Howard Devoto (born Howard Andrew Trafford, 15 March 1952) is a retired English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for punk rock band Buzzcocks, but then left to form

Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, one of the first

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

bands. After Magazine, he went solo and later formed

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band Luxuria. His singing has been characterized as a "speak-sing voice that veered between amused croon and panicked yelp".

Biography

Born in

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A pre ...

, Devoto grew up in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and Moortown,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, where he attended

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physicall ...

and met and befriended future Buzzcocks manager

Richard Boon James Richard Boon (born 6 July 1953) is the former manager of Buzzcocks and boss of the record label, New Hormones. Boon, a Leeds Grammar School friend of Howard Devoto, became the manager for seminal punk group Buzzcocks by default, after o ...

. In 1972, he went to

Bolton Institute of Technology , established = 2004 – gained University Status 1982 – Bolton Institute of Higher Education , type = Public , endowment = £160,000 (2009) , administrative_staff = 700+ , chancellor ...

(now the

University of Bolton , established = 2004 – gained University Status 1982 – Bolton Institute of Higher Education , type = Public , endowment = £160,000 (2009) , administrative_staff = 700+ , chancellor ...

) to study

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, and, later,

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

. During these college years, he met his future bandmates

Pete Shelley Pete Shelley (born Peter Campbell McNeish; 17 April 1955 – 6 December 2018) was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist in 1977 wh ...

and Ben Mandelson.

Buzzcocks

Inspired by the Sex Pistols, Devoto co-formed Buzzcocks with singer/guitarist

in 1976. He left the band in February 1977 after only one record (the ''

Spiral Scratch ''Spiral Scratch'' is an EP and the first release by the English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released on 29 January 1977. It is one of the earliest releases by a British punk band (preceded by The Damned's " New Rose" in October 1976, a ...

EP'') and a small number of performances to form the band Magazine.

Magazine

Devoto formed the

band

in 1977. They released several critically acclaimed albums, which met with moderate commercial success, as well as minor hits such as "

Shot by Both Sides "Shot by Both Sides" is a song written by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley, and performed by the English post-punk band Magazine. It was released in January 1978 as the band's first single, reaching No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart and appearing, a ...

" and " A Song from Under the Floorboards". Magazine reformed in February 2009, initially performing on a tour of five dates, and subsequently continued playing live and began to record new material. A studio album, ''

No Thyself ''No Thyself'' is the fifth and final studio album by the band Magazine, and the first since their 2009 reformation. It was released on the Wire-Sound label on 24 October 2011, about 30 years after the release of their previous studio album, '' ...

'', was released in October 2011.

Solo years

After Magazine split in 1981 Devoto spent two years putting together a solo album with former Magazine keyboard player

Dave Formula Dave Formula (born David Tomlinson 11 August 1946, Whalley Range, Manchester, England), is an English keyboardist and film-soundtrack composer from Manchester, who played with the post-punk bands Magazine and Visage during the end of the 19 ...

. ''

Jerky Versions of the Dream ''Jerky Versions of the Dream'' is the only solo album recorded by Howard Devoto, the original singer of Buzzcocks and Magazine. It was his only studio album, which was released at the time with two singles, "Cold Imagination" and "Rainy Season", ...

'' reached No. 57 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

in August 1983, and was reissued in 2007 by Virgin/EMI, featuring several tracks of bonus material.

Collaborations

A collaboration on three songs with

Bernard Szajner Bernard Szajner is a French composer, musical theorist, visual artist. He is credited with the invention of the laser harp, which he patented. Early life Szajner was born in Grenoble, France on 27 June 1944, into a family of Polish Jews who h ...

on the ''Brute Reason'' LP was released on Island Records in 1983. This was followed by a rendering of

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a ne ...

's "Holocaust" for the loose collective

This Mortal Coil This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotati ...

. The album ''It'll End in Tears'' contained contributions from many of the 4AD label's best artists, Devoto's presence being somewhat atypical. In 1997, Devoto wrote the lyrics to the

Mansun Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. It was announced ...

track "Everyone Must Win", which appeared on the '' Closed for Business'' EP. A year later he collaborated again with the band, writing lyrics for and singing on "Railings", a B-side for " Being a Girl (Part One)".

Luxuria

One of his next projects was a 1988 collaboration with

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

multi-instrumentalist

Noko Noko (born Norman Fisher-Jones, 1 February 1962, in Bootle, Lancashire, England) is an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chron ...

. As Luxuria they released two albums and a music video for the single "Redneck".

Life after popular music

For most of the 1990s Devoto was little involved in music, earning his living by working for a photo agency. In 2001, he teamed up with Buzzcocks colleague

for the first time in twenty-five years, and released the much-anticipated '' Buzzkunst'' under the name ShelleyDevoto. Reviews were mixed. In 2002, Devoto had a small part in the movie '' 24 Hour Party People'', a film about Manchester's

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Duru ...

. In his brief cameo appearance, Devoto appears as a

janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...

cleaning a men's toilet while actor

Martin Hancock Martin Hancock is an English actor best known for his roles as Geoffrey "Spider" Nugent in the English soap ''Coronation Street'' (between 1997 and 2003 and again from 2022 onwards) and as Reg Lund in ''Holby City''. Early life Hancock was bo ...

portrays Devoto having a tryst with the wife of promoter/journalist

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder o ...

. The real-life Devoto breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

by addressing the camera and stating, deadpan, "I ''definitely'' don't remember this happening". Magazine reformed in February 2009, with former Luxuria partner

replacing the deceased

John McGeoch John Alexander McGeoch (25 August 1955 – 4 March 2004) was a Scottish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Magazine (1977-1980) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980-1982). He has been described as one ...

on guitar. On 9 July 2009, Devoto was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton for his contribution to music.

Reunion with Buzzcocks

In November 2011, it was announced he would be returning to the stage with Buzzcocks for two special shows as part of the Buzzcocks "Back to Front" tour on 25 and 26 May 2012. These took place at the O2 Apollo in Manchester and the O2 Academy in Brixton

Tributes, references and cover songs

A number of bands continue to be influenced by his work.

Momus Momus (; Ancient Greek: Μῶμος ''Momos'') in Greek mythology was the personification of satire and mockery, two stories about whom figure among Aesop's Fables. During the Renaissance, several literary works used him as a mouthpiece for their ...

recorded the tribute song "The Most Important Man Alive" for the Bungalow Records compilation ''Suite 98'' in 1998.

have covered "Shot by Both Sides" live, and recorded it on their fourth and final album '' Kleptomania''. Also Radiohead and

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...

have both covered "Shot by Both Sides". Both

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

and Peter Murphy have covered Magazine's "The Light Pours Out of Me", whilst Simple Minds,

My Friend The Chocolate Cake My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

and Strange Boutique have covered Magazine's "A Song from Under the Floorboards".

Discography

For Magazine and Luxuria, see '' Discography of Magazine'' and '' Discography of Luxuria''. This is from his solo career:

Solo discography

Albums *1983: ''

'' - No. 57 UK Singles *1983: "Rainy Season" - No. 97 UK *1983: "Cold Imagination"

Chronological discography

* ''

'' (January 1977) (with Buzzcocks) * ''

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on th ...

'' (June 1978) #29 UK (with

) * ''

Secondhand Daylight ''Secondhand Daylight'' is the second studio album by English post-punk band Magazine. It was released on 30 March 1979 by record label Virgin. One single, "Rhythm of Cruelty", was released from the album. Writing Unlike the group's former alb ...

'' (March 1979) #38 UK (with Magazine) * ''

The Correct Use of Soap ''The Correct Use of Soap'' is the third studio album by English post-punk band Magazine, released by Virgin Records in 1980. It contains some of Magazine's best-known and most popular songs, including the singles "A Song from Under the Floorboa ...

'' (May 1980) #28 UK (with Magazine) * '' Magic, Murder and the Weather'' (June 1981) #39 UK (with Magazine) * ''

'' (July 1983) #57 UK (Solo) * ''Unanswerable Lust'' (1988) (with Luxuria) * ''Beast Box'' (1990) (with Luxuria) * '' Buzzkunst'' (2001) (with ShelleyDevoto) * ''

'' (November 2011: Wired18) #167 UK (with Magazine)

References

External links

Magazine official websiteBuzzcocks official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devoto, Howard 1952 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bolton Buzzcocks members English male singers English songwriters English new wave musicians Male new wave singers British post-punk musicians Magazine (band) members People educated at Leeds Grammar School Musicians from Leeds People from Nuneaton People from Scunthorpe