Scritti Politti are a British band formed in 1977 in Leeds by singer-songwriter Green Gartside, who is the sole remaining member of the original band.

Initially formed as a punk-aligned underground act influenced by leftist politics, they transitioned into a commercial pop music project in the early 1980s, achieving success on the record charts in the UK. The group's most successful album, 1985's Cupid & Psyche 85, spawned three UK Top 20 hits with "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)", "Absolute", and "The Word Girl", and one US Top 20 hit with "Perfect Way". The band's 1988 album Provision peaked in the UK Top 10 and produced a UK Top 20 hit single, "Oh Patti". After releasing two non-album singles in 1991, as well as a collaboration with B.E.F., the band returned in the late 1990s after a seven-year break.

History

Origins

In the mid-1970s, Green Gartside studied fine art at Leeds Polytechnic. The correct spelling in Italian to refer to "Political Writings" would have produced Scritti Politici. Gartside changed it to Scritti Politti as he thought it sounded more rock and roll, like the Little Richard song "Tutti Frutti". Alongside other groups of what has been termed the DIY ethic or movement (notably The Desperate Bicycles and Steve Treatment, the latter being associated with Swell Maps), Scritti Politti released a DIY record titled "Skank Bloc Bologna" (a sort of ode to the traditionally leftist Italian city of Bologna) on their own St. Pancras label in 1978. Scritti Politti commonly added allusions to intellectual figures such as Karl Marx, Mikhail Bakunin, Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, and Jacques Lacan in their songs.

"Skank Bloc Bologna" gained airplay on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show, and the band were signed to Rough Trade under Geoff Travis in 1979, making them labelmates with the other Cardiff avant-garde band, Young Marble Giants. Originally believed to be a heart attack, the cause of his collapse was eventually diagnosed as a panic attack, brought on by his chronic stage fright and his unhealthy lifestyle. Returning home to south Wales at his parents' insistence for a nine-month convalescence period, Gartside had plenty of time to think about the direction the band and where their music was going. During 1979, he had already become less interested in the independent music and punk scene and had started listening to and buying American funk and disco like Chic and the Jacksons, American soul like Aretha Franklin, and 1960s British beat music such as the Beatles' early records. Gartside came to the conclusion that making pop music did not require selling out punk's principles or dumbing down. He explained his reasons for abandoning the band's original "do-it-yourself" philosophy to Smash Hits in November 1981:

Gartside recorded a demo of one of his new songs, "The 'Sweetest Girl'", in January 1981, and the song was included on the C81 cassette compilation obtained with tokens from the March issues of NME. – received strong reviews. It was cited by The New York Times as one of the ten best singles of the year, but the track did not get a wide release for ten months, by which time momentum was lost, and it only achieved a minor placing on the UK Singles Chart at No. 64. The single was later covered by pop band Madness, with their version reaching No.&nbsp;35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1986. Drummer Tom Morley departed Scritti Politti in November 1982.</blockquote>

Gartside became influenced by the new sounds coming out of New York City, especially hip hop. He signed with Virgin Records in 1983 (and with Warner Bros. in the US.) and in New Zealand where it reached No.&nbsp;26. A series of intricately programmed dance/soul-style hits followed, including "Absolute" (UK No.&nbsp;17), "Hypnotize" (UK No.&nbsp;68 and No.&nbsp;43 on the US Dance Charts) and the reggae-styled "The Word Girl", which became Scritti Politti's biggest UK hit single, climbing to No.&nbsp;6 in May 1985. In addition to the four already released singles, the album included the song, "Perfect Way". It was only a minor hit when released in the UK (No.&nbsp;48)

In 1987, Scritti Politti appeared on the Who's That Girl soundtrack with the song "Best Thing Ever".

The current line-up toured worldwide (under the Scritti Politti name) on the back of the album's success, embarked on their first-ever North American tour in October 2006 and completed a UK tour in November 2006. They appeared at the Bestival music festival in September 2006, and at Summer Sonic Festival in Japan. On 19 December, they played a short set at the Rough Trade Christmas party in London.

In 2007, Gartside worked on an album with Alexis Taylor, the singer with Hot Chip. The pair met at the Mercury Music Prize ceremony, and played a concert supporting Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid at KOKO in London in March 2007.

Gartside joined 'Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake', a 2008 UK and Australian tour featuring interpretations of Nick Drake's songs by amongst others, Robyn Hitchcock, Lisa Hannigan and Teddy Thompson. A subsequent live 15-track CD was released, including Gartside's version of Drake's "Fruit Tree" which he also performed at The Barbican, London.

In 2009, Gartside participated in 'Very Cellular Songs', a concert at The Barbican celebrating the music of the Incredible String Band, featuring Richard Thompson, Kamila Thompson, Alasdair Roberts, and Dr. Strangely Strange.

On 28 February 2011, Absolute, a compilation of singles and album tracks was released, with two new tracks both written with David Gamson: "Day Late and a Dollar Short" and "A Place We Both Belong". Gamson played a part in the recording of both Cupid & Psyche 85 and Provision. The album was voted "Best New Reissue" by Pitchfork on 10 March 2011.

The Tracey Thorn Christmas album Tinsel and Lights, released in October 2012, featured a duet with Gartside and a cover of the song "Snow in Sun" from White Bread, Black Beer.

Gartside has also collaborated with fellow Welshmen, the Manic Street Preachers. In addition to Gartside contributing lead vocals to the track "Between the Clock and the Bed" on the Manics' Futurology album (2014), Scritti Politti was the support act for three of the Manics' live shows in April 2014.

In 2020, Gartside released a solo single under his own name. This release on Rough Trade records featured covers of "Tangled Man" and "Wishing Well" as originally recorded by folk singer Anne Briggs.

Rough Trade also picked up the rights to the band's Virgin/Warner US albums with Cupid & Psyche 85, Provision and Anomie & Bonhomie due to be re-issued on CD and vinyl by the indie label on 30 July 2021, with a re-issue of Provision delayed until later in the year.

Legacy and influence

Miles Davis covered Scritti Politti's song "Perfect Way" on his 1986 album Tutu.

There are references to Scritti Politti's "sugar coated pop" sound on Max Tundra's Parallax Error Beheads You. Tundra said that he welcomed comparisons with Scritti Politti.

Richard Thompson references the band in his song "A Bone Through Her Nose" from his 1986 release Daring Adventures ("<I>Her boyfriend plays in Scritti Politti...</I>").

Kurt Feldman (the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the Depreciation Guild) stated that the band's music is a major inspiration for his work. The influence is especially prominent on the album Afar, released under his Ice Choir project.

Other artists who have cited Scritti Politti as an influence include Kylie Minogue, Matty Healy of The 1975, Carly Rae Jepsen, Dirty Projectors, Hot Chip, Max Tundra, and Haim. Elton John has also expressed an affinity for the group.

Discography

  • Songs to Remember (1982)
  • Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)
  • Provision (1988)
  • Anomie & Bonhomie (1999)
  • White Bread Black Beer (2006)

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|-

! scope="col" | Award

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Nominee(s)

! scope="col" | Category

! scope="col" | Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable"|

|-

! scope="row" rowspan=4| D&AD Awards

| rowspan=4|2000

| Anomie & Bonhomies Campaign

| Graphic Design - Graphite Pencil

|

|

|-

| Anomie & Bonhomies Album Poster

| Graphic Design - Wood Pencil

|

|

|-

| "Tinseltown to the Boogiedown"'s Single Poster

| Graphic Design - Wood Pencil

|

|

|-

| Anomie & Bonhomies Promo Book

| Graphic Design - Wood Pencil

|

|

|-

!scope="row"|Grammy Awards

| 1989

| Provision

| Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical

|

|

|-

! scope="row"|Mercury Prize

| 2006

| White Bread Black Beer

| Album of the Year

|

|

|-

! scope="row"|Smash Hits Poll Winners Party

| 1985

| Cupid & Psyche 85

| Best LP

|

|

See also

  • List of post-punk bands
  • List of new wave artists
  • List of one-hit wonders in the United States
  • List of performers on Top of the Pops
  • List of Peel sessions

References

Notes

  • Official website
  • Green Gartside/Scritti Politti biography at AllMusic
  • Scritti Politti biography from BBC Wales
  • bibbly-o-tek
  • The Scritti Politti Workshop: articles, pictures, discography, lyrics.
  • New Yorker article on Scritti Politti
  • Gartside interviewed by Simon Reynolds
  • Gartside interviewed by Jochen Bonz