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Scritti Politti was formed in 1977 by Green Gartside (vocals) and Tom Morley (drums), who met while attending college in Leeds, England. Along with bassist Nial Jinks and keyboardist Matthew Kay, the duo formed the Sex Pistols-inspired political four-piece "Scritti Politti", named for an Italian political diatribe. After gigging around London and self-releasing several singles, the group went on hiatus in 1979 when Gartside fell ill. When he recovered, he transformed Scritti Politti into a soulful pop duo consisting of himself and Morley, releasing several U.K. Top 5 singles and the U.K. Top 10 1982 album Songs To remember before breaking up.
In 1984 Gartside re-formed Scritti Politti as a synth-pop group, bringing on board David Gamson (keyboards) and Fred Maher (drums). Moving to Virgin, the trio released 1985's Cupid & Psyche 85, which became a commercial success thanks to the U.S. and U.K. hits "The Word Girl," "Perfect Way," and "Wood Beeze (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)." Gartside took some time off to work as a producer and songwriter. Three years later the group returned with Provision, which charted well in the U.K. When Gartside once again fell ill, Scritti Politti again went on hiatus. In the early 1990s Gartside began working on solo material as Scritti Politti, recording several singles with reggae stars Shabba Ranks and Sweetie Irie. In 1997 Scritti Politti returned to the studio to work on their first new full-length of the 1990s.
Scritti gets away with a lot. Because Scritti knows how to make the girls (and boys) go crazy. So Scritti gets to play around. A lot. And Scritti loves it. And is thankful for it.
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