Magic, Murder and the Weather by Magazine

Magic, Murder and the Weather was Magazine's fourth album and, as it turned out, their parting shot: Virgin put it out in June 1981, the band broke up that same year, and nothing new followed until they re-formed in 2009. It was the first without John McGeoch, the guitarist who had started the band with Howard Devoto and walked out in mid-1980 to join Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the balance inside the group shifted. Keyboardist Dave Formula wrote much of the music, only three songs carry a credit for all five members, and Devoto, as ever, supplied every word.

They cut it at Trident Studios in London early in 1981 with John Brand engineering, then mixed it with Martin Hannett at Strawberry Studios in Stockport; no producer is credited. Barry Adamson's bass still slinks along underneath, and the whole thing wears a chilly, sidelong glamour. "About the Weather" was the lone single.

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