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| Scritti Politti’s sporadic output over the past 30 years has been consistently impressive, even as they’ve constantly flitted between genres. From their post-punk beginnings, they morphed into purveyors of reggae, pure pop and hip hop, consistently staying ahead of the prevailing trends. |
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The focal point for all of Scritti Politti’s activity has been Green Gartside, born Paul Julian Strohmeyer in Cardiff in 1955. Inspired by the Sex Pistols, in 1977 he formed the first line-up of the band in Leeds, where he was studying, under the name The Against. Rechristened Scritti Politti in homage to Italian Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci, the band relocated to London’s squat scene and released their debut single, the spikily post-punk Skank Bloc Bologna, on their own St Pancras label in 1978. After receiving airplay from John Peel and selling 2500 copies of the single, the band signed to Rough Trade.
Two EPs followed, but a tour with Gang Of Four proved disastrous, with Gartside suffering severe stage fright. After retreating to Wales for a year, he returned to action with the first of several radical changes in direction, The Sweetest Girl single owing more to sweet pop and R&B than punk. By the time of 1982 debut album Songs To Remember, Gartside had started to dabble in reggae. The album was a success, reaching Number 12 in the UK, but the original line-up of the band had begun to fall apart.
At this point, increasingly fascinated by the city’s hip-hop scene, Green relocated to New York City, signed a deal with Virgin and began collaborating with songwriter David Gamson and producer Arif Mardin. After a series of impressive, soul-imbued singles, most notably Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) and The Word Girl, Scritti Politti released their second album, Cupid And Psyche 85, in June 1985. A critical and commercial success (it reached Number 11 in the US), its sample-heavy production technique was ahead of its time and subsequently much copied.
Third album Provision followed in 1988, this time including such notable session musicians as Miles Davis and Funkadelic’s Roger Troutman. By this time, Gartside had given up live performances completely and tired of the endless rounds of press interviews he went on hiatus again after the release of 1991 hit She’s A Woman (which featured Shabba Ranks).
He didn’t resurface until 1999’s hip-hop-influenced Anomie And Bonhomie. After a cameo appearance on Kylie Minogue’s 2003 album Body Language, Gartside re-emerged in 2006 – on Rough Trade once more -with the Mercury-nominated White Bread, Black Beer. The positive reaction led Gartside to take Scritti Politti out on the road for the first time in 25 years.
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Cupid & Psyche 85 (Virgin, 1985)
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| Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position (Loog, 2007) |
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Songs To Remember
Rough Trade, 1982
Debut set looks beyond the confines of post-punk.
After an extended hiatus brought on by frontman Green Gartside’s acute stage fright, Scritti Politti returned to the fray having ditched their initial post-punk direction in favour of a pop sound simultaneously informed by reggae, R&B and hip hop. It works best on lead single The Sweetest Girl, which had been the first indication of the band’s radical volte-face. Elsewhere, Sex tips its hat to Prince and the Stevie Wonder-goes-reggae of opener Asylums In Jerusalem is another high.
Download: The Sweetest Girl
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Cupid & Psyche 85
Virgin, 1985
Green moves to New York. Comes back with masterpiece.
With the original band line-up having split, by 1985’s Cupid… Scritti Politti was essentially a solo venture for Gartside. Relocating to New York and working with songwriter/keyboardist David Gamson and producer Arif Mardin, he came up with a masterpiece that quickly became a benchmark for 80s pop, with its intelligence, accessibility and state-of-the-art production. The highlights of an album that still manages to sound fresh 22 years on include Word Girl (Flesh And Blood), Perfect Way and Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin).
Download: Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)
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Provision
Virgin, 1988
Enter Miles Davis; exit memorable songs.
After the pop perfection of Cupid & Psyche 85, hopes were high for follow-up Provision, and once again, Gartside surrounded himself with an impressive array of session musicians – including Miles Davis on the single Oh Patti (Don’t Feel Sorry For Loverboy). But this time around a weaker set of songs were rendered faceless by the glossy production sheen. There are still plenty of good moments – Boom! There She Was and First Boy In This Town in particular – but given what had gone before it’s a disappointment overall.
Download: Oh Patti (Don’t Feel Sorry For Loverboy)
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Anome & Bonhomie
Virgin, 1999
Hip-hop-flavoured comeback.
After 1991 Shabba Ranks collaboration She’s A Woman, Gartside went on hiatus again. His return eight years later found him still producing the sweet and pristine pop of Cupid & Psyche 85, only this time with a hefty side order of hip hop (the guests include Mos Def on Tinsel Town To The Boogiedown). Most of the time, the pop/rock/hip hop fusion works, with the exception of clumsy power-ballad Here Come July, and certainly Umm and First Goodbye are as good as anything from Gartside’s back catalogue.
Download: Tinsel Town To The Boogiedown
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White Bread Black Beer
Rough Trade, 2006
Return to Rough trade = return to top form.
After another lengthy absence, Green Gartside re-emerged with only the fifth album in Scritti Politti’s 28-year history. White Bread? finds Gartside taking a step back from the lush productions that had defined his previous albums, the stripped-back sound helping to emphasise the quality of
the songwriting. The Boom Boom Bap - a tip of the hat to old-skool hip hop that namechecks Run-DMC song titles - is yet another perfect pop moment to add to his canon, while the folky The Road To No Regret and the pretty No Fine Lines also impress. It was deservedly nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.
Download: The Boom Boom Bap
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» CONTENDERS 30 TO 21
» CONTENDERS 21 TO 10
» CONTENDERS 10 TO 1
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