Real Life (Magazine album)
| Real Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Magazine | ||||
| Released | June 1978 | |||
| Recorded | March–April 1978 at the Virgin Mobile and Abbey Road Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:24 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | John Leckie | |||
| Magazine chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Real Life | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  |
| The Guardian | |
| Q | |
| Stylus Magazine | B+ |
| Uncut | |
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.
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.
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.
Real Life was released on LP and cassette in June 1978. It peaked at No. 29 on the UK Album Chart.
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