Once again taking my inspiration from The Robster‘s great new series on the imaginary 7″ singles from R.E.M albums, I’m offering up as today’s high-quality vinyl rip what could have been a double-sided single back in 1978.
Magazine cracked the charts in January 1978 with debut 45, Shot By Both Sides. The debut album, Real Life, was then, and remains today, an astounding listen, with at least two more of its tracks being more than capable of being hit singles. The only problem was that back in those days very few bands wanted to ever release more than one 45 from an album, which led to the rather less revered, but previously unreleased Touch and Go, being the follow-up some five months later.
Imagine how different things would have turned out if the band and Virgin Records had issued these:-
mp3: Magazine – Definitive Gaze
mp3: Magazine – The Light Pours Out Of Me
Two songs offering wonderful examples of how Magazine, while made up of amazing individual musicians and a very distinct vocalist, really was the sum of their talents.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Hi-Quality is an understatement. Two of my favourite songs from one of my favourite bands. Thanks, JC!
Two brilliant songs which would have been brilliant singles!!
One of my all-time favourite albums and two very special tracks. I’m very fond of Motorcade also, but appreciate that it wasn’t really single material.
A great choice, although I might have had the order of songs reversed, only as ‘The Light Pours Out Of Me’ is one of my favourite three Magazine songs, along with ‘Give Me Everything’ and ‘A Song From Under The Floorboards’. Interesting that ‘The Light…’ eventually came out as a b-side of ‘Upside Down’ a non album single released among three ‘The Correct Use Of Soap’ singles. It doesn’t make sense, but I’ve never heard much about it. Can anyone pour some light on the subject into me?
Hi David
It’s a completely different version on the b-side of Upside Down.
It dates from 1980 and was produced by Martin Hannett where the original is credited to John Leckie. I’m guessing the band wanted to revisit it for b-side purposes.
The thing liking both Shot By Both Sides and Light Pours Out Of Me is that they are Devoto/Shelley songs and thus two of my favorite Magazine songs. I even really like the Hannett produced revisit from 1980, it was the version that got airplay on new music radio in the US back in those days…
1978 saw a nation of listeners already having their ears opened to new sounds, so maybe Definitive Gaze would have had legs in the charts as a single. It really is a very accomplished track musically that Devoto’s Faganesque vocals adds a touch of the seamy and evil to. Dave Formula is on the top of his game throughout the song.