There has been a dearth of Magazine content hereabouts lately; this cannot stand. So let’s have a look/listen to the lead single from the band’s third record – 1980’s The Correct Use Of Soap – which was notable for being the last with founding guitarist John McGeoch as well as being produced by the legendary Martin Hannett.

As McGeoch left just after the record was released, he does not feature on any of the live footage of the band’s subsequent tour. The North American leg of their tour behind Soap included an August 1980 date at Hurrah nightclub in New York, which was thankfully recorded for posterity:

Exactly a month later, they were in Australia, playing Melbourne’s Festival Hall – that show was recorded and released not long after as the Play live record:

Their performance in Berlin in October of that year was broadcast on Rockpalast and was linked in its entirety here back in April, but since we’re just talking about the song, let’s go straight to the clip:

When Howard Devoto formed Luxuria in 1987, he brought some Magazine material with him to their live shows. Their Live 1988 album, released in 2011, contained a pretty straight rendition of “Floorboards”, recorded in Leicester, England:

While not especially commercially successful, Magazine were massively influential so it’s not surprising some big names have covered their songs. Morrissey included it as a b-side on “The Youngest Was The Most Loved”, a single from his 2006 record Ringleader Of The Tormentors:

Similarly, Simple Minds included their version on Searching For The Lost Boys, a bonus album of covers included in a limited deluxe edition of their 2009 record Graffiti Soul:

And American popsmith released a version as a b-side to “I Live”, a single from his 1996 debut album Presents Author Unknown. It was made marginally less rare – but not by much – when it was collected on the 2001 Japanese compilation of rarities, Everyone Says It’s On: