1984 Scritti Politti – Absolute (UK:#17)

Scritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, by Welsh Cardiff-born singer-songwriter Green Gartside. He is the only member of the band to have remained throughout the group’s history.

Beginning as a Leftist post-punk group led by art school student Gartside, Scritti Politti transitioned into a mainstream pop music project in the early to mid-1980s, enjoying significant success in the record charts in the UK and the US. The group’s most successful album, 1985’s Cupid & Psyche 85, spawned three UK Top 20 hits with “Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)”, “Absolute“, and “The Word Girl”, as well as a US Top 20 hit with “Perfect Way”. The band’s 1988 album Provision was a UK Top 10 success, though it only produced one UK Top 20 hit single, “Oh Patti”. After releasing two non-album singles in 1991, as well as a collaboration with B.E.F., Gartside became disillusioned with the music industry and retired to south Wales for more than seven years.