Scritti Politti
From the underground scene to the top of the UK pop charts – Green Gartside has credentials few figures in pop can claim.
Last few tickets
After witnessing a show by the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned and The Heartbreakers while at university in Leeds in 1976, Green Gartside felt as if he had been ‘given permission’ to form a band. Scritti Politti was the result.
A Camden-based, squat-dwelling collective who produced what he terms as ‘scratchy-collapsy’ music, all tumbling drums, stumbling reggae bass lines and tinny guitars.
A clutch of singles and EPs followed, culminating in Songs To Remember, the band’s debut album melding philosophical ideals with a burgeoning pop sensibility. This album also marked the beginning of their relationship with Rough Trade Records, which would become a key foundation as Scritti Politti’s creative universe grew.
Gartside’s sense of creative adventure led to a tectonic shift in Cupid & Psyche 85, a pop masterpiece and a landmark in music production, which spawned numerous hits including ‘Perfect Way’, ‘Absolute’ and ‘The Word Girl’.
Scritti Polliti’s sense of artistic adventure echoes through all their glittering golden pop – 2006’s White Bread Black Beer was released on Rough Trade’s label and received a Mercury Prize nomination.
The band have inspired The 1975’s Matty Healey, PC Music founder and producer AG Cook and synth-pop band Hot Chip. With Scritti Politti continuing to surprise, enthral and inspire after three decades, it’s clear Green Gartside has given us so many songs to remember.
Support comes from Tyler Ballgame, whose music is built on strong melodic hooks, and draws subtle inspiration from the 60s and 70s. His voice truly sets him apart – Rough Trade Records’ co-managing directors Geoff Travis and Jeannette Lee compare him to Elvis, Roy Orbison or Harry Nilsson. Ballgame’s stunning debut album, For the First Time, Again, is a bracing reminder of how great songs delivered by a gifted vocalist can move, captivate and inspire.
Need to know
There is a matinee and an evening performance of the show
For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is home to both our second-largest auditorium and the Purcell Room.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.