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: As well as his musical change of heart, Gartside had also abandoned the strict
Marxist philosophy of the early Scritti Politti ideas and recordings, saying that "a lot of the very oppositional politics that we'd been involved in lost their appeal and credibility for me. I rejected the principles of that, what was monolithical Marxism. I no longer supported the mechanism which held that up, and carried over to the music. Plus I was bored shitless with the noise we were making." – 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. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1986. Drummer Tom Morley departed Scritti Politti in November 1982. 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. 26. A series of intricately programmed dance/
soul-style hits followed, including "
Absolute" (UK No. 17), "
Hypnotize" (UK No. 68 and No. 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. 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. 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==