Scars (band)
Scars | |
|---|---|
| File:Bw scars.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Years active | 1977 - 1982 |
| Members | Robert King Paul Research John Mackie Calumn Mackay Steve McLaughlin |
| Website | The Scars' website |
The Scars (most commonly referred to as Scars) were a post-punk/New Wave band that hailed from Edinburgh, Scotland, and were a part of that city's bustling music scene of the late 70s - early 80s.
Fronted by Robert King and featuring Paul Research on lead guitar, John Mackie on bass, and Calumn Mackay on drums, the band's original sound was a gritty, punky one, as evidenced by their 1979 singles for "Horrorshow"/"Adult/ery" and "Your Attention Please". That last song would later be included in the band's 1981 (and sole) album Author! Author!, but in the meantime the group maintained an ever-mounting amount of momentum and attention via singles releases, and soon they earned the attention of John Peel. Peel invited the band to record two of his legendary Sessions, once in February 1980 and another in May 1981.
By the time the band started recording the aforementioned album (Author! Author!), their sound had matured from being rough and punky to something more classically post-punk and melodic. From that album sprang perhaps the most recognizable Scars song out there, "All About You", which was the only single launched directly from that album. Calumn Mackay left Scars the year prior to the album's release, so Steve McLaughlin was pounding the skins for the band at around this time. The band continued to receive positive attention and increase their fan base as they were first able to co-headline gigs with the Comsat Angels, then headline gigs with Josef K as their supporting act. Scars even managed to land a full-page spread in Smash Hits. By that time, the band was headquartered in London
In the summer of 1982, Scars landed a supporting slot with Australia's The Church as the headliners. This was to be the beginning of the end for the band. Having been together -- and constantly playing live gigs -- since they were all seventeen-year-olds in 1977, there was no more life left in the band. Robert King would soon go on to modest but temporary success as a solo artist (the synthpop-ish "Paper Heart" being the most notable of his recordings), but by the mid '80s the various Scars bandmates have been content to continue being musicians beyond the glare of the limelight.
There has been a recent resurgence of interest and attention on the Scars ever since electronica artists Lemon Jelly elected to use samples of "Horrorshow" at the urging of band member Fred Deakin, who was a huge Scars fan in his youth. The samples were utilized in their song "79 - The Shouty Track", for inclusion in the album '64 - '95. The song was also the second single released from that album. When it came time for Lemon Jelly to tour in support of '64 - '95, they invited a partially reformed version of Scars (that included original drummer Calumn Mackay) along to play live the sampled parts of "79 - The Shouty Track" (or "The Shouty Track" for short) in selected dates, including in the Scars' former home base of Edinburgh.
Guitarist Paul Research is the most visible former member of Scars and maintains a de facto official Scars site.
Discography
- "Horrorshow"/"Adult/ery" (7", Fast 1979)
- "They Came and Took Her"/"Romance By Mail" (7", Charisma 1980)
- "Love Song"/"Psychomodo" (7", Charisma 1980)
- "All About You"/"Author! Author!" (7", Charisma 1981)
- Author! Author! (LP, Charisma 1981)
Trivia
- Steve McLaughlin, the band's second drummer, was previously in Edinburgh punk band, The Cubs, where he was known as Chic. He is currently working as a wildly successful producer and film scorer. He won a Grammy for engineering a Tom Petty album (1994's Wildflowers) and has worked with such artists and Sting and Badly Drawn Boy, the latter as a co-producer for the About A Boy soundtrack.
- John Mackie's stage name was originally John Doctor, because his mother was a GP. John is the younger brother of Paul Research.
- Robert King is now a Professor of Ancient Languages.
- Calumn Mackay, the band's original drummer, presently lives in Grenoble, France and works in various blues groups.