Howard Devoto

Howard Devoto (born Howard Trafford on 15 March 1952 in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England) is an English rock and roll singer/songwriter who began his career as the frontman for the punk band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, one of the first post-punk bands and who influenced the rock scene. After Magazine, he went solo and, later, formed indie band Luxuria. He was brought up in Moortown, Leeds, Nuneaton, Warwickshire and Yorkshir... more

Howard Devoto (born Howard Trafford on 15 March 1952 in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England) is an English rock and roll singer/songwriter who began his career as the frontman for the punk band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, one of the first post-punk bands and who influenced the rock scene. After Magazine, he went solo and, later, formed indie band Luxuria. He was brought up in Moortown, Leeds, Nuneaton, Warwickshire and Yorkshire, and attended Leeds Grammar School, where he met and befriended future Buzzcocks manager Richard Boon. In 1972, he went to Bolton Institute of Technology to study psychology, and, later, humanities. During these college years, he met his future bandmates Pete Shelley and Ben Mandelson. Inspired by the Sex Pistols, Devoto co-formed Buzzcocks with singer/guitarist Pete Shelley in 1975. He left Buzzcocks after only one record (the Spiral Scratch EP) and a small number of performances. Devoto afterwards formed the influential, genre-defying... less