Howard Devoto left the Buzzcocks after their first EP because punk was already too limiting for him. Magazine was the answer: a band that combined punk's intensity with art-rock's ambition, John McGeoch's inventive guitar (later recruited by Siouxsie and the Banshees), Dave Formula's swirling keyboards, and Devoto's detached, intellectual vocal delivery. They sounded like a more angular Roxy Music raised on punk fanzines.
Real Life was a stunning debut, and Secondhand Daylight pushed further into dark, atmospheric territory. They lasted only four albums but each one was distinct and adventurous. Devoto's post-Magazine career was sporadic, but the band's influence on post-punk and goth far outlasted their brief existence.
Key Albums
'Shot by Both Sides' is one of post-punk's greatest opening salvos. Urgent, angular, and brilliant.
Darker and more keyboard-driven. Atmospheric post-punk ahead of its time.
Their most accessible, with funk and pop elements creeping in.
Why They Matter
Magazine were post-punk's most underrated band. Devoto's intellectual rigor and McGeoch's guitar innovations influenced Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, and Radiohead. They proved that punk's energy could serve art-rock ambition.