Album · Magazine
The Correct Use of Soap by Magazine
The Correct Use of Soap is an album by Magazine, released in 1980. 1 song from it has charted on rock radio countdowns, with 1 countdown appearance in total. The biggest is “A Song From Under The Floorboards”, on 1 list with a best position of #680.
The Correct Use of Soap, Magazine's third studio album, came out on Virgin in 1980, and it catches the Manchester band at their sharpest and most sardonic. Howard Devoto, who had quit Buzzcocks to build something more ambitious, sings like a man sneering at his own reflection, while John McGeoch's guitar cuts angular shapes around Barry Adamson's supple bass, with Dave Formula filling out the lineup. Martin Hannett produced, and the whole thing has a cool, clipped tension.
It holds some of their best-loved songs: "A Song from Under the Floorboards" and "Sweetheart Contract" went out as singles, and they turned Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" into something stiff-limbed and strange. Canada got a different version, An Alternative Use of Soap, through Polygram. It also closed a chapter: McGeoch left once the album was out and joined Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from The Correct Use of Soap on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Song From Under The Floorboards | 1 | #680 | – | 1991 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.