Howard Devoto (born Howard Andrew Trafford, 15 March 1952) is an English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

, but then left to form

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, an early

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band. After Magazine, he went solo and later formed indie 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 in Lincolnshire, England, and the county's third most populous settlement after Lincoln, England, Lincoln and Grimsby, with a population of 81,286 in 2021. It is the administrative centre and largest settleme ...

, Devoto grew up in

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

, Warwickshire, and Moortown,

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, 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 physica ...

and met and befriended future

manager Richard Boon. In 1972, he went to Bolton Institute of Technology (now the

University of Bolton The University of Greater Manchester (legally: The University of Bolton Higher Education Corporation) is a public university in Bolton, Greater Manchester in England. The university is commonly referred to as a 'post-92' institution, which is a ...

) to study

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, and, later,

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. 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 rock, punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist ...

and Ben Mandelson. He picked the stage name "Devoto" before meeting Shelley from the name of a friend of his landlord called "Andy Devoto".

Buzzcocks

Inspired by the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

, Devoto co-formed Buzzcocks with singer/guitarist

in 1976. He left the band in February 1977 after only one record (the '' Spiral Scratch'' 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" 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'', 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. ''

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 the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

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 on the ''Brute Reason'' LP was released on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

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, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American ...

'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 rotat ...

. 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 (musician), Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rath ...

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 port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

multi-instrumentalist

Noko Noko (born Norman Fisher-Jones; 1 February 1962) is an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer who has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chronological order they were: Alv ...

. 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 (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

. In his brief cameo appearance, Devoto appears as a caretaker cleaning a men's toilet while actor Martin Hancock 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 and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

. The real-life Devoto breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, 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. ...

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 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

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 Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse-control disorder. Some of the main ch ...

''. Also

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

and

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

have both covered "Shot by Both Sides". Both Ministry and Peter Murphy have covered Magazine's "The Light Pours Out of Me", whilst

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

, My Friend The Chocolate Cake,

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously 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 198 ...

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

* '' Spiral Scratch'' (January 1977) (with

) * ''

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 Character (arts), characters they portray. It has become a ...

'' (June 1978) No. 29 UK (with

) * '' Secondhand Daylight'' (March 1979) No. 38 UK (with Magazine) * '' The Correct Use of Soap'' (May 1980) No. 28 UK (with Magazine) * '' Magic, Murder and the Weather'' (June 1981) No. 39 UK (with Magazine) * ''

'' (July 1983) No. 57 UK (Solo) * ''Unanswerable Lust'' (1988) (with Luxuria) * ''Beast Box'' (1990) (with Luxuria) * ''Time's Up'' (1991) (with Buzzcocks) * '' Buzzkunst'' (2001) (with ShelleyDevoto) * '' No Thyself'' (November 2011: Wired18) No. 167 UK (with Magazine)

References

External links

Buzzcocks official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devoto, Howard 1952 births Living people Alumni of the University of Greater Manchester Buzzcocks members English male singers English male songwriters English new wave musicians English punk rock singers British 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