Green Gartside and Scritti Politti have led a long and strange musical life, from forming in Leeds in 1977 and their initial recordings, scratchy dubby DIY/ squat post- punk (where they released a single which was in part a demystification of the process of making a record) through to shiny 80s synth- pop, soul, reggae and disco, hip hop and rap and gorgeous folk- pop.
Underpinning it was Green's application of Marxist theory to music and hundreds of lyrical references- Scritti's 1982 song Jacques Derrida, named after the French post- structuralist philosopher, opened the eyes and broadened the reading lists of many listeners. Green has said that on many occasions he's been approached backstage by men carrying their PhD and asked to sign it, PhDs dedicated and inspired by him.
As well as this, Green's voice is like an angels and his songwriting is second to none and while he hasn't been particularly prolific since the glory days of the 80s, his back catalogue is packed with gems. This mix is filled with singles and big hitters. A deeper dive could be on the cards. I wasn't sure the various styles and genres would work as a coherent whole and was surprised by how well they do- even the early DIY post- punk/ dub finds a place alongside songs recorded in much more expensive studios.
Forty Five Minutes Of Green Gartside
- Scritti Politti: The Boom Boom Bap
- Scritti Politti: Asylums In Jerusalem
- Scritti Politti: Tinseltown To The Boogiedown
- Scritti Politti: Skank Bloc Bologna
- Scritti Politti: Absolute
- Scritti Politti: Dr. Abernathy
- Green Gartside: Tangled Man
- King Midas Sound: Come And Behold (Green Gartside Revoice)
- Scritti Politti: After Six
- Scritti Politti: The 'Sweetest Girl'
The Boom Boom Bap is from 2006's Scritti Politti album White Bread Black Beer, an album which is now twenty years old. The Boom Boom Bap is a minimalist tribute to Green's beloved hip hop culture and rap music- to the sound of the drums, the 'yes yes y'all', and to the songs of Run DMC. Greens says its also about 'the difference between being in love with something and being unhealthily addicted to it'. The album is spacious, sumptuously produced and filled with heartstopping moments. Dr. Abernathy is from the same album, a gorgeous acoustic song that references Greek mythology (the owl of Minerva), Hegelian philosophy, the 18th century surgeon of the title, more 80s hip hop ('punks jump up to get beat down') and a range of substances including heroin, meth amphetamine, mescaline, beer and gin all sung so sweetly. One of the best songs of the 00s. After Six, a short two minute song is also from White Bread Black Beer, in which Green pleads, 'oh Jesus, keep your love away from me'.
Asylums In Jerusalem is from 1982's Songs To Remember, a change in sound and style from their post- punk recordings, funk bass and synths, backing vocals and bigger studios. It was a reaction partly to Green's growing distaste for the indie ghetto- the desire to break out, to not be seen as bedsit/ squat intellectuals, to connect with an audience, all drove it, as did Green's rejection of 'monolithical Marxism', and a nine month recovery in Wales from a nervous breakdown triggered by stage fright. Asylums In Jerusalem was inspired by Freidrich Nietzche's descriptions of the mentally ill contained in asylums built to hold the number of religious lunatics who appeared in the wake of Jesus Christ.
Tinseltown To The Boogiedown was released in 1999 on the album Anomie & Bonhomie, Green making music with the cream of 90s hip hop. On Tinseltown... Green sings and plays with Mos Def and Da Bush Babees (a New York Native Tongues affiliated group)
Skank Bloc Bologna is from 1978, an oblique, lo fi single, the musicians sometimes seeming to be playing different songs- scratchy, weird, post punk dub with a title inspired by Antonio Gramsci and his writings about class and society. Gramsci also gave the band their name, from his book Scritti Politisci.
Absolute is a 1985 single and is pop perfection, a sublime single with a sound that swims and soars with Green's voice never sounding better. The video is a joy too, Green in Nike Windjammer track jacket and moon boots and with huge Princess Di hair, and a party of impossibly young and beautiful people.
In 2020 Green released a 7" single out of nowhere, a pair of covers of Anne Briggs songs which revealed Green's pre- punk love of British folk music. The songs were done at home with bandmate Rhodri Marsden. Tangled Man and Wishing Well were very near the top of my list of my favourite songs of 2020 and both still sound lovely today.
King Midas Sound's Without You is dub, dubstep, experimental double album from 2012, songs reworked and remixed by an array of artists. Massive Attack and Tricky are close companions of the original album, from 2009. Green re- voices Come And Behold, adding his vocals to the song.
The 'Sweetest Girl' is a 1981 single, an about turn for Scritti in music and production, with Robert Wyatt on keys. The song was designed to be a hit single and provoked a furious disagreement at record label Rough Trade, many of whom were ideologically opposed to hit singles. It was also the most money Rough Trade had ever paid to make a single, £60, 000. For Green, making pop music in 1981 did not mean selling out or dumbing down punk's principles but was about making music that would find a way into people's hearts. Songs To Remeber was partly about what happens, as he said to The Face, 'when anchor points of political, moral or religious understanding fall away'. The 'Sweetest Girl' is about the promise and the myth of 'the perfect girl', or about how the idealised male version of the 'sweetest girl' was a myth.