February 20, 1976, Howard Devoto discovers the Sex Pistols in London and decides to have them play in Manchester for what will become one of the most important concerts in the history of contemporary music. Caught up in the movement, he creates a band that will remain one of the icons of punk: the Buzzcocks. Demanding and impulsive, he leaves his partners when he sees the movement becoming distorted and founds Magazine, where he finds the sound he had been seeking for so long. By blending the raw energy of punk with more intellectual music, this group will establish itself as one of the main initiators of post-punk. This biography tells the story of the evolution of this charismatic, innovative, and uncompromising musician, who never achieved success commensurate with his talent. From the birth of punk to the reformation of Magazine in 2008, Howard Devoto’s story is intrinsically linked to that of rock, with all the unexpected turns it entails. Echoing John Ford’s maxim that if the legend is more beautiful than the truth, one should print the legend, Benjamin Fogel bases his work on established facts and only resorts to fiction for the sake of narrative continuity.