– Magazine – About the Weather – from Magic, Murder and The Weather – 1981
Magazine arrived on the scene without so much as a genre attached to their music. Howard Devoto, having left Buzzcocks, formed Magazine and within very little time, achieved major success, with their first single Shot By Both Sides considered a classic, and their debut album Real Life, considered one of the greatest albums of all time. So clearly, they were heading in the right direction and became one of the hugely influential bands of the 1980’s.
In February 2009, Devoto and Magazine re-formed for five performances. The lineup included Devoto, Formula, Adamson and Doyle. The Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, a Magazine fan, declined an offer to fill in for McGeoch. According to the Radiohead collaborator Adam Buxton, Jonny was “overwhelmed” and too shy to accept the role.Noko, Devoto’s bandmate in Luxuria, was the guitarist on the tour.
The shows were sold out and received acclaim. The group went on to play at festivals in the UK and abroad that summer, before performing “The Soap Show” in Manchester, Edinburgh and London. The band played two sets: a performance of The Correct Use of Soap in full, followed by a set composed of other songs from their catalogue.
In January 2010, Noko officially joined the band, becoming a full member of Magazine. The band started work on new material. In November 2010, Adamson left to concentrate on his film work and solo recordings. Jon “Stan” White joined as bass player on the new recordings and debuted live on 30 June 2011 at Wolverhampton Slade Rooms, where Magazine were playing a warm-up show for their Hop Farm Festival appearance two days later.
A new studio album, No Thyself, was released worldwide by Wire Sound on 24 October 2011, and the band embarked on a UK tour in November. On 16 April 2016, as part of Record Store Day, the band released Once at the Academy, a live 5-track 12″ EP recorded at their reunion shows at Manchester Academy in February 2009.
For today’s Lunch it’s a track from the last album they released prior to Devoto’s departure. Magic, Murder and The Weather, contained the classic single About The Weather.
Perhaps you remember it?
