"Touch and Go" is the second single by

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

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 ...

, released on 14 April 1978. A non-album single, it did not appear on their debut album, ''

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 ...

'', released two months later.

Recording

Unlike with previous single "

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 ...

", the band recorded "Touch and Go" with their complete five-man lineup including (ex- St. Louis Union) keyboardist

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 ...

, who had joined shortly after the release of the first single. However, "Touch and Go" was also the last single to feature original drummer

Martin Jackson Martin Jackson (born 30 August 1955 in Manchester, England) is a British drummer who has played with several bands from Manchester, although his most successful roles were with Magazine in 1978 with the release of the influential ''Real Life'' ...

, who left in July 1978, after a British tour, subsequently replaced by Paul Spencer, who lasted a short time and was then replaced by John Doyle. Jackson later joined

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever. Th ...

and Swing Out Sister.

Content

The single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, " Goldfinger", is a cover of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

theme of the same name. Both songs were featured as bonus tracks on the CD reissue of ''Real Life''.

Music video

A promo video was released for the song.

Track list

Side A * "Touch and Go" (Devoto/McGeoch) – 2:50 Side B * "Goldfinger" (Barry/Bricusse/Newley) – 3:20

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Touch And Go (Magazine Song) 1978 singles Magazine (band) songs Songs written by Howard Devoto 1978 songs Virgin Records singles Song recordings produced by John Leckie Songs written by John McGeoch