A favorite from the underground 1978

[Rick Henry]

In my travels with music I have always craved styles from different avenues. Back in the late 70's I used to drive to L.A. with a group of friends on a monthly basis to shop the used record stores. During this time I discovered quite a few unusual and/or underground bands... of course it helped that I was looking for anything that was out of the ordinary... away from the Top 40.

A group I discovered during this time is Magazine. Magazine was formed by super-talent Howard Devoto (who had formed the punk group the Buzzcocks in 1976 with Pete Shelley (another favorite artist of mine). In 1978 Devoto borke off from Buzzcocks and formed Magazine with Dave Formula. After Magazine broke up in 1982 DeVoto went on to do some solo work and then formed a great group named Luxuria.

Although DeVoto and his various bands have never hit the mainstream, he has become hugely influential on several current day artists. Radihead, Morrisey, Peter Murphy, Ministry (amongst others) have all cited DeVoto as a musical influence.

as much as I love Magazine (and all of DeVoto's other bands) I do know that it's not for everybody and certainly is an acquired taste... But hey, I love it.

... oh and again yet another British favorite of mine...


"Cut Out Shapes" by Magazine: Click Here

[wisejester7]

Totally missed this in the 70's. Not sure what I would have thought of them then, but today my first impression was that the video was funny ... in an odd sort of way. Probably colored by 20/20 hindsight.

[Rick Henry]

May 28, 2008 15:54:37 GMT -5 wisejester7 said:

Totally missed this in the 70's. Not sure what I would have thought of them then, but today my first impression was that the video was funny ... in an odd sort of way. Probably colored by 20/20 hindsight.

Some very good observations WJ7... Most of us in the U.S. completely missed Magazine and all of Howard DeVoto's projects. DeVoto and his various bands were almost strictly only a British thing. I knew of them only because of my desire to seek out the unknown and the unusual... plus I've always had a love for good guitar work, which is something always prevalent in DeVoto's bands.

You are right about the "funny" in an odd sort of way. DeVoto has always been big in using his dry and dark humor. I think that's one of his attributes that really appealed to the British public.

By the way Magazine and Howard DeVoto were affiliated with A&M records, having recorded for off-shoot label IRS Records.

Although this is not from the 70's... Here is Hopward DeVoto's semi-hit hit single from 1983 called "Rainy Season"...

Howard DeVoto - Rainy Season: Click Here