After Dinner Speakers: Scritti Politti, Les Dennis, Alastair Morton

Founded by a group of Leeds, England-based art students in 1978, by the time of their first single, "Skank Bloc Bologna", the nucleus of Scritti Politti was Green Gartside (b. Paul Julian Strohmeyer, 22 June 1956, Cardiff, Wales; vocals/guitar), Matthew Kay (keyboards, manager) and Tom Morley (drums) and Nial Jinks (bass, departed 1980). At this stage, the group was explicitly political (Green had been a Young Communist and the band's Italian-derived name translates roughly as "political writing"), encouraging listeners to create their own music in the face of the corporate record industry. Gartside also gained a reputation for convoluted wordplay within his lyrics. This early avant garde phase gave way to a smooth sound that brought together elements of pop, jazz, soul and reggae on songs such as "The Sweetest Girl" (with Robert Wyatt on piano) and "Asylums In Jerusalem"/"Jacques Derrida", which appeared on their debut album for Rough Trade Records, produced by Adam Kidron. Morley quit the group in November 1982, by which time Gartside was Scritti Politti. Songs To Remember became Rough Trade's most successful chart album; number 1 in the UK independent and, in the national chart, peaking at number 12 (beating Stiff Little Fingers' previous effort at number 14). After moving on to Virgin Records, Green linked up with New York musicians David Gamson (keyboards, programming) and Fred Maher (drums), who formed the basis of the group that made a series of UK hits in the years 1984-88. Produced by Arif Mardin, these included "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" (number 10), "Absolute" (number 17), and "The Word Girl" (number 6). A three-year silence was broken by "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy)" (number 13), lifted from Provision, and boasting a trumpet solo by Miles Davis. Gartside again maintained a low profile for two years after "First Boy In This Town (Love Sick)", failed to break into the UK Top 60 in late 1988. He returned in 1991 with a revival of the Beatles' "She's A Woman", featuring leading reggae star Shabba Ranks, reaching number 20, while another Jamaican star, Sweetie Irie, guested on a version of Gladys Knight And The Pips' 1967 hit, "Take Me In Your Arms And Love Me'. Gartside's extended lay-off was eventually broken with the release of 1999"s eclectic Anomie & Bonhomie. The album reflected Gartside's infatuation with hip-hop, and featured guest appearances from Mos Def and Meshell Ndegéocello.