Magazine were an English Post-punk group active between 1977 and 1981. Their debut single, "Shot By Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time.

The band was formed in Manchester by Howard Devoto after he left Buzzcocks in early 1977. In April 1977 he met guitarist John McGeoch and they began writing songs which would become the first Magazine material. They recruited Barry Adamson, Bob Dickinson and Martin Jackson to form the first line-up of the band, which signed to Virgin Records. Bob Dickinson left shortly after the release of the band's first single "Shot By Both Sides" and was replaced by Dave Formula. "Shot By Both Sides", the chorus of which shared the same progression as the Buzzcocks' "Lipstick," reached the top 50 in the UK singles chart. Its cover was an early example of the goth influence in punk.

Following a tour to promote the first album Real Life, Jackson left and was replaced briefly by Paul Spencer and then John Doyle. In 1979 the second album, Secondhand Daylight followed. Devoto left the band in 1981. After a brief solo outing and two albums with Luxuria he quit music to become a photo archivist until a collaboration with Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley produced the Buzzkunst album in 2002.

Magazine's music continues to be an influence in modern music today. While having roots in the punk and new-wave movements, Magazine combined elements of avant-garde and pop. Radiohead in particular draws on the lyrical style of the group, and have performed "Shot By Both Sides" in concert. What's more, Radiohead's 1995 single "Just", with its ascending guitar hook, bears a passing resemblance to "Shot By Both Sides". Former Smiths singer Morrissey, a fan and acquaintance of Devoto's, covered "A Song From Under The Floorboards" as a B-side to his 2006 single "The Youngest Was the Most Loved". "Floorboards" was covered by My Friend The Chocolate Cake on their 1994 album Brood. Half Man Half Biscuit have performed live covers of a number of Magazine songs. "The Light Pours Out Of Me", from the album Real Life, has been covered by both Peter Murphy and Ministry. Swedish punk band No Fun At All did a cover of "Shot By Both Sides" on their record "And Now For Something Completely Different". Devoto co-wrote two songs with Mansun, "Everyone Must Win" and "Railings", contributing vocals to the latter, and the band later covered "Shot By Both Sides" for John Peel.

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