Rhythm of Cruelty (VS 251) : Released March 1979 on 7″
The most recent appearance of this single came via its inclusion in Dirk‘s memorable series ‘One Hundred and Eleven Singles’, back on 2 May 2024.
Dirk began by saying there can be no argument that Magazine were, in comparison to their peers, more progressive and less traditional. He then posed the question “How did you see this development back in 1978 or thereabouts? I mean, if memory serves correctly, Devoto was seen as a bit of a betrayer to punk when leaving Buzzcocks … just in order to front this strange modern New Wave combo”
His own take on things was that a lot of people rather wasted their time complaining about Devoto having left Buzzcocks and blaming Magazine for that event, rather than closely listening to early Magazine with an open mind. He is convinced that taking such an approach would have everyone a lot, including the record buying public and, by extension, Magazine as well.
Rhythm of Cruelty, like all the Magazine singles (with the exceptions of #41 hit Shot By Both Sides and later offering Sweetheart Contract which raced to #54 in 1980) failed to trouble the Top 100. Maybe there’s merit inDirk’s observation that they weren’t really given a fair hearing, as it does seem it was only after they split up did the the accolades and credit come thieir way.
Wiki lists Rhythm of Cruelty as being taken from the album Secondhand Daylight which was released just two weeks after the single. But the fact is, the version issued as a 7″ single is a completely different mix from the album version.
mp3 : Magazine – Rhythm of Cruelty (single version)
The band had worked with a new producer, Colin Thurston, who up to this point was best known as a studio engineer for the 1977 albums Heroes by David Bowie and Lust for Life by Iggy Pop album. Secondhand Daylight was Thurston’s debut as a solo producer and he would go onto work with The Human League on the album Reproduction later in 1979 before hitting the jackpot with the first two Duran Duran albums in ’81 and ’82.
Rhythm of Cruelty is a much underrated single. It harks back, in part, to the band’s post-punk roots, as can clearly be heard in the opening bars as well as the cartoon violence of the first two lines spat out by Devoto. Secondhand Daylight proved to contain a fair degree of prog/krautrock elements, which is an indication of the increasing influence of Dave Formula on keyboards. Compare and contrast….
mp3: Magazine – Rhythm of Cruelty (album version)
The b-side is T.V. Baby. The music for this one was written by Formula but for much of the song his keyboards are hidden or well back in the mix. Indeed, the most prominent sound for much of its near four minutes is the saxophone playing of McGeoch. It sounds nothing like any song on Secondhand Daylight, which leads me to think it was always destined for use as a b-side. As these things go, it’s more than alright
mp3: Magazine – T.V. Baby
No other singles were released in the UK to support Secondhand Daylight, but over in New Zealand, one of its tracks was issued on 7″
mp3: Magazine – Believe That I Understand
It was backed by Rhythm of Cruelty as the b-side – whether it’s the single or album version, I’m unable to say as this is the one 7″ release from back in the day that I don’t have in my collection and the asking price on the few occasions it pops up on Discogs is just too much.