Released June 1978 Length 41:24 Release date June 1978 Label Virgin Records | Recorded March–April 1978 Artist Magazine Producer John Leckie | |
 | ||
Studio Virgin Mobile and Abbey Road Studios, London Real Life
(1978) Secondhand Daylight
(1979) Genres Post-punk, New wave, Art rock Similar Magazine albums, Post-punk albums | ||
Magazine real life full lp
Real Life is the debut studio album by English rock band Magazine. It was released in June 1978 by record label Virgin. 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
- Magazine real life full lp
- Background and recording
- Release
- Reception
- Legacy
- Track listing
- Chart positions
- Songs
- References
Real Life has received critical acclaim and is considered a pioneering post-punk record. It has also been described as new wave and art rock.
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, Bob Dickinson, who played with the group in mid-1977 before being dismissed. The music for the album's final track, "Parade", was written by Dickinson's replacement, Dave Formula, with bassist Barry Adamson.
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 the Virgin 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 was designed by Linder, 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 Album Chart.
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
Real Life has been critically acclaimed since its release. It 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. Melody Maker declared that "no one that has the slightest interest in the present and future of rock 'n' roll should rest until they've heard Real Life".
Legacy
Real Life is included on several "best of" lists.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Howard Devoto.
Chart positions
Songs
1Definitive Gaze4:28
2My Tulpa4:52
3Shot by Both Sides4:04