He
met John McGeoch, in April 1977 a guitarist and they began
writing songs together. Soon they formed a band and called
it " Magazine " with Devoto on vocals and McGeoch
on guitar and Barry Adamson on bass.Bob Dickinson was on keyboards
and Martin Jackson on drums and they were soon signed to Virgin
Records. Dickinson soon left and they produced their first
record, " Shot By Both Sides " as a quartet. The
single got good reviews and they also made the UK chart. Before
the balance of an album's worth of tunes could be recorded,
Dave Formula, formerly of Ultravox spin-off, filled Visage
Dickinson’s void. Soon after, their first LP Real Life
was released.
Magazine 's unique sound wasn’t punk by any means but
more new wave. For one thing their music had harsh rhythms,
cold screaming synth notes, gloomy sonic soundscapes and largely
subdued vocals by Devoto. On the other hand the lyric content
(almost exclusively written by Devoto) was usually anything
but punk -- neo-spiritual, existentialist, philosophical and
often nihilistic. One critic even described Magazine as the
band "Albert Camus would have been in if Camus had a
band."
After the first tour, Jackson left, replaced briefly by Paul
Spencer and then John Doyle. In 1979 the second album, Secondhand
Daylight followed. McGeoch was in both Magazine and Siouxsie
& the Banshees and, along with Formula, Visage. Finding
it next to impossible to stay in three bands simultaneously,
McGeoch left Magazine in 1979. He was replaced by Robin Simon
(Ultravox) and the band then toured the US and Australia.
In Australia the live album Play was recorded. 1980 brought
the band's third release, The Correct Use Of Soap, and the
departure of Simon. At this time I.R.S. licensed both Play
and the follow-up from Virgin for US release. Magazine 's
three pre I.R.S. LPs. (L to R: 1978's Real Life, 1979's Secondhand
Daylight and 1980's The Correct Use Of Soap).
Simon's replacement, Ben Mandelson, was on hand for Magazine
's final original album, Magic, Murder and the Weather in
1981. Shortly after its release, Devoto left the band and
so split his band up completely. Devoto soon mounted a solo
career, releasing Jerky Versions of the Dream in 1983. Despite
being a "solo" effort, many Magazine veterans contributed
their playing and songwriting assistance. Despite moderate
airplay and an outstanding video of the tune " Rainy
Season " the album did not sell well and Devoto took
a hiatus. In 1988 Devoto and guitarist Noko teamed under the
name Luxuria and released two albums, Unanswerable Lust (1988)
and Beast Box (1990). When the group and their recordings
failed to make any impact on the music indusrty, the founder
and former Buzzcock, Devoto ended the partnership and left
music for the publishing world.
In 2002, Devoto and Pete Shelley collaborated for the first
time in 25 years with a new project Buzzkunst. But now the
Buzzcocks continue, with the remaining members Shelley and
Steve Diggle, joined by Buzz-cockneys Tony Barber, (bass)
and Phillip Barker, (drums) in 1992.
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