Real Life (Magazine album)

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Real Life
Magazine - Real Life.jpg
Studio album by
Released24 June 1978
RecordedMarch–April 1978
Studio The Manor Mobile and Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre
Length41:24
Label Virgin
Producer John Leckie
Magazine chronology
Real Life
(1978)
Secondhand Daylight
(1979)
Singles from Real Life
  1. "Shot by Both Sides" b/w "My Mind Ain't So Open"
    Released: 20 January 1978
  2. "The Light Pours Out of Me"
    Released: 1978

Real Life is the debut studio album by English post-punk band Magazine. It was released in June 1978 by record label Virgin. It reached number 29 in the UK charts. [1] The album includes the band's debut single "Shot by Both Sides", and was also preceded by the non-album single "Touch and Go", a song from the album's recording sessions.

Contents

Real Life has received critical acclaim and is considered a pioneering post-punk album. It has also been described as new wave [2] and art rock. [3] It was also included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [4]

Background and recording

The album was written over the preceding year by the band, with Howard Devoto providing all of the lyrics. The two earliest songs, "Shot by Both Sides" and "The Light Pours Out of Me", were co-written with Devoto's former Buzzcocks bandmate Pete Shelley. The majority of the material on the album was written by Devoto in collaboration with guitarist and founding member John McGeoch. "Motorcade" was co-written with the group's keyboardist, the classically trained composer Bob Dickinson, who played with the group in mid-1977 before being dismissed without warning at a meeting convened by Devoto in November of that year. Dickinson has cited the influence of Erik Satie on elements of the keyboard part in this song. In early January 1978, Dickinson was invited by Devoto to play for a few gigs but he declined the offer due to his ongoing postgraduate electronic music research at Keele University. The music for the album's final track, "Parade", was written by Dickinson's replacement, Dave Formula, with bassist Barry Adamson. "Definitive Gaze" was recorded for a Peel session as "Real Life" on 14 February 1978.

Having toured much of the album through 1977 and early 1978, the group's then lineup of Devoto (vocals), McGeoch (guitar and saxophone), Adamson (bass), Formula (keyboards) and Martin Jackson (drums) recorded the album in sessions using Virgin's The Manor Mobile and at Abbey Road Studios between March and April 1978. The album was produced and engineered by John Leckie.

The original artwork and monoprint for the album were designed by Linder Sterling, with photography by Adrian Boot.

Release

Real Life was released on LP and cassette in June 1978. It peaked at no. 29 on the UK Albums Chart. [5] "Shot by Both Sides", the album's only single, peaked at no. 41 on the UK Singles Chart. [6]

The album was reissued in remastered form by Virgin/EMI in 2007, along with the other three of the band's first four studio albums, and included four bonus tracks and liner notes by Kieron Tyler.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [7]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Sounds Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Stylus Magazine B+ [14]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [15]

Real Life has received critical acclaim since its release. Jon Savage said in Sounds : "A commercial, quality rock album then, with deceptive depths. All is not revealed." [13] The album was ranked at No. 20 among the top "Albums of the Year" for 1978 by NME , with "Shot by Both Sides" ranked at no. 9 among the year's top tracks. [16]

Andy Kellman of AllMusic noted a perceived influence from Roxy Music, Iggy Pop and David Bowie, all of which were common influences for punk and post punk, but felt that the band were "instead of playing mindlessly sloppy variants of "Hang on to Yourself," "Search and Destroy," and "Virginia Plain,"" they were "inspired by the much more adventurous Low, The Idiot, and "For Your Pleasure."" [17] The Irish Times called it an "exuberant debut" but felt "it leant too heavily on Dave Formula's keyboards". [18] The Guardian observed "John McGeoch's unpredictable, distress-flare guitar solos and Dave Formula's bold, busy synths gave Devoto's sociopathic disgust a terrifying grandeur which influenced, among others, Radiohead and the Manic Street Preachers. [19]

Legacy

Real Life is included on several "best of" lists. It was included in The Guardian 's "1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list in 2007. [20] Sounds also ranked it at No. 89 in its "100 Best Albums of All Time" list in 1986. [21] In 2006, Uncut ranked it at No. 37 in its "100 Greatest Debut Albums" list.[ citation needed ]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Howard Devoto.

Side A
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Definitive Gaze"Devoto, John McGeoch 4:25
2."My Tulpa"Devoto, McGeoch4:47
3."Shot by Both Sides"Devoto, Pete Shelley 4:01
4."Recoil"Devoto, McGeoch2:50
5."Burst"Devoto5:00
Side B
No.TitleMusicLength
6."Motorcade"Devoto, Bob Dickinson5:41
7."The Great Beautician in the Sky"Devoto, McGeoch4:56
8."The Light Pours Out of Me"Devoto, McGeoch, Shelley4:36
9."Parade" Barry Adamson, Dave Formula 5:08
2007 remastered edition bonus tracks
No.TitleMusicLength
10."Shot by Both Sides" (Original single version)Howard Devoto, Pete Shelley4:01
11."My Mind Ain't So Open"Devoto, John McGeoch2:18
12."Touch and Go"Devoto, McGeoch2:58
13."Goldfinger" John Barry, Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley 3:50

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1978)Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC) [5] 29

Further reading

References

  1. "REAL LIFE". Official Charts. 24 June 1978. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "Real Life – Magazine". AllMusic . Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  3. Monroe, Jazz (12 March 2015). "Radiohead's The Bends At 20: The Story Of An Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Cynicism Classic". NME . Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  4. Dimery, Robert, ed. (2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (revised and updated ed.). Universe Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7893-2074-2.
  5. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. "Magazine". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  7. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Magazine". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   0-85712-595-8.
  8. Lynskey, Dorian (2 March 2007). "Magazine: Real Life". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  9. Courtney, Kevin (30 March 2007). "Reissues". The Irish Times . Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  10. Irvin, Jim (March 2018). "A big issue". Mojo . No. 292. p. 108.
  11. "Magazine: Real Life". Q . p. 126. [S]ynthesizers, saxophones and songs that dared to exceed the five-minute barrier.
  12. Lott, Tim (3 June 1978). "Devoto's fantastic real life confession". Record Mirror . p. 18.
  13. 1 2 Savage, Jon (3 June 1978). "Magazine: Real Life" . Sounds . Retrieved 2 April 2019 via Rock's Backpages.
  14. Parrish, Peter (4 May 2007). "Magazine – Real Life / Secondhand Daylight / The Correct Use of Soap / Magic, Murder and the Weather – Review". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on 6 May 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  15. Mueller, Andrew (15 March 2007). "Magazine – Reissues". Uncut . Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  16. "1978 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME . 10 October 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  17. Real Life - Magazine | Album | AllMusic , retrieved 29 July 2025
  18. "Reissues". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  19. Lynskey, Dorian (2 March 2007). "Magazine: Real Life". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  20. "Artists Beginning with M (part 1)". The Guardian . 20 November 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  21. "Rocklist.net...Sounds - Sounds all time top 100's". www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2025.