Ian Greaves

According to my files - I haven't been photographed since 1983. I'll remedy this soon with an elaborate photo shoot. Does the thought of me and a bunch of showroom dummies on a beach sound good? Nah - it's been done.

Many years ago I had a silly - esculating record habit. This has been kerbed since - but at the time I'd pick up anything - give it a listen or just stick it in a cupboard and never get around to hearing it. One lucky escapee was Magazine - whose four studio albums I picked up for twelve pounds on vinyl. To rewrite history slightly - I never looked back.

For all of Howard's lyrical prowess - Magazine is crucially a palace of musical delights - their sound was constantly in flux - reflecting the personel who each made a significant contribution to the sound and would frequently experiment in their own corner. Yes - even Bob Dickinson. For a flitting - thrills seeking listener like myself - this is what I love to see. Magazine also had character - depth and alarming confidence.

Come the revolution their side lining will be a faded memory. In the meantime I'll carry on with my writing which seems Devoto-centric to you all - but I do cover a wide range of stuff. I write for The Fall Information Service (when it's operating) and the highly recommended comedy site - Some of the Corpses are Amusing. I'm working on an insanely detailed guide to The Goodies which will gradually appear over the coming months.

I live in Peckham - South London. I'm 22. Could have cut to the chase a lot earlier I suppose.

Erik

There are a few things that always spring to mind if someone mentions Magazine or Howard Devoto:-

• Listening to 'Permafrost' and realising that it had to be one of the few truly original songs I've ever heard
• Fragments of Howard's lyrics, far too many to mention, lines like "I've got a good face for memories", "What on earth is the size of my life" and "Pain is tough going but happiness is harder" to mention but a few will stay with me forever
• A vision of Howard with this knowing half-smile on his face, as if he knows the meaning of life and even if it doesn't help him a bit he still finds it amusing that the rest of us are so completely in the dark
• My excitement back in '88 when I heard that Howard was working on new material, and a new single and album was about to be released

Duncan

Dave

Sorry, no pictures of my good self for the credits page - I can't risk becoming a sex object and having to do countless PA's

Also, I don't have too many pics of myself.

The t-shirts still don't fit, and we don't have proper walls here!! Excuses, excuses

CMoS

'Shot by Both Sides' had an uncompromising sound - guitar and vocals swapped places at a time when the whole music scene was constrained to one octave.

On first hearing 'Real Life' the anticipated McG onslaught was twinned with keyboards. It took sometime to recover from that first listening. Now I can't choose between it and 'Secondhand Daylight' as my favourite album of all time.