The biography

This book tells the story of the band Magazine formedby Howard Devoto when he left the Buzzcocks. This revised and updated editionbrings the story bang up-to-date. With unique access and interviews with iconicmusicians of the 1980s and today, Helen Chase presents a riveting insight intothe world of punk and beyond.<

This book tells the story of the iconic band formed byHoward Devoto when he left the Buzzcocks. This revised and updated editionbrings the story bang up-to-date.

Already tired of the thrash and unrelenting nature ofpunk rock, Devoto wanted to combine the elements of avant-garde and pop. Thishe did with 'Shot by Both Sides', 'the best rock & roll record of 1978,punk or otherwise' (Rolling Stone) followed by their first album RealLife. Three more equally acclaimed albums followed before Magazinedisbanded. With unique access to the band and interviews with the great and thegood of the 1980s and iconic musicians of today, Helen Chase presents ariveting insight into the world of punk and beyond. Placing the band in thecontext of the Manchester music scene she explains why the band has such asolid fan-base and why Magazine had decided to re-form for live gigs some 30years since they first took to the stage.

Magazine was formed by Howard Devoto in 1977 bringingtogether some of the finest and most innovative musicians of the era. The coreline-up with Devoto included John McGeoch, Barry Adamson, Dave Formula and JohnDoyle. Theband had its roots in punk but had a greater emphasis on lyrical content whilstcombining elements of avant-garde pop, funk and rock.

The band hasmaintained a cult following which was rewarded in 2009 when the band decided toreform. Whilst working on solo material Dave Formula reopened communicationlines between the key players and a series of re-union gigs was planned andreceived to wide acclaim. Buoyed by this, a studio album of new material (NoThyself) followed in 2011 along with another foray onto the live scene.Magazine are a greatly respected and hugely influential band and their musicremains fresh and relevant today.