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MAGAZINE


talisman

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Anyone on this forum heard of MAGAZINE?!

Iv not seen them mentioned elsewhere so im presuming most of u haven't. Basically they were a Manchester band formed in 1977 by Howard Devoto when he left the Buzzcocks, and released 4 albums (2 of which are great) before splitting up in 1981.

They gained critical acclaim for their first single 'Shot By Both Sides' but never really dented the charts.

Their lack of success bewilders many but their music is hard to describe. Punk influences are there but then they were much more experimental and keyboards were at the forefront of many of their songs. I've heard them described as prog indie which is probably the most accurate description.They have influenced such artists as Radiohead, The Smiths, and Mansun.

Their first album 'Real Life' was more guitar based than their other records. And included some great songs:

SHOT BY BOTH SIDES

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FQCZotuJi24

MOTORCADE

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A3oIQS_MYvk

Follow up album 'Secondhand Daylight' was panned by the critics for having no tunes but is probably their most complete and well rounded album:

FEED THE ENEMY

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pkmGO9XxhaI&...feature=related

THE THIN AIR (awesome prog instrumental)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=R7x4hHizaJY

Due to commercial failure the band line up began to change and the next 2 records 'The Correct Use Of Soap' and 'Magic, Murder, and the Weather' were patchy affairs but did include some gems:

A SONG FROM UNDER THE FLOORBOARDS

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=p58kCYsiwt0

My personal thoughts are that they were a great group who were never really accepted by the press or the public because they probably came 15-20 years too early. Howard Devoto was not a likable front man either, he looked more like a Chemistry teacher, his lyrics were very obscure and hard to relate to, and he tended to talk his lyrics rather than sing them. In spite of this they made some great music and were one of the best bands of their era.

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