Tommy Scott (musician)
| Tommy Scott | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Thomas Scott |
| Born |
18 February 1964 Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, Britpop, indie rock, pop rock, punk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass guitar |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Antipop Records |
| Associated acts | Space, the Drellas, Tommy Scott & the Red Scare |
| Website | spacetheband.com |
Thomas 'Tommy' Scott (born 18 February 1964) is an English musician and the lead singer, principal songwriter and guitarist of the Liverpool indie band Space. He originally started out as the band's bassist, but switched to guitar after David 'Yorkie' Palmer joined in 1997, partly so that he could concentrate on vocals.
Before Space, he played in various Liverpool bands, such as the Substitutes (with Jamie Murphy), Hello Sunset and the Australians (with Franny Griffiths, who later became Space's keyboardist).
Biography
Scott was born in Liverpool and grew up on the Cantril Farm Estate, now Stockbridge Village.[1] He formed Space with Andy Parle and Murphy in 1993, with Griffiths joining a year later.[2] Scott's father, a former Ford factory worker, died of cancer in 1995, an event which would later inspire 'Avenging Angels'.
When the band toured the US for the first time in 1997, Scott lost his voice for two months due to stress, and the band subsequently had to cancel their tour. Scott stated that after trying numerous kinds of therapies and cures, he saw a psychic, Billy Roberts, who was able to predict the exact date it would come back.[3]
Space split in 2005, and Scott formed the Drellas, the original line-up of which included Space's then drummer Leon Caffrey, and Phil Hartley – who had previously worked with Space as a producer and technician – on bass. The Drellas then morphed into Tommy Scott & the Red Scare, featuring Scott, Hartley and two new members, Allan Jones (drums) and Ryan Clarke (keyboards), as well as a saxophone player. Hartley, Jones and Clarke would all later join the new line-up of Space, when the band reformed in 2011, following the death of Andy Parle two years earlier. Both Scott[4] and Murphy[5] admitted to having fallen out with each other, but were on amicable terms by the time the band reunited.
Influences
Although Scott cites films and cartoons such as Speedy Gonzales as his main influences,[6] musically, his influences include Cypress Hill, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley – as referenced in 'A Liddle Biddy Help From Elvis', from Tin Planet – and the Slits.[7] As a teenager, he frequented Eric's[7] and saw several bands that would go on to influence him, such as the Au Pairs and Spizz Energi.
Equipment
Scott has used the following equipment:[8]
- Fender Coronado guitar
- Vox AC30 amplifier
- Fender Pro Reverb amplifier
- 1972 Tiesco guitar
- 1969 Audition Sunburst guitar
- 1976 Starway Sunburst guitar
- Echoman Delay pedal
- Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal
- VHT Combo amplifier
- Danelectro Tape Echo pedal
Personal life
Scott is married with a daughter, and lives in Tattenhall, Cheshire.
He is a vegetarian.
He supports Liverpool F.C..[9]
In 2009, Scott was the victim of a hoax email purporting that he had died of heart failure. His 'death' was reported in various media, and Scott refuted it in the Liverpool Echo, saying, "I can't say how angry I am about this. I'm alive and well, but to have my mum believing I was dead was beyond a joke. I just can't believe this has happened...The phone hasn't stopped, but now we just want to find out who is responsible. There's going to be hell to pay."[10]
References
- ↑ "Tommy was brought up in Cantril Farm." 'The Scouse', Melody Maker, 7 December 1996.
- ↑ "Biography – A Short History of Space the Band from Liverpool UK". Space the Band. 26 January 2002. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ↑ Oddly, however, after four or five surgeons had poked and prodded, it was a Liverpudlian psychic named Billy Roberts who finally restored the singer's troublesome tonsils to their former glory. Scott: "He even predicted the exact date my voice would come back, and God strike me down, he was right." Top Magazine, March 1998.
- ↑ Jonny Abrams (29 November 2011). "Interview: Space (Part 1)". Rocksucker. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ↑ Jonny Abrams (6 November 2009). "Interview: Jamie Murphy (Dust, Space)". Rocksucker. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ↑ Tommy Scott: "I'm into films and telly. What song I write depends what film I'm into at the time. Some days I'm Noël Coward, some days I think I'm Quentin Tarantino, some days it's Speedy Gonzales." Stuart Maconie, '99 With A Bullet!', Q Magazine, November 1996.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Phil Newall (31 March 2013). "My Top Ten Albums: Tommy Scott (Space)". Louder Than War. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ↑ "Interviews – Press – 1998 Total Guitar Tommy Franny Jamie". Space the Band. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ↑ Observer Sport Monthly (3 September 2000). "My Team". Guardian Online. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ↑ Jade Wright (1 April 2009). "Space singer Tommy Scott blasts death hoax pranksters". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 23 July 2013.