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Monday, July 11, 2016

SCARS re-up by request

Scars was a Scottish post-punk quartet that debuted in 1979 with an excellent single, "Adult/ery" b/w "Horrorshow".  An EP was followed by an LP (both were titled Author! Author!).  Scars made two John Peel sessions and were getting good press.  The single "All About You" became popular.  The band fired singer Robert King and continued as a trio with guitarist Paul Research singing, but the momentum was lost.  King put out one solo single in 1982.  He later became a professor of ancient languages.  Scars bassist John Mackie played in a few other bands, and he and his brother Paul Research became DJs.  Original drummer Calumn MacKay became an engineer and still plays music.  Scars' second drummer Steve McLaughlin became a music producer who has worked with Tom Petty, Sting and others.

Dave Sez shared some Scars rarities here awhile back, and Mike F. requested a re-up.  I have added tracks from videos posted to Youtube by Scoorieboy (John Mackie) and by Vibracobra23. Look up those Youtube user names:  their channels are full of great stuff! Paul Research wrote a band history at his site, scarsresearch.com.



Fast forward two decades:  interest is renewed in the post-punk of the early 80's, and "Horrorshow" is sampled by the trip hop duo Lemon Jelly on their popular "Shouty Track" in 2004.  Paul Research put out the first and only Scars CD in 2007 (also called Author! Author!)  Copies are now scarce and expensive.



Scars reformed for an Edinburgh concert in 2010, and in 2011 they recorded a BBC Session with Marc Riley (wherein Riley admits to stealing a Scars lyric).  Sadly the partnership with Professor King ended again, and King started a new band called Opium Kitchen.  




Scars is an unsung band from a great era.  Paul Research is underrated as an innovative guitarist, and Robert King's lyrics are well-written and inventive.  Adult/ery and She's Alive are stories in song.  Other tunes (like All About You and Leave Me In The Autumn) lean toward an indiepop sound that was successful for U2, the Bunnymen, etc at the start of the 80's; and I think Scars could have been as popular as their contemporaries if they had stayed together.  Earlier songs like Horrorshow and Your Attention Please are outstanding post-punk: sharp-edged, aggressive and striking in their originality.

16 comments:

  1. Scars Peel Sessions etc:
    mega.nz/#!zBBTmKZC!XYv5yVSmdQ_IhrSUeTMgI7I98pLOqOMVlqYok0Nktmg

    Scars Demos & Rarities:
    mega.nz/#!6NAVHQKA!f6TQB8DRv5Et-sYTHHoMeMzlCnrhCZaAh6gUa8VNLt0

    Scars Expanded Reissue:
    mega.nz/#!zIZ0mKYL!r4cD_9lVk2psF4N_xnBWWyVkSHmWdhkRaP_KUxsFtzk

    Scars Reunion 2010-2011:
    mega.nz/#!TUojWDCa!yZSlx6dY-xdUo20mKSU6t58s9-zeFUnc3ebcwIjwHkk

    The band's only official video (for "All About You"): youtu.be/6YcJ_L9z2Xs

    ReplyDelete
  2. The demos and Peel tracks from Dave Sez are at various bitrates. Scoorieboy and Vibracobra's videos are webrips that I converted from WAV to 320kps mp3's, but the audio fidelity is no better than that of the video source. In other words, the mp3's aren't really going to sound like 320. Author! Author! was remastered for the CD reissue, and those mp3's are of true 320kps quality.

    The reunion concert in Edinburgh was professionally recorded, mixed and mastered, so the sound quality of the webrips is better. Mackie has made a number of his own videos for Scars songs that are on his Scoorieboy channel, and they are quite good! He has live videos from Scars concerts including Edinburgh: youtube.com/user/scoorieboy/videos.

    John Mackie on the breakups: "Paul, Calumn & I have decided not to work with Robert any more, due to the usual old problem yet again. It's very disappointing - but predictable... You can't work with people if you can't trust them. A sad waste of talent, but that is the nature of addiction."

    I'm sure I've written more than you ever wanted to know about Scars (unless you are Dave Sez, Mike F. or me), but maybe the music will make you a fan!

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  3. Thanks to all for all the scars music.they are one of my favs bands from the 80s and even today they still sound so good.i do agree with that they should have been huge.this is a band that every music lover should have in there collection.thanks again.

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  4. Great stuff, jonder, and thanks for the Scars reunion which I had not seen before. FYI, I also used to record youtube on WAV and downgrade to 320 ... until I was informed that youtube only broadcasts in 128 kbps anyway - but Scoorieboy and Vibracom's work is great!

    Cheers, Dave Sez.

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  5. FYI for jonder and readers: the expanded Author! Author! is still up in FLAC here:

    http://floppybootstomp-ii.blogspot.com/2015/03/scars-author-author-out-of-print.html

    Cheers, Dave Sez.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wish I'd known about that youtube bitrate... no time to convert all those wav's again, but next time I'll know better!

    The 2010 reunion version of Adult/ery is brilliant, don't you think? And yeah, Vibracobra23 is a saint in my book.

    Dave, after I gave up my own blog you inspired me through your example that I could continue sharing music on other great blogs like this one. You've shared a lot of rare Gang of Four, Au Pairs and other bands that we both love, so CHEERS to you, Dave Sez!

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  7. That's grand, jonder - generosity is what makes the blogosphere go round!

    Cheers, Dave Sez.

    ReplyDelete
  8. May I just add a lil bit more to the mix?

    http://www62.zippyshare.com/v/aajpZVkz/file.html

    All SCARS singles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you so much been looking for adultery / horrorshow for years!

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  9. Thank you, Mr. James!!! We may have the most comprehensive Scars discography in the world right here, and it's a pleasure to see that their music is well-remembered and well-loved.

    ReplyDelete
  10. On the back of sharing the Scars singles folder, I thought I might add to the discussion with a monster upload to Mega. I also added it to my wee blog...
    http://tfgc1.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/chasing-scars.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is a godsend, thanks to everyone for their sterling work, very much appreciated peeps!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Can anyone help me out with a full setlist for the Edinburgh gig 2010, mucho appreciato if you can! someone posted a 14 song set i only have 12 songs???

    ReplyDelete
  13. this is mega mega mega mega

    thanks thanks thanks

    ReplyDelete
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