first John Peel session

“Motorcade” co-writer Dickinson, whose background was in classical and avant-garde music , left shortly after several gigs in late 1977. In mid-February 1978, the band recorded their first John Peel session for BBC radio. In early 1978, they also released their first single, ” Shot by Both Sides “, produced by Mick Glossop: it was a song Magazine recorded as a quartet. It featured a guitar-bass-drums sound similar to punk rock . Shortly after the single’s release, Dave Formula , who had played with a briefly successful 1960s rock band from Manchester called St. Louis Union , joined as keyboardist. “Shot by Both Sides” used a chord progression suggested by Pete Shelley , which was also used in the Buzzcocks track “Lipstick”. The Magazine single just missed the UK top 40. The band, with Formula on keyboards, made its first major TV appearance on Top of the Pops in February 1978, performing the single. The band recorded their first John Peel session for BBC radio 1 on 14 February 1978: the four tracks were broadcast on 20 February. “Shot by Both Sides” was re-recorded and produced by John Leckie for their debut album Real Life .