeoch left the Banshees in 1982, spent four years in the Armoury Show with Doyle, then played with John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd. from 1986 to 1992; he died in 2004. In 2009 Devoto, Adamson, Formula, and Doyle reunited for several shows, adding Devoto’s Luxuria partner Noko on guitar. After Adamson stepped down and Jon “Stan” White took his place, the band completed its fifth studio album, No Thyself, which surfaced in 2011.