Green Gartside
Encyclopedia
Green Gartside is a British musician, and the frontman of the band Scritti Politti
.
Gartside has also worked with Miles Davis
, Chaka Khan
, Eurythmics
, Elvis Costello
, Shabba Ranks
, Mos Def
and Kylie Minogue
among others.
Green attended Croesyceiliog Grammar School in Cwmbran
(now known as Croesyceiliog School
) and later studied foundation art at what is now known as the Newport School of Art, Media and Design.
In the mid-1970s, Gartside moved to Leeds
to study art at Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Metropolitan University
). It was there that he formed the post-punk band Scritti Politti
in 1977, with school friend Nial Jinks and university friend Tom Morley. After Gartside and Morley had left Leeds Polytechnic, they moved to London, later securing a recording deal with Rough Trade Records
who released the first Scritti Politti album Songs to Remember
in 1982. However, subsequent Scritti Politti albums featured Gartside with different personnel, with Gartside being the only constant member of the group.
Scritti Politti
Scritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Although there have been various changes to the line-up, Cardiff-born singer-songwriter Green Gartside was the founding member of the band and the only member to have remained throughout the group's...
.
Gartside has also worked with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician.He was one of the most popular dancehall artists of his generation. He was also one of the first Jamaican deejays to gain worldwide acceptance, and recognition for his 'slack' lyrical expressions and content, when "ridin' di riddim"...
, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
and Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
among others.
Life and career
Gartside's father died whilst he was a child, after which his widowed mother married a solicitor from Newport, Wales named Gordon Gartside, from whom Green adopted his new last name. He later became inspired to adopt the stage name "Green" after a train journey he took back to Wales, in which he looked out of the window and could only see the natural greenery of the area.Green attended Croesyceiliog Grammar School in Cwmbran
Cwmbran
Cwmbrân is a new town in Wales. Today forming part of the county borough of Torfaen and lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbrân was established in 1949 to provide new employment opportunities in the south eastern portion of the South Wales Coalfield. Cwmbrân means Crow...
(now known as Croesyceiliog School
Croesyceiliog School
Croesyceiliog School is a state-funded secondary school and campus in the Croesyceiliog district of Cwmbran, Torfaen in Wales. The school is widely referred to as Croesy Comp in the locality.-Setting:...
) and later studied foundation art at what is now known as the Newport School of Art, Media and Design.
In the mid-1970s, Gartside moved to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
to study art at Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
). It was there that he formed the post-punk band Scritti Politti
Scritti Politti
Scritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Although there have been various changes to the line-up, Cardiff-born singer-songwriter Green Gartside was the founding member of the band and the only member to have remained throughout the group's...
in 1977, with school friend Nial Jinks and university friend Tom Morley. After Gartside and Morley had left Leeds Polytechnic, they moved to London, later securing a recording deal with Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
who released the first Scritti Politti album Songs to Remember
Songs to Remember
Songs to Remember is the debut album by the British new wave pop group Scritti Politti. Released in 1982, the album peaked at no.12 in the UK....
in 1982. However, subsequent Scritti Politti albums featured Gartside with different personnel, with Gartside being the only constant member of the group.