― DarrenS, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Alexander Blair, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― mark s, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― dek1, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Daver, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dr. C, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
I used to have this rec but flogged it years ago - IIRC they looked pretty 'new romantic' on the sleeve.
― Andrew L, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
MUSIC THAT TIME FORGOT 1: THE SCARS This column will each issue point you in the direction of unavailable music. This is not an excuse to brag about something we have and you don’t. It is rather a plea to that part of the music industry dedicated to salvage. It is a plea to make this music available.
So, for a start, it is absurd that no music by Scars is available on CD. This is a ridiculous oversight, for in the spring of 1979, Scars released the greatest single ever in the form of “Horrorshow” c/w “Adult/ery”. This extreme pop single was released on Fast, a small label out of Edinburgh, and was even better than its more famous stable-mates’ finest moments: The Gang Of Four’s “Damaged Goods”, the Human League’s “Being Boiled”, The Mekons’ “Where Were You”.
“Horrorshow” was gloriously depraved. Singer Robbie King barked strange “Clockwork Orange” passages in the broadest of Edinburgh brogues. Over a rumbling bass line, guitarist Paul Research came up with the most piercing trebly guitar squall you can ever imagine. The other side was a brave bash at being the first to hit the spot where punk and disco collided. Someone at the time said it was The Fall and the Bee Gees, but that barely hints at its momentum. The song was coincidentally inspired by a night out to see “Saturday Night Fever”.
Scars then were cocky, provocative and brash, and how they never became pop stars remains a mystery to me. Attention to detail was central to their art, and these kids were perfect material for the State Arts design group to produce the best range of pop T-shirts ever. The people involved with State Arts were also involved in setting up the style-mag i-D (a great story for another time and place), and Scars contributed a song for a free flexi with an early edition. The song, “Your Attention Please”, seems curiously apt now, being a setting of a 60s Peter Porter poem about impending nuclear terror.
Scars’ shot at the big time came with the Chrysalis-sponsored Pre label. The imprint briefly had a stable to savour, with Scars, Delta 5, Manicured Noise, Prince Far I and Gregory Isaacs among others, though most if not all Pre-releases are curiously unavailable nowadays.
Scars’ relationship with Pre resulted in a few singles and one LP. It also saw the teenage upstarts adopt a startling new image with a look inspired by Viviene Westwood’s World’s End pirate collection. If this makes Scars seem like comrades of Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants, that’s fine. Mark E Smith said Scars were his favourite group as they were the complete opposite of The Fall.
The LP, “Author! Author!” deserves to be heard, though at the time it sounded as though ex-Penetration guitarist Robert Blamire’s production was a little too lush. Now it would probably sound completely avant garde and rough as you like.
The finest moment was the single, “All About You”, which made that emerging big pop sound (Bunnymen/Wah! Etc) seem just right momentarily. Better still was the earlier, edgier single “Love Song”.
After the LP, Scars seemed to run out of steam. There was talk of Postcard saving the group, but perhaps this was just romantic speculation. It should be noted however Scars were as much an influence on the emerging Postcard groups and attitude as the better documented litany of the velvets, Subway Sect, Richard Hell and the Voidoids. It is coming to something when the Subway Sect is better documented than the Scars, but that’s the way it is.
― Jerry, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
I was mortified.
Well, they would know... http://www.btinternet.com/~cateran/edinburgh/aqua.gif
― Alexander Blair, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― mark s, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
Mark S: Yes I saw them a lot initially as support (Cure, Banshees, Human League, Rezillos etc ), after a while they had enough of a local following to headline medium sized club venues in Edinburgh and always had a good support or two: usual sound of young scotland suspects. Paul Morley was a big fan and they got NME covers on the strength of glowing reviews from him.
I slightly preferred 79-80 earlier shows where they sounded like the Horrorshow single (even on tracks recorded later such as Obsession which was awesome live and the version on author author is merely great) but they never turned in a poor performance.
They would often do covers of Billy Porter or The Psychomodo which were ace too.
Incidentally on that Poster, The Fakes become Scottish rave nutters Ege Bam Yasi and The Freeze had Gordon Sharp of This Mortal Coil fame in them.
― DarrenS, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
Er, I did? I admit that Careless Talk article caught my attention. Someone get LTM to reissue them.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
btw: Paul Research's home page is http://www.scarsresearch.com
Clarity is mine. ;-)
For those hoping for a Scars CD reissue, we tried to get the rights off Virgin but they won't let go. If you want a nice CD on loan for an extended period, mail me.
― Paul Research, Saturday, 18 January 2003 19:16 (twenty-one years ago) link
Wow, I can't believe this, a Scars thread. Wait, I can -- momentarily forgot where I was. Anyway... I love to keep up with the MP3s posted as the New Wave Outpost Song of the Week. This week's song is "All About You" by The Scars, and after downloading it just now and listening to it, I realize I really, really like it. From what I've read in this thread, this is actually an example of the band's latter period musically... ? And the early period doesn't exactly match up... ? Am I correct? What would you guys recommend I check out in terms of the band's earlier output? I'm going through a period musically where I'm especially welcoming of "new to me" sounds and this seems like one of those artists who would fulfill that requirement as well as my most basic need of musical comfort food.
― Those Beautiful Lines (Dee the Lurker), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 23:40 (nineteen years ago) link
Pre hasn't let go of anything, the forthcoming Delta 5 CD will not apparently include their Pre material, but everyone mostly wants the Rough Trade stuff anyway.
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 13 May 2004 00:10 (nineteen years ago) link
― Sasha (sgh), Thursday, 13 May 2004 03:41 (nineteen years ago) link
As I recall, the first single (Horrorshow / Adult/ery) which came out on Fast was absolutely startlingly fantastic; the subsequent couple of singles and the album (Author! Author!) were a bit less startling and a bit less fantastic.
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 13 May 2004 07:47 (nineteen years ago) link
Just a couple of random things: when I saw a picture of the Scissor Sisters recently,m the way they dressed reminded me very strongly of the piccy of the Scars on '"Author! Author"', all scarved piratical new romantic.
Dan S: what's Bob Last doing now? I was talking with my brother about this very subject a couple of days ago, and I had to admit I didn;t know. Something at the back of my mind said graphic design or TV production or something, but I had to admit I was making that up.
PRE was Charisma and Virgin bought Charisma some years back, apparently in order for Branson to get his hands on all that Genesis material which he always wanted. This has been good news for reggae lovers because it means that the Virgin Front Line reissues can be augmented with the really rather good PRE reggae catalogue (inc. some of Gregory Isaacs's best work). The non-reggae element of the PRE roster appears to have been left to fester: very likely no-one at Virgin cares less. I wonder if I'm right about all that?
― Tim (Tim), Thursday, 13 May 2004 07:58 (nineteen years ago) link
http://scotland.ideasfactory.com/dundee/features/feature16.htm
― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:09 (eighteen years ago) link
Sandy Blair is a loss to ILM, I wish he was still around.
― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:25 (eighteen years ago) link
I'd love to get hold of some Scars tunes again. Also, The Visitors, who I thought were even better than the Scars. And I liked Freeze too.
Any of you dudes computer literate enough to transfer vinyl to MP3? Do the world a big favour and do it! Stick it on Limewire for us post-punk nostalgics, eh?
― Dee Rimbaud, Friday, 9 September 2005 15:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 9 September 2005 15:33 (eighteen years ago) link
― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Friday, 9 September 2005 18:34 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 9 September 2005 18:37 (eighteen years ago) link
If there's any justice, a compliation will see the light of day sometime soon.
― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Friday, 9 September 2005 19:29 (eighteen years ago) link
i see that one little indian have just put out a prats cd retrospective. who's have thought it?
dee - i don't use soulseek but if i remember, i'll yousendit some visitors and freeze.
― stirmonster (stirmonster), Friday, 9 September 2005 20:40 (eighteen years ago) link
I'm assuming this Freeze I'm unfamiliar with is different from the Freeez I'm familiar with...?
― Andy_K (Andy_K), Friday, 9 September 2005 22:50 (eighteen years ago) link
― Andy_K (Andy_K), Friday, 9 September 2005 22:51 (eighteen years ago) link
As for the Scars, I agree Horroshow is an amazingly good track and I'd planned on including it in the 1979 compilation I've been working on. I remember going kinda mental over that about 10 years ago when I first heard it, then being rather disappointed in "Author! Author!" But I too would like to hear that album again.
― Mr. Whirly, Please Don't Call Me (Bimble...), Saturday, 10 September 2005 02:06 (eighteen years ago) link
― Stu, Friday, 7 October 2005 12:57 (eighteen years ago) link
― Paranoid Spice (kate), Friday, 7 October 2005 12:59 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 7 October 2005 13:16 (eighteen years ago) link
I uploaded loads of of Scars stuff (released and otherwise) at:http://www.youtube.com/user/scoorieboy
Enjoy.
― Scoorieboy, Tuesday, 13 July 2010 07:37 (thirteen years ago) link
or you can wait and see if any legit Fast related compilations may be coming out.
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 9 September 2005 19:37 Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Did this ever happen?
― a fucking stove just fell on my foot. (Colonel Poo), Tuesday, 13 July 2010 08:14 (thirteen years ago) link
"Author Author" was reissued on CD with extra tracks a couple of years ago.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 13 July 2010 11:39 (thirteen years ago) link
Dang, looks like the CD is sold out and Amazon doesn't have anything available. I guess you'll have to watch eBay.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 14 July 2010 00:00 (thirteen years ago) link
We spent a good deal of time discussing some sort of Fast compilation, but there was a bit of a snag and we couldn't sort it out to everyone's satisfaction.
I still think about it, and if we ever get going with regular vinyl releases, plan on looking into some of the lesser known Fast/Pop Aural acts.
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 20 July 2010 20:33 (thirteen years ago) link
That Scars cd might be one of the more severely compressed remastering jobs I've ever heard. Almost hard to listen to. And it doesn't have the first single, of course. For that you have to get the (also way out of print) Rigour comp mentioned above.
― Michael Train, Tuesday, 20 July 2010 22:59 (thirteen years ago) link
Just heard them for the first time today. SO GOOD!
― ENBB, Wednesday, 6 April 2011 01:09 (thirteen years ago) link
Got the (not quite) Complete set this week and put it on the 3 changer for the last few days.Sounds pretty great.Not heard the other 2 discs yet
― Stevolende, Thursday, 24 December 2020 15:06 (three years ago) link
Tolchocked a babushka!
― the thing that the angry Left forbids (hardcore dilettante), Thursday, 24 December 2020 17:42 (three years ago) link
The demos are disposable but the live stuff from 1981 is great, it includes 4 or 5 songs that never got a proper release.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 25 December 2020 02:38 (three years ago) link
Am enjoying this set but am also aware that they may be another piece in the jigsaw of bands that led to U2 and that can't be positive.
Saw someone saying that the sound seemed really flat compared to the original lp.
But am enjoying it so glad i finally got to get a copy.
― Stevolende, Friday, 25 December 2020 10:14 (three years ago) link