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Initially a left-wing-inspired post-punk British rock group, Scritti Politti developed into a more mainstream pop music project in the early to mid 1980s, enjoying significant success in the record charts in the UK and the US. Scritti Politti originally consisted of Gartside (born Paul Julian Stromheyer) as the lead vocalist, Nial Jinks as bass player, Tom Morley as drummer, and Matthew Kay as the manager who sometimes played the keyboard. Morley also created much of the artwork on the band's album covers.[citation needed] Gartside and Jinks had gone to school together in South Wales, and Gartside met Morley at Leeds Polytechnic, a college they both attended.
They played one show as The Against in 1976, doing covers of Chelsea songs. Disillusioned and bored with art school, Gartside and Morley left in June 1978 and moved into a squat at 1 Carol Street in Camden Town, London. Jinks was invited to join the band. Gartside taught him how to play the bass in three weeks.[citation needed]
They played one show as The Against in 1976, doing covers of Chelsea songs. Disillusioned and bored with art school, Gartside and Morley left in June 1978 and moved into a squat at 1 Carol Street in Camden Town, London. Jinks was invited to join the band. Gartside taught him how to play the bass in three weeks.[citation needed]
Gartside recorded a demo of one of his new songs, "The Sweetest Girl", in January 1981, and the song was included on a compilation of songs given out with the March issue of NME. The song prompted many major labels to offer Gartside record contracts, but he decided to stay with Rough Trade.
By August 1981, Scritti Politti's debut album was complete and ready for release, but Gartside wanted to wait, most likely because he could not decide on a title. "The Sweetest Girl" was released as a single in November and reached only #64 on the UK music chart, but was cited by The New York Times as one of the ten best singles of the year. The single was later covered by pop band Madness, with their version reaching #35 in the UK singles chart in 1986. Nial Jinks also temporarily rejoined the band around this time. The band's music was characterized by sophisticated studio production, Gartside's sly, punning wordplay — influenced by his reading of deconstruction (the group's 1982 debut album, Songs to Remember, features a song called "Jacques Derrida") — and the tension between the polished pop-funk stylings of their music and the subtle radicalism of the political and social messages embedded in their lyrics."
By August 1981, Scritti Politti's debut album was complete and ready for release, but Gartside wanted to wait, most likely because he could not decide on a title. "The Sweetest Girl" was released as a single in November and reached only #64 on the UK music chart, but was cited by The New York Times as one of the ten best singles of the year. The single was later covered by pop band Madness, with their version reaching #35 in the UK singles chart in 1986. Nial Jinks also temporarily rejoined the band around this time. The band's music was characterized by sophisticated studio production, Gartside's sly, punning wordplay — influenced by his reading of deconstruction (the group's 1982 debut album, Songs to Remember, features a song called "Jacques Derrida") — and the tension between the polished pop-funk stylings of their music and the subtle radicalism of the political and social messages embedded in their lyrics."
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