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The early 1980s were an important time for music. The influential punk movement had just ended, pop music was okay again, and bands were embracing synthesizers for the first time. In this fertile environment, the mighty Scritti Politti was born. This exciting young band began as a left-aligned punk outfit, but they fell in love with pop music and made some accidental hits along the way.
In this article, we’ll review the musical legacy of Scritti Politti and see what past members are doing today. Founding drummer Tom Morley has led a fascinating life, making the transition from pop-punk icon to music educator and team builder extraordinaire.
The Early Story
Like many post-punk outfits, the Scritti Politti story started in the industrial city of Leeds in the UK. There were lots of bands pushing boundaries in one small place, including huge names like Gang of Four, Soft Cell, The Mekons, and Delta 5. Many of these bands were formed by Leeds Polytechnic students who were inspired by one very special event. The Sex Pistols “Anarchy” tour, which also included The Damned and The Heartbreakers, kicked off at the Polytechnic in December 1976. When students saw this iconic act on stage, many were inspired to start their own bands.
Students Tom Morley and Green Gartside were in attendance. The duo then formed a band with Gartside’s childhood friend, Nial Jinks. Matthew Kay became the band’s manager and keyboard player, with the other three on drums, vocals, and bass, respectively. The young men formed The Against, playing their first gig supporting local Leeds punk group SOS. Like many young bands at the time, they relocated to London and started living in a squat. The Against became Scritti Politti, which was a purposeful mistranslation of Political Writings by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci.
First Recordings
Now based in London, Scritti Politti released their first DIY record. Titled Skank Bloc Bologna, it riffed on ideas from Rastafarian culture and leftist politics. Scritti Politti also referenced key intellectual figures like Karl Marx, Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, and Jacques Lacan. Skank Bloc Bologna was picked up by John Peel’s BBC Radio 1 show, which was hugely influential at the time. They were then signed to Rough Trade Records, where they released two EPs in 1979.
Singles from these extended players got lots of airplay, with their wacky titles and infectious grooves earning the band many new fans. With names like “Bibbly-O-Tek,” “Doubt Beat,” and “OPEC/Immac,” Scritti Politti’s songs had a unique place in the emerging post-punk scene. This was the start of something big, as the young musicians found the perfect middle ground between energetic punk and melodic pop. The 1980s were just around the corner, and the music world was about to change for good.
Scritti Politti in the 1980s
When the 1980s finally dawned, the Scritti Politti lads were ready to go. They had played gigs up and down the country, released some great music, and produced a booklet called “How To Make A Record,” which was dedicated to DIY culture. Just when their career was about to take off, however, the band faced a major setback. After a gig supporting Gang of Four, singer Gartside was diagnosed with a major panic attack. With chronic stage fright and an unhealthy lifestyle, he took time off to reconsider the future of the band.
During this period, Gartside started buying American funk and disco music, along with soul records and early Beatles releases. The DIY punk vibes of Scritti Politti were still there, but they now seemed less important. At the same time, drummer Tom Morley was moving in a different musical direction, and the two original members parted ways in 1981.
The band had its most successful period in the mid to late ’80s, with some songs achieving chart success. The Cupid & Psyche 85 album from 1985 was a huge hit for Scritti Politti, featuring three hits in their native UK: “Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin),” “Absolute,” and “The Word Girl.” A fourth single, “Perfect Way,” even found its way into the US Top 20. The band’s 1988 album, “Provision,” was another major success, reaching the UK Top 10 and the single “Oh Patti” hitting the Top 20.
Scritti Politti split up in the early ’90s before reforming with the albums Anomie & Bonhomie in 1999 and White Bread Black Beer in 2006.
Tom Morley’s Solo Career
Tom Morley was a major figure in Scritti Politti, but his musical vision was certainly not confined to the band. After parting ways with Gartside, Jinks, and Kay, he became an in-demand session drummer. He recorded with David Bowie, Madness, and other influential musicians during this time. Morley also worked as a producer, receiving several awards and accolades for his contributions to the music industry. Being a talented drummer and sound engineer wasn’t enough for Morley, however. The Leeds lad was always looking for something more.
In 1999, the same year Scritti Politti reformed, Morley founded Instant Teamwork. This new company was far from the punk stage, but it was still inspired by the community values of the punk scene. Instant Teamwork is an international arts-based company dedicated to team building, and it’s been a standout success. According to Morley, the spark for Instant Teamwork was set on stage during an early Scritti Politti gig.
One night, when the power went down at a Berlin show, Morley set up a vocal call-and-response chant with the audience. While the band was accustomed to making up songs and getting people involved, this was a whole new level of audience participation. This feeling of improvised communal harmony stayed with Morley for many years, and eventually, it became his new career.
Instant Teamwork
Drummers experience the world differently. Their acute sense of rhythm allows them to see patterns where others don’t. This includes patterns of behavior, something Morley uses to his advantage. Instant Teamwork leads team building and bonding classes for corporate clients, sports teams, schools, and other groups. As a skilled rock star with a great story to tell, he activates innate talents and gets people beating from the same drum.
Morley uses his platform to bring people together and inspire them to work towards a common goal. He knows how to build strong, cohesive teams — motivating people to achieve their full potential. Morley is a fantastic speaker and a talented drummer, and the unique combination of these skills gives him access to the hearts and minds of his audience. He reads the energy of the room, generates positive goodwill, and gets people performing together without barriers.
Whether it’s 20 people or 200, Instant Teamwork participants produce amazing sound together. This involves team drumming and singing, and it makes people feel fantastic. That’s not all, though. Morley helps his audience make sense of this experience. Working together, the group learns how to transform this collective unity into their place of work. This is a truly original take on team building, and it’s proved to be very popular. Since setting up the company, Morley has traveled from America and Europe to Türkiye, South Africa, and beyond.
If you want this amazing experience for yourself or your employees, check out Tom Morley’s website. When people share time and make music together, the world opens up and everything seems possible.
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