Robin Scott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robin Scott (April 1, 1947 in Croydon, London), also known as M, is a singer originally from the United Kingdom. His career encompasses four decades.
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[edit] Early life
He grew up in the South London suburb of Croydon and after leaving school enrolled at Croydon Art college, he met Malcolm McLaren in the late 1960s. Scott befriended him and fashion guru Vivienne Westwood (with whom he was to collaborate 10 years later).
He declined their offer to be involved in SEX, the Chelsea clothes shop which MacLaren and Westwood launched, preferring to make his career in music. While at college he had displayed a talent for writing topical songs which he performed on radio and TV, and this led to his first album titled 'Woman From The Warm Grass,' which was released on a small independent label called Head Records.
Scott was backed on the album by a notable group of the time, Mighty Baby, but the studio soon folded. Scott began working as a troubadour, singing his own songs and accompanying himself on guitar and spent a period playing folk clubs as a solo artist, sharing bills with such emergent artists as David Bowie, John Martin and Ralph McTell.
[edit] 1970s
In the early 1970 he conceived a multimedia project, 'The Voice' which was aired on BBC Radio 3, but he left to travel both around Europe and North America. When he returned, he made demos with members of the prog-rock band Camel, song writer Terry Britten and publisher Ronnie Scott. In 1972 he entered the 'Search For A Star' National talent contest, which he won, and was offered a recording contract by EMI, but because they would not support his backing band, he turned down the deal.
In 1973 he performed in bands with the likes of Pete Thomas (later of Elvis Costello and the Attractions), Paul 'Bassman' Riley, and also wrote a musical called 'Heartaches & Teardrops,' a play with original songs which has parallels to 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show', and the 'True Love And Romance' comic strip genre.
Scott then started working with the band Roogalator, a well regarded and original R&B band producing their debut single 'Cincinnati Fatback' (one of the first releases on the Stiff label) followed by another single 'Love & The Single Girl' on Virgin. As Virgin failed to pick up the album option he independently produced Roogalator's debut LP 'Play It By Ear' to be released on his own Do It Records, for whom Scott also recorded 'Cry Myself To Sleep' under the alias of Comic Romance.
When punk rock began to surface in late 1976 early 1977, while working with Roogalator both as producer and manager, Adam & the Ants introduced themselves to Do It Records and Scott released their debut LP, 'Dirk Wears White Sox.' In 1978 Scott worked as producer for Barclay Records in Paris, France where he lived with his girlfriend Brigitte Vinchon (alias Brigit Novik) after producing and filming with director Julian Temple an all female punk quartet, The Slits.
[edit] Breakthrough
While still in Paris he recorded early versions of 'Moderne Man/Satisfy Your Lust', tracks which would ultimately appear on the first album. Now known only as 'M', he also produced and recorded 'Pop Muzik,' which was written as his resume of 25 years of pop music and being in the music business since 1954.
Among the other musicians who played on the track were his brother Julian Scott (on bass), then unknown keyboardist Wally Badarou, Canadian programmer John Lewis (who died of AIDS in 1982) and Brigit Novik, the backing vocalist whose put the 'pop' in the 'muzik.' When it released in the UK in early 1979, it became a huge hit, after which MCA Records, the label which had released the single, requested an album.
'New York, London, Paris, Munich' was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, at Queen's Mountain Studio, and using their regular engineer, David Richards as well as Julian Scott, Wally Badarou (who would later work with Stevie Winwood, among others) and Brigit Novik. Additional musicians on the LP included drummer Phil Gould (later of Level 42), Gary Barnacle on sax and flute and (at the time) local Montreux resident David Bowie, who did occasional handclaps.
Released in the UK at the end of 1979, the LP was also a sizable hit in the US, where it was released on Sire Records. In contrast to 'Pop Muzik', another track titled 'Moonlight & Muzak' was the follow-up single. MCA executives were unhappy with this change of direction, but with a huge hit behind him, Scott felt it was relevant to be heard at this point. The track was written as a result of his experiences in the US where he came into contact with the music company called the Muzak Organisation.
He described as "a very weird experience. There were all these white collar workers conscientiously putting together music with the precision of chemists. Way before Eno was doing it, these guys were doing it for real. They were pre-occupied with the pace of workers in factories, and how to maximise their efficiency."
The song was a UK top 40 hit, and then 'That's The Way The Money Goes' became the hit inside of a year. A 45 minute film incorporating videos and concert performances to date came as a result of a quick globetrotting world tour in the wake of the hit.
[edit] Other M releases
In late 1980, the follow-up album called 'The Official Secrets Act' was released, containing the songs 'Keep It To Yourself' and the title track, and was inspired albeit tongue-in-cheek by the overwhelming worldwide paranoia of the time. It was recorded in the UK and Dublin, with contributions from Bill Whelan (the man behind 'Riverdance', who at the time worked as an arranger).
Among the musicians on the album were Phil Gould on drums again, who also introduced his friend and subsequent Level 42 colleague Mark King. King at the time played guitar as much as bass, and it was prior to his discovery of his trademark sound. In 1981 Scott co-produced rising star Ryuichi Sakamoto, along with fellow members of the Yellow Magic Orchestra (who also participated on resultant albums 'Left Handed Dream' and 'The Arrangement'), as did King Crimson/David Bowie guitarist Adrian Belew, while Scott and Brigit Novik supplied vocals and co-wrote four tracks.
The same year brought a third 'M' album 'Famous Last Words', which featured many of the musicians from the previous albums, including the early incarnation of Level 42 (who by this time were having their own regular hits), producer Wally Badarou also playing keyboards, Julian Scott on bass, Brigit Novik on backing vocals, a young Thomas Dolby on programming, Yellow Magic drummer Yukihiro Takahashi, guitarist from Gang of Four Andy Gill and Tony Levin on bass.
MCA declined release of the album in the UK and it only saw the light of day in France, Italy and the US, where M was not signed there. Subsequently the label and M parted company. At this point some role reversing took place and Scott produced the M single 'Danube' for the Stiff label, featuring Brigit Novik on vocals, followed by 'The Wedding Dance' presenting Novik as an artist in her own right.
[edit] African phase
As a development of the ethnic references on 'The Official Secrets Act' and the Stiff releases, Scott found a new musical direction, producing an EP of African acts in Kenya. This led to the yet unreleased album, 'Robin Scott & Shikisha' in 1983/4 recorded in Kenya and the UK with musicians from several different African states. The album featured a female vocal trio from South Africa, Shikisha (hence the album title), Wally Badarou and Julian Scott in addition to musicians too numerous to mention.
Most of this pioneering World Music has been legally suppressed till now, but has been remastered and released in 2003. The resurgence of interest in Robin Scott and the history of 'Pop Muzik' follows U2's usage of the Steve Osbourne remix opening their 'PopMart' tour. Remixes have come from all sides, from Marcus' 'Pop Muzic 2001' in 2002 and by Junior Vasquez and the Dub Pistols in 2003.
Scott has always been interested in cutting edge technology playing a significant part in the creative process. Working quickly and efficiently in the digital domain has given new scope to both musicians and visual artists alike. This has provided Scott with the means to fuse the disciplines of music and fine art in the IT-landscape.
In 2003 a collection of Scott's artwork was shown at the Ensign Gallery in London which is featured within a virtual gallery online: http://www.robinscott.org
Various other projects related to production/performance and new technologies including www.thewhitelabel.com engage Scott's enthusiasm, however 'Pop Muzik' is widely considered the forerunner of the use of synthesizers in the New Romantic era that began also around 1979 and 1980 in the UK.
