The Magazine Spies were an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

band from the town of

Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own ec ...

. They were active during 1979 and 1980, and are notable for band members who went on to play in

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

Fools Dance Fools Dance were an English rock band active from 1983–1987, chiefly noted for their connection to The Cure. History Fools Dance was formed in Horley, Surrey in 1983 under the name 'The Cry' and consisted of Ian Fuller on vocals, Stuart Curra ...

and related projects. The Magazine Spies were also known as the Magspies and Mag/Spys; a wordplay on "

magpies Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

History

Origins

The initial lineup in 1979 comprised the original members of Horley punk rock band Lockjaw (1976–1978); Gary Bowe (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Simon Gallup Simon Jonathon Gallup (born 1 June 1960) is an English musician and bassist with the alternative rock band The Cure. He is the second longest-serving member of the band after lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Smith. Early years Born in Duxhurst ...

(

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

), Stuart Hinton (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

) and Martin Ordish (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

). They were joined by

Matthieu Hartley Matthieu Hartley (born 4 February 1960) is an English musician born in Smallfield, England. He is best known for as the original keyboardist for The Cure. Before then he was in Lockjaw and The Magazine Spies and was in several bands after leavi ...

(

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

). The band's transition from Lockjaw to the Magspies coincided with their parting company with Raw Records,Ordish, 2006 and expanding from their

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

origins to explore post-punk and new wave. As they had done as Lockjaw, the Magspies continued to play regularly around Horley and

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

with the Cure, among others. Both Lockjaw and The Magspies were managed and promoted by bassist Gallup's elder brothers Dave Gallup and Ric Gallup.

The Cure, Cult Hero, recording

In October 1979, Gallup and Hartley left the Magspies to join the new lineup of the Cure.Barbarian, Sutherland, Smith, 1987 During the same month, however, the Magspies entered

Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by such notable artists as Jethro Tull, the Kinks, Paul McCartney, ...

in London as part of a recording session for

Cult Hero In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

.Gallup, Ric, 1980 Hartley and Simon Gallup both performed as members of Cult Hero during these sessions. In between recording Cult Hero, Robert Smith of the Cure and Ric Gallup produced tracks by the Obtainers and the Magspies for Ric Gallup's new record label Dance Fools Dance, including "Lifeblood", "Bombs", "Dishonour" and "Gary’s Gone to War". Simon Gallup performed bass on the Magspies recordings apart from "Gary's Gone to War", which featured Rik Kite on bass, but Hartley's keyboard playing did not appear. Backing vocals were provided by Simon Gallup's then-girlfriend Carol Thompson.

The Magspies Mk. II

The Magspies later replaced Gallup with bassist Richard "'Rick', later 'Rich'" Kite from Crawley. Rather than finding a new keyboardist, the band recruited second guitarist Stuart Curran. Curran's previous band Crime had been performing around Horley and Crawley with the Magspies during 1979. In March 1980, the new lineup of Bowe (vocals), Hinton (guitar), Curran (guitar, keyboards), Kite (bass/backing vocals) and Ordish (drums) opened for the Cure at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

in London. Later in the same year, members of the Magspies also traveled with the Cure for tour dates in France. In July 1980, the Dance Fools Dance label released the "Yeh Yeh Yeh" split-release 7" single by the Obtainers and Mag/Spys, from the earlier Morgan Studios recordings. The record contained the Obtainers songs "Yeh Yeh Yeh" and "Pussy Wussy" on one side, with "Lifeblood" and "Bombs" by Mag/Spys on the other. Only 100 copies of the single were pressed, hand-packaged in paper and sticker sleeves designed by Ric Gallup. Individual copies came with either red, yellow, green or blue stickers, and were sold by mail order for 75 pence through the Cure's official newsletter, ''Clinic''. Later internet sources have dated the release to 1979, possibly due to it having been recorded in 1979 with the original lineup. "Lifeblood" and "Bombs" by Mag/Spys later resurfaced on the 1998 UK punk compilation album ''England Belongs to Me, Vol II'', issued by bootleg label 77 Records. During the latter half of 1980, the Magspies disbanded. The following year, Curran and Hartley formed the Cry. Gallup also joined the Cry in 1982, and after several lineup and name changes between 1981 and 1983, the band became known as Fools Dance.

References

External links

Mag/Spys @ www.detour-records.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magazine Spies, The English rock music groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1980 English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups