Scritti Politti - The Word Girl

[@brianp7022]

The keyboards on scrittis work shine more than other groups of that era ( imo). The perfect combo of lush ambiance with bright Melodie’s ( DX7 and other analogue synths) don’t think anyone else had it engineered so well as these guys…even when I was 15 in ‘85 when one their tunes came on the radio you knew it was them …sounded unique…delicious, still is!

[@StephenWelford-c1d]

Tune!

[@HarryFlowerrs]

‘Cupid And Psyche’ is 40 years old and it has not,nor will it age!❤

[@Conpauleonina]

Green could sing my shopping list and I would listen. The mans a genius and much to under appreciated amongst the listening public but. Thankfully not his peers.

[@ark1492]

Have you heard the song LIONS AFTER SLUMBER on his first L.P. called SONGS TO REMEMBER, it sounds like he’s reading/singing from a shopping list in a sense, no joke😂👍…..another underrated Scritti album that one is too…look it up on KZbin

[@Conpauleonina]

@@ark1492 I have yes, and coming to think about it you're right! 😂

[@ark1492]

@@Conpauleonina 🤣👍always sounds like he’s singing from a list ;(not a shopping list proper) but a list of things all the same🎤🎸….that’s one hell of an odd tune, just brilliant mind that man has, for sure on a kind type artist

[@ark1492]

One of kind artist👍

[@Conpauleonina]

@@ark1492 most definitely agree with that !

[@omarthompson3957]

I bought this original classic on CD ..... And the album lost in relocation ..... The CD managed to make it to my new location..... Still like brand new..... These guys were way ahead of the New Wave era ..... Scritti Politti still are in another realm of genius..... You'll never find another unique sound like this no where !!!! Pure Brilliance !!!!! And that's ...... THE WORD !!!! ✌🏿♥️

[@davidjones8902]

Cupid and Psyche 85 is a great cultural artefact of the late 20th Century.

[@BillODriscoll-jo2ve]

Sounds as fresh and as good today as it did when it was released back in '85

[@nickwhite7476]

It all seems so clean cut and innocent now , pure and simple. Like my youth, gone

[@stevejelly3161]

Don't forget ME !!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

[@FreddieFreethinking]

This Is A Brilliant Popsong.

[@mr.wigglemunch3856]

I will never stop loving this song.

[@ark1492]

The cleanest recorded engineered reggae song I’ve ever heard, that bassline and those keyboards are so elegant coupled with that voice of his

[@michaelfrazia4569]

yes...I always think that...when those green guitar stabs come in it is crystal clear. love the sound of this song

[@michaelfrazia4569]

he is one of my favorite musicians and the only one I'm wishing I could see live.

[@ark1492]

@@michaelfrazia4569 these songs are about to become a hell of alot cleaner next month in August….as Scritti Politti albums are getting the remastered treatment if you weren’t aware….his the link below….can’t wait…. superdeluxeedition.com/news/scritti-politti-albums-re-released-on-vinyl-and-cd/

[@ark1492]

@@michaelfrazia4569 I saw him live in 2004 I think it was, At Royce Hall Auditorium on the UCLA campus here in California….it’s very oft-putting to see that voice of his come from a singer who stands about 6ft 7inchs🤣 tall,…but believe me, that voice is all him and not studio vocal effects and vocal pitch tools, he was singing acoustic, electric and rock with a full band behind him, about 7 musicians and it was astounding…..he opened up for Brian Wilson that evening. Was a true honor to see him sing live👍

[@JohnH108]

@@michaelfrazia4569 I have my tickets for Manchester later this year, really looking forward to it.

[@billodriscoll-iz8br]

I was 6 going on 7 when this was released way back in '85 I remember it well 80s music lives on and stood the test of time ⏲ 🙌

[@micpin6810]

Amazing. Normally kids get interested in pop-music in their early teens starting at about 13!

[@corkandi]

@@micpin6810 Not normally... me and my siblings were singing, dancing & going crazy to pop music & all kindsa music, long before the age of ten.

[@BillODriscoll-jo2ve]

Nearly 39 years old April/ may 1985 I remember hearing this song on the radio 📻 and instantly thought what a beautiful tune 😍 Its even got reggae all the way through the song 🎵 We don't have music like this nowadays ❤🎉 Such a pity 😕

[@typesfan6590]

Cupid & Psyche ‘85 was one of the best records of the 1980’s. It’s a musical masterpiece.

[@anthonyhume-ring810]

Green transcends space and time and brings the funk!!!

[@seaningram3285]

I had this Album on cassette and the upgraded to the CD and bought Provision (1988) on CD, too.

[@lewisner]

I still have the cassette and it plays well..

[@itsjonathangray]

To me, Cupid & Psyche 85 is the pinnacle of 80s pop music. I remember the first time I heard this song. I was in the eleventh grade (three years back). My classmates were all about Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer and the Black Panther Soundtrack, but I was the odd one out discovering Scritti Politti's dynamite songs. The Word Girl is one of those perfect pop songs that, honestly speaking, only geniuses can come up with. It's one of my solidified favorite songs from the 80s. The lyrics, the pop composition with that reggae influence and especially that otherworldly ending to this song gives me goosebumps each time I hear it. This song is an absolute masterpiece - much like the entire album. We love you Scritti Politti! Thanks for uploading this video in remastered quality! Hope to see more videos soon! 💞💞💞

[@Ronno4691]

Seconded!

[@michaelnewton1332]

Scritti Politti was a group that should have been a hell of a lot bigger than they were!!

[@itsjonathangray]

@@michaelnewton1332 FACTS!!! 💯

[@starlightsthelighthouse9138]

Your words were stated so perfectly. Today in 2022 this is still a favorite and really enhances why it connected.. Grateful to be odd man out when it came to them. Whole album fair to say masterpiece. ❤️🌹🎶

[@itsjonathangray]

@@starlightsthelighthouse9138 Absolutely! 💪

[@4hero70]

One of the best songs ever..last piece is angelic

[@urbanfryk2878]

Real music for real people! Cheers - and love from Sweden! Take good care folks! We are not alone - at all! This tune is still very fresh after all these years! I'm glad to say that I was young in the lovely eighties! I'm 60! God bless! And hot damn (!) give us more!

[@dennisdegraaf1102]

😊😊q😊😊😊

[@shirleyelliott9848]

I'm 64 and luv it more today than I did all those yrs ago. It just never dates and my appreciation has grown.

[@urbanfryk2878]

Take good care Shirley!@@shirleyelliott9848

[@FreddieFreethinking]

Sometimes Less Is More.! This Is A Brilliant Popsong.

[@カール犬帝]

This is the best song of Scritti Politti to me.

[@Yoroaldon]

Another jewel from the eighties. Thank you, thank you.

[@elizabethbell4697]

One of the most beautiful songs from 1985. I love this song so much.

[@pc2908]

The most beautiful aspect of this song, to me, is that it introduces a Reggae feel to so many unexpected listeners. A magnificent impact it had.

[@michaelnewton1332]

Teddy Riley once said that Scritti Politti was a major influence in his creation of the “New Jack Swing” style of R and B in the late 1980s. Several R&B stars of that time, Keith Sweat included, labeled them as influences, too.

[@SamIAm6677]

Wow that explains why I love New Jack Swing.

[@martinromijn842]

Perfect. No other words for this song.

[@MrSlipstreem]

Anyone who heard this back in the day and hasn't heard it from CD since really needs to give their ears a treat. A beautiful song and a devastatingly beautiful recording! The ending is a real mic-drop "beat that if you can!" moment. It just can't be bettered for the period IMO.

[@bobdavis4848]

Agreement on all that; yes at first ever listen the ending was unpredictable!

[@davecoalwood9487]

This Tune is so much of My Chilhood.❤

[@jellybaby822]

Scritti politti was pretty much the soundtrack to my late teens, they had a song for every mood and phase of my exciting little life as a London teen, timeless sophisticated pop classics ❤

[@timjames6190]

Happy days how I miss the 80’s

[@froggy556]

I've always liked reggae, even before I knew what it was. This band opened me up with this song!

[@Zion-exile]

I love this song I was 12 omg bought it on 7inch that's going back a looooong way back ❤❤❤

[@deepconscious7741]

🎸🎷🎺🎹What magic be weaved with just 7 notes..A time when they made music and told a story, what sublime bliss. Those who heard such magic when it was made are truly blessed, the greatest generation of the 80's. 🎤📺🎭

[@boyakka79]

Top classic tune

[@jeremyboughey4674]

Green is like honey. Pop perfection rarely matched x

[@AndrewCoker-o8k]

I love this song

[@katemarkham1366]

Still loving this ❤️ omg

[@robertjohnson1602]

Cupid & Psyche was the right record at the right time - encapsulating the 80s and everything that was good about it. Gartside's voice is shiny, clean, and young.

[@atreyuprincipalh4043]

My favourite Pop Group

[@michaelfrazia4569]

mine too

[@peterferguson-ue1ng]

Timeless 80s classic enough said .

[@jean-louis920]

That sound !❤

[@adolphsanchez1429]

Miles Davis loved Scritti Politti and had a version of "Perfect Way" he would play in concert. I had the record single for "Perfect Way" back when I was about eight years old as it was on Mtv a great deal. I later got into different types of music and only revisited the band when I saw Cupid and Psyche 85 was listed in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die reference book.

[@skyhawk747]

Brings back so many awesome memories of 1985. What a fantastic band!

[@damiangeoghegan8970]

Brilliant. So under-rated

[@alexdubler6533]

Wow, when Scritti Politti comes up with a die-hard reggae song, you know that it's true 80s!!

[@stanleybabel6338]

still thinking about the world girl -----what a song!!1

[@guruuvy]

In the NYC area we had a New Wave station called 92.7 WLIR that had a sunday night show where they would play promos of Imports-called ‘Off The Boat’. Their theme song was the opening xylophone intro to The The’s ‘Uncertain Smile’. In very late 1984, I heard the Ranking Ann ‘Flesh and Blood’ version of Word Girl and lost my MIND when I heard the bass line when she started singing ‘No use me . . . Abuse me . . . I’m flesh and blood’! I know it was very late 1984 because we moved to our new house in 1985 and I was in my old bedroom when I first heard the song. A couple of years later, my Dad (who disliked the colonizer aspect of much of my New Wave dance music) loved Word Girl so much that he borrowed the 12” that I hunted down at Record World at the mall for $15 (in 1986) and recorded it on his state of the art stereo. I was amazed that he put it into his regular rotation of R&B, Soca, Disco and Reggae music that he would blast on his stereo throughout the weekend. That’s when I began to realize that these songs are transcendent. That stereo is still working and I converted the tapes that I made of my Scritti Politti vinyl 12”s and albums into MP3’s (before the CD’s were available) and my MP3’s sound as good as the remastered CDs!

[@RBS_]

....AAAAAHH!! ...I think I remember that show!! ....wasn't there a similar UK Show on Z100 on Sunday nights also, where a chick told gossip, and, she called it 'naughty bits'!? ...I found out about Swing Out Sister & Curiosity Killed The Cat from that Show! ....MAN! ...I found out about Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Level 42, Samantha Fox, Dead Or Alive, Echo & The BunnyMen....I'm gonna CRY....

[@tinkler4]

Ranking Ann version is damn amazing. Loved it when I first heard it on the album. Love this band.

[@guruuvy]

@@RBS_ -I never heard of that show but it sounds Amaze-balls! I’m going to check YT to see if anyone posted and audio broadcasts from it! Thanks for the heads up!

[@guruuvy]

@@tinkler4 -Their music still gives me chills!

[@MrMusicbyMartin]

A really interesting story about cultural appropriation and your dad! Scritti famously lived in a north-London squat and would have been heavily exposed to the reggae, souls and R&B from the black neighbourhood they lived in, and the UK charts at the time were packed with packed with great music from many cultures - not like today’s mono-culture of pop. Green was undoubtedly playing with cultural signs too, I think he would have admitted to ‘borrowing’ from reggae and soul, and he was making a point in doing so - that we shouldn’t be too constrained by ‘our culture’ because it limits the ideas you are able to express. I’m glad he was that smart, I’ve learned from him!

[@djobjet]

Just as Leonard Cohen was really a poet who also made music, so Green is a philosopher who happens to be a masterful songwriter and sonic architect. One of the few men on this planet who ever really understood Derrida and Lacan, and on that comprehending basis, set forth praxis made pluperfect.

[@clivefreedman9285]

Simply sublime

[@MHVDP]

What a great time that was to be a teenager 💜

[@stevehall71]

Wow, I never realized they made a video for this song. I bought this album on cassette way back in ‘85 or ‘86 and played the hell out of it. Usually when I revisit music from my youth, I find it doesn’t sound nearly as crisp, as rich, or as nuanced as I remember. But this song? Somehow it sounds even better in 2023. How the hell did you manage that, Scritti Politti!?

[@nadinerichards946]

Proper 80s music always will be !!!

[@unbornlivesmatter4821]

They don't make great music like this anymore.

[@LaleArpaci]

I think some of Charlie Puth's music has this feel

[@kirkgilbreath5094]

@@LaleArpaci I think NOT!!!

[@suzannaosull]

This was filmed in my home town Hastings UK! I went and saw Green Gartside perform as double G many years later and I accidentally offended him by doing a nervous giggle when he mistakenly grabbed the wrong guitar for a song - sorry Green I wasn't mocking you, I just couldn't believe that I was actually stood in front of you for the first time in decades, remembering the massive crush I harboured for band mate David Gamson in my teenage years and he's in this video on keys!!! Awesome stuff!

[@sebastianharker4892]

I remember buying the cassette of this album in 1985. My sister had her's as well. Amazing album. A masterpiece from beginning to end.

[@kimleitch544]

Legend .what a voice ❤

[@atreyuprincipalh4043]

This Band Is loved and revered... I can say is part of my music listening every day since the eighties❤️❤️❤️

[@ondinamc]

I never knew they made a video for this. I’m always singing it to myself. ❤️

[@timothyj1966]

He was literally Princess Diana, Pretty.

[@saintgeorge6706]

Green Gartside such a talent.

[@CaledonianKittyOfficial]

One of my favourites

[@glenross9467]

It just sounds pure 80’s lol 👌

[@GaryFearon]

hopefully the first of many hd videos from this channel. hypnotize video next?

[@ScrittiPolitti]

Wood Beez is currently winning votes-wise (check the community tab)

[@daveball1799]

Unbelievable artist ❤

[@cazjdavies]

Soundtrack of my teens and never knew he was Welsh❤ Cymru am Byth!

[@FreddieFreethinking]

This Is A Music Masterpiece In Every Single Way.

[@guillermoortega4119]

AWESOME

[@cassisbrook]

Timeless. 🙏🏽❤️

[@parralox]

Absolutely Sublime ❤️🎹❤️

[@stephaniemurray1712]

Love Scritti Politti!!! My fav band♥️

[@farmyardflavours]

I absolutely love this tune

[@itsjonathangray]

CAN'T WAIT!!!

[@bobthebarber777]

Sooo much memories...

[@martinfitzgerald1605]

Love Scritti and don't mind a bit of Politti😂

[@TheProdigyAccordion]

Totally worth buying the full album, i have one LP and Cassette! Love this band

[@ukeflo3354]

Not listened to this for many years but as news of their appearance at Leeds 80s Fest next year, had to reacquaint myself

[@scottperine8027]

God I love this band,they offered the very best elements of those crazy 80’s and the rhythm is still bumping.

[@mr.wigglemunch3856]

My youth sentiment! I always return to this song. Every once in a while i have to listen to it. Beautifully put together!!

[@Underhills]

My youth classic too. It illustrates my life.

[@krs1024]

one of the most underrated 80s Songs and Band

[@DJAlgorhythms]

Shhh…there’s no actual rating system.

[@monicaspector2388]

The Sweetest Boy... always have the most love for this intelligent, beautiful, soulful man. I love Green. Love Scritti Politti ... God bless and amen.

[@kellym2764]

The video looks great! Hoping Hypnotize is next.

[@mayorofduckburg5189]

Found a Cupid & Psych '85 LP in great condition last week at a local shop, the seller and I flipped out that we both genuinely appreciate it. I love art that affects audiences this much

[@MrMusicbyMartin]

Nice! I’ve been hoovering up 12inch versions - this incredible song, Faithless, the ‘Sweetest Girl’, Asylums in Jerusalem, Wood Beez etc etc. I bought the 4 A Sides disc when I was about 14 and Songs To Remember when it came out a bit later, but neither are in very good condition! The covers and packaging are always very good, reflecting the commodification of his music. Didn’t Cupid and Psyche feature a piece of meat draped in lace? Flesh and blood, perhaps.

[@mayorofduckburg5189]

@@MrMusicbyMartin It did, with a butterfly and stars. Very conceptual especially for the extreme pop that the music was on the album. The follow up album, Provision, is equally excellent and features another odd cover

[@rooseveltmccarter6087]

The Word Girl. From The Lp "Cupid And Psyche" (1985).

[@pab777]

Synth and production bass wow. But more the writing is brill

[@TheNorma]

I love Scritti Politti

[@SoulStylistJukeBox]

Perfect pop

[@dazronch5450]

I saw scritti politti last night at an 80s rock festival and I have to say they were fantastic .

[@SparkyTunes]

First tune I ever bought :D TY SP!

[@michaelfrazia4569]

one of my favorite bands...green is in my top five favorite musicians...mccartney , bowie , and prince are my top 3..green is heading into that group as the years go by and it becomes more apparent what a genius of pop music he was....and is

[@ark1492]

Wow, that’s some pretty heavy big name artist there & I agree, his song writing is on par with McCartney, Bowie & Prince for sure…by the way, Scritti Politti’s Keyboard player David Gamson help produced an album for the late, Tony Lemans self titled LP on Prince’s Paisley Park Label, I have the L.P. & in the liner notes Tony thanks Gamson, Prince & you guessed it Green Gartside. So I’m thinking Green (although no involvement on that album proper), may have aphid some conversations with Prince & may have been at the Paisley Park Studios back in the 99’s when that album was produced, played & mixed by David Gamson. If you haven’t heard that album, it’s very much a mixture of both Prince 90’s vibe & a very Scritti Politti 80’s vibe, with tons of great keyboard programming and arrangements & Tony Leman’s sounds like prince when he sings aswell…..anyway, I agree with you McCartney, Green, Bowie & Prince all in the same league….I would personally add Bob Dylan & Maurice White (earth wind & fire fame) into the top 10 list aswell for me…..

[@itsjonathangray]

He is a genius. No lie about that. Green Gartside is truly in that super league of musicians alongside McCartney, Bowie, Eno and Prince. ✊

[@michaelfrazia4569]

yes I think we all have similar taste...basically master songwriters be it lyrics , music , or overall production certain guys just have a God given ability to capture certain music and lyrics that ellicit a certain feeling...I was born in 74...my father is the bass player for a 60s band who had some hits in the states during that decade...so raising me in the 70s I always heard mccartney played in the house ...mainly solo and wings at that point ..I suppose It was ingrained in me to be a fan of musicians who wrote strong melodies since you can't get more melodic than prime era mccartney...not sure if you gentlemen are from the states like me or Britain...due to being raised by a musician ( who still plays gigs in his 70s to this very day) music was a huge part of my upbringing...I heard perfect way in 85 and was hooked by that melody...it literally became one of my favorite all time songs...unfortunately, the band did not have any other hits in the states...once you tube became big I looked up bands that I remembered from back in the day and so scritti politti was one of them...the fact that they/ he had so many songs on par with perfect way blew me away..I became a huge fan, and green is one of the only artists still left that I'd travel to see live...he is one of my favorite artists....good throw ins with Maurice white and Brian eno boys....talk about two guys who captured a certain sound....what eno did for bowie and u2 among others is legendary...my father was a huge earth wind and fire fan in the 70s so I heard them from a young age...Maurice steered that ship and influenced so many great artists including prince who nicked alot from what Maurice was doing... on a final note I wish David gamson would tour with Green...what he laid down on the keys on cupid and psyche is beyond tasteful...such ear 🍬

[@ark1492]

@@michaelfrazia4569 Bravo👏👏👏 I couldn’t have written it any better, you 💯% correct. I would give a major nod to Producer David Foster aswell, when it comes to successes of Earth Wind & Fire, but yes indeed Maurice White is the catalyst. Like David Foster, Maurice White & Quincy Jones, David Gamson is very good at placing many melodies & hooks into one song & I would add, Scritti Politti’s uptempo tracks have the fastest Beats Per Minutes (BPM) in pop, dance & soul music. Again Michael, well said sir👏👏👏

[@BillODriscoll-jo2ve]

I was 6 years old going on 7 when this mid 80s classic song was released back in April or May '85

[@massdrivermusic]

For me, the girl was real. And not only a word. Love this track! :)

[@ghostchips6146]

I frickin love this song..thanks SP so much!!!

[@tinkler4]

Omg I’ve been searching for this music video with a clear HD sound for ages on here… Yes!! So glad! … My fav song and one of my fav albums of that era ‘ Cupid & Psyche 85’ Unique vocals of Green was a bliss. The engineering of the songs was so ahead of its time, it was magic to my ears. Underrated band for sure!!

[@boofuls]

Don’t you mean ‘85 😉

[@tinkler4]

@@boofuls oops, corrected typo Lol Thanks.

[@boofuls]

The scritti crush crew would have been on you like a ton of bricks 🧱😂😂

[@tinkler4]

@@boofuls very true lol.

[@zeldafitzgerald5294]

It's unbelievable to search some good song for years and finally find it!

[@juanka77]

Master piece

[@southpawboxing4265]

Saw them live at Shrewsbury Rocks festival last week, and they are brilliant live. One of the most underrated bands of the 1980's...

[@bobdavis4848]

An excellent song and very charming video; nice! I played this album many times.

[@hi_316]

The first single I bought, aged 11, and I still love it!

[@sofiarusso958]

Bliss...I'm transported back to when i was 15 yo and played cupid & psyche non stop. Still giving me butterflies.

[@pauldevenish]

Still one of my favourite 80's tracks, forgotten in away - only those who appreciate music know of this beauty.

[@swimdeep189]

The best protest song writer ever.

[@paolozak3014]

What a fantastic bass line

[@MultiGuitarDave]

Fantastic music and nostalgia. In the eighties I was a fan of Prince and Van Halen as a guitarist, but I also loved these funky rhythm guitar parts.

[@harristonmiller4399]

Timeless dance classic