AUG 1999:
Now this ain't no rumor...

By now most us know that the new album is out and about, don't we? Or at least in most part of the world. US and Canada will have to wait for the new millenium to get their own Anomie & Bonhomie releases. That's still better than those country not scheduled to release anything at all.

Better still, North America will at least get the Tinseltown to the Boogiedown single release in August, said Virgin UK. To judge from reactions so far, it may not be the most widely accepted artifact among existing scholars (most seem to rate the ballads better). Nonetheless, US fans can at least relish the fact that it features homegrown (US) hip hop artists and maybe will be better accepted in the US.

The best album release will probably be that in Japan (and perhaps other non-English-speaking countries). The Japanese release includes a lyric sheet and liner note. The rest of us just get the standard iconic images, one per song.

For detail information about worldwide releases, see Artifacts Catalog 99 page.

In the meanwhile, Green seem to be working hard, answering the same old questions in interviews the world over. Poor chap. He must be as tired of repeating the same answer as some scholars are of reading them. Hopefully the releases will do well enough without much more promotion, so that he can get back to what he enjoys most and does best - making music.

A break from the drone of similarly structured interviews is the refreshing, even if trite, questions some web-connected fans got to ask him in a first ever web-chat with Green, sponsored and hosted by the Eden label, a part of Virgin Records UK. Transcript of the chat is still available for scholarship at the Eden website.

Lastly, but not least...Virgin has set up an Official Scritti Politti website. The URL is, whatelse but www.scrittipolitti.co.uk. As expected, currently it's just a promotion tool with the bare minimum - some photos, release info (for Tinseltown to the Boogiedown single, but you wouldn't know it unless you already know the details, because the single name is not mentioned on the page!?!), Quicktime video files, sound clips of the various version of Tinseltown to the Boogiedown. Hopefully it'll grow into something more substantial, but don't hold your breathe for it. Maintaining a website is hardwork. The record company will probably allocate resources only for the very big money earning artists, especially those who don't mind or better still, love doing the promotion bits. Doesn't quite match the profile we have of Green, does it, even if we all agree his stuff is a lot better in quality.

SEP 1998:
It's not finished until it's finished, is it? Typically, after the excitement amdist rumors of a release soon, nothing more. Until now. Maybe

Another false alarm? A music journalist, Dan Leroy of West Virginia, USA contacted Virgin about the possibility of an interview and was told that:

'although no one at the label has heard the tracks, the first single looks likely for release in January [1999], with an album release sometime afterwards, perhaps later in the Spring.

That's at least more than two months away, but nonetheless, some tentative release date would be much better than an unbearable silence for us frivolously chatterboxes.

And Dan, if you do manage to get an interview with the Scrits published, don't forget to let us know how to get hold of a copy!

AUG 1998:
THIS CAN'T BE!?! Scritti actually finished another album!?! Bits and pieces of rumours have suddenly started streaming in during July. At this rate, this archeology will be rendered obsolete! I mean, who's ever heard of an archeology of the Present?

First, Michael Erwin spotted this blurb in the July issue of Pro Sound News (US version, recording studio industry mag):

'Virgin Recording artists, Scritti Politti, recently mixed their entire project in Battery's Studio K2 which houses an SSL 4064 G series console. Engineer Bob Power and producer Dave Gamson had help from assistant engineer Melanie Jones.

Then Graham White of BBC (UK broadcasting co) was informed by his contact at Virgin that Virgin received a new single from the Scrits and postively 'LOVE' it. No release date was set yet.

David Gamson's management company also confirmed via its website that David has finished producing the new Scritti Politti album and has moved on to producing an album for another artist.

Last but not least, Steve Wright of Making Music (UK musician's mag) also heard throught his contact at Virgin that release dates for the new material won't be decided until Green return from NYC in a couple of week. That was three weeks ago in late July...

Maybe there's hope yet?!

TO SPECULATE: One thing for sure, the Scrits have not renounced their penchant for the state of art technology. Unless they're being perverse, surely they would have taken advantage of the fancy (and presumably expensive) gadgets offered by Battery Studio. Check out the latest Scritti haunt virtually via Battery Studio's website. Er, nice lighting?

Of course, the technology says nothing about what sort of music the new album will be. Could it be some reincarnation of the material Green wrote around the time of the last release and subsequently discarded. Interestingly, there are conflicting reports about what sort of music those discarded songs were. Most interviews at the time of the last single releases indicated that they were more ragga-synthpop hybrids. But a recently dugged up German radio interview from the same period had Green saying these songs were ballads.

Regardless of what the songs sound like, it's gonna be a restless time of anticipation/agitation for the Scrits and Scrittophiles alike after countless years of silence. Stay tuned and have your indigestion medication ready!

(Surely any announcement would justify the use of that horrible blicking text technology, eh? ;-)

DEC 1997:
What? Green was where? Now that it seems certain Scritti is back recording, rumors have been circulating on the whereabout of Green's new abode. Someone nameless and homeless recently emailed AoF with a "Was not rumor, GG living NY, NY & London". Thanks, but could you like, next time, elaborate? That statement would have hold water years ago too. But we all already know that. So that's not news, y'know.

Perhaps a slightly hotter trail...James noted in SP mag issue 5 (7-8/97) that a Tim C. claimed Green looked over his friend's fairly large house in Balham, southwest London, back in May with a view to buying. With that information, if you fancy a Green spotting afternoon, maybe you'd have better luck if you watch out for an old-fashioned white Mercedes. Someone else supposedly saw him driving one. But please, if you spot the man, don't jump him or otherwise scare him ****less, OK?

And lastly, the closest encounter of the aborted kind, a most entertaining gossip AoF received...(this is really a test, maybe, of how gullible you really are, maybe ;-). In the informant's own words...

Last October I put my house in Stoke Newington London up for sale. I informed the estate agency one Saturday afternoon that they could send people round to look at it. I get a call an hour later saying a guy called Green would call round tommorow. He may be late because his mother was driving him up from Wales. Sure enough the next morning who should turn up on my doorstep Mr Gartside himself.

Looking a bit older with cropped short hair,and baggy skatewear. He came in and looked around the house. On visiting the bedroom which housed my records he asked me (probably because of the size of the collection) was I a journalist. I said I wasn't although I worked for the NME but in advertising. I also indicated that I knew who he was and we had briefly met at the first ever Tube (UK music programme). Scritti were supposed to play on the second ever show. Green told me after being at the show he didn't want to try and do it, even though they could haved mimed liked Heaven 17, who we had just watched.

I asked what he was up to and he claimed he was making music again, he mentioned using a rapper from New York and the reason he was buying a house in London was that he wanted to get his career going again. All this was a big suprise to Virgin Records who hadn't heard from him in ages. They'ed gone as far as even taking any new Scritti album off the release schedule.

Needless to say he didn't buy my house....

SEPT 1997:
A reunion of sort? Worlds End, the management company representing David Gamson has announced on its site that David is producing the new Scritti album!!! This could mean either two things: The album will be produced in a timely manner as the last few projects David has produced were done quite speedily. Or put the D&G back together and you'll get sado-masochistic perfectionist delays yet again. Nonetheless, this is exciting news. At the very least it means Green has stopped hiding. Somewhat.

As David has been working in Los Angeles for quite some time, does this mean Green will be crossing the Atlantic again? Intriguing, isn't it?

SEPT 1997:
As usual, there's more delays to contend with. One fan's recent enquiry with Virgin Records confirmed that nothing will be released this year and Ellen Pronk spotted in the September issue of Q a little blurb clarifying the matter further:

Green Gartside, aka Scritti Politti (last album, Provision, 1988), has new material for some time next year. Can you be more precise? Record company: "No. After so long, does it matter?" Quite.

At least it's in official press now. But then Green has a prior record of backing out despite what he said in the press.

As for the quality of the new material, supposedly the 'not ground breaking' was referring to Green's own past and not relative to the current music scene. Perhaps it just means that he hasn't had another major change of heart like he did in the early 80's. As rumor has it, Green's still quite on the cutting edge, like he was in '91, foreshadowing the '92-'93 ragga boom with his synthpop-ragga covers as Mike Nelson had pointed out in last issue of James' magazine. But perhaps speculation on this front should be kept down; we wouldn't want Green to feel so pressured as to delay the album further, would we now?

Meanwhile, David Gamson, has just completed producing Nicole Rene's album and moved on to producing Richard Stites for Interscope Records.

Fred Maher has also moved into the role of a producer in addition to occassional drumming for Lloyd Cole since the 88 Scritti split. Artists he produced or co-produced includes Lloyd Cole, Matthew Sweet, Luna, Ultra Vivid Scene, The Breeders, Robert Quine, Eve's Plum, Daniel Cartier, and 10,000 Maniacs. The current issue of James' fanzine has the full details he dugged up from various places. For those interested in catching up, Ellsbeth has also contributed to the AoF article archive a post 88 interview with Fred in which he explained his thoughts on being a producer. He is now producing in Los Angeles.

JUNE 1997:
Just a brief update on the new album rumor...According to James of the UK unofficial site and fanzine, Virgin has confirmed the Sept/Oct release date for an album and a single. However, an anonymous source with contact at Green's new management company informed James that while Green is indeed in the studio recording, the Virgin release dates are a bit too optimistic. The same source describes the new material as 'good' but not 'ground breaking', which James interprets to mean production will probably not be as meticulous as the mid-late 80's LPs.

MAY 1997:
Not Scritti anymore, but David Gamson of phase 3 was rumored to have worked for Warner Brothers in Los Angeles as an in-house producer after 1988's Provision LP. He is currently working as a producer represented by World's End, which has a web site with listing of David's work and news about his current activity. His latest projects as a producer are Me'Shell N'Degeocello's song Poison Ivy on Warner Bros. Records for the new Batman & Robin film, two tracks for Samantha Powell on BMG/RCA UK label, and still in the work is Nicole Rene's album for Atlantic Records.

1 APRIL 1997:
A new Scritti release? No way! you and I say. Yes, through the grapevine came this rumor that a new single and album is due out in September or October although Virgin has been reluctent to commit to this piece of information. It seems that even Virign haven't heard the new works yet. This juicy bits come to AoF on Easter. Holy Miraculous Resurrection indeed! Now, all there's left to do is centuries of debates on the literal truth of the gospel!