Scarfo

Scarfo
Origin	United Kingdom
Years active	1994–1998
Labels	Deceptive Records Fierce Panda
Associated acts	The Kills, Fiji
Members	Jamie Hince Nick Prior Al Saunders

Scarfo were a British rock band, formed in Andover, England in 1994, by former art college students Jamie Hince (vocals, guitar), Nick Prior (bass), and Al Saunders (drums). Scarfo was the culmination of several other bands and line ups involving Hince and Saunders including "Remember the Rabbitts" (a reference to medical trials on animals), and "Electric Turkey Land". The line up for both these bands included long term friend of Hince, and fellow resident of the Newbury area, "Wob". Wob went on to play, like Hince, with the punk-folk ensemble "Blyth Power".

Career

Scarfo moved to London where they played many gigs, attracting the attention of Fierce Panda Records, who issued their debut single, "Skinny" in 1995. They then signed to Deceptive Records and their self-titled album produced by Philip Thomas was released in November of that year to critical acclaim. They released several singles over the following three years (two of these - "Alkaline" and "Cosmonaut No. 7" - making it into the UK Singles Chart),^[1][2] and the album, Luxury Plane Crash (1997).

"Alkaline" and a cover of Elvis Costello's "I Want You" (as a bonus track), were included on Deceptive 50 (January 1998, Deceptive, Bluff050cd [CD]), a compilation album released by Deceptive Records to celebrate their 50th release.

Jamie Hince went on to release "The Glue Hotel Tapes" mini album as Fiji on Impresario Records (February 2004, Impresario Records, Impcd003) and a single, "Pillshop", also on Impresario (November 99, Impresario, IMP004 [7"]). He is now the guitarist in The Kills.

During the height of Scarfo's early success, progress ground to a halt after Al Saunders was badly injured after being run down by a car in London. This incident caused the momentum of the band to falter and led directly to the band folding.

Discography

Singles

• "Skinny" (May 1995, Fierce Panda, NING08 [7"])
• "Tunnel Of Love" (December 1995, Deceptive, BLUFF022 [7"])
• "Bingo England" (April 1996, Deceptive, BLUFF028 [7"]/BLUFF028CD [CDS])
• "ELO" (May 1997, Deceptive, BLUFF041 [7"]/BLUFF041CD [CDS])(UK #134)^[3]
• "Alkaline" (July 1997, Deceptive, BLUFF044 [7"]/BLUFF044X [7"]/BLUFF044CD [CDS]) - (UK #61)^[1]
• "Cosmonaut No. 7" (October 1997, Deceptive, BLUFF053 [7"]/BLUFF053X [7"]/BLUFF053CD [CDS]) (UK #67)^[1]
• "A Year From Monday" (September 1998, Deceptive, BLUFF064 [7"]/BLUFF064CD [CDS])(UK #163)^[4]

Albums

• Scarfo (November 1995, Deceptive, BLUFF017LP [LP]/BLUFF017CD [CD])
• Track listing:
  1. Eyesore
  2. Coin Op
  3. Skinny
  4. Shuffling Souls
  5. Backwater
  6. Carchase
  7. Bingo England
  8. Read About Seymour
  9. Throw It All
  10. Wailing Words
• Luxury Plane Crash (July 1997, Deceptive, BLUFF045LP [LP]/BLUFF045CD [CD])
• Track listing:
  1. ELO
  2. Alkaline
  3. Jet Smashed Flat
  4. Safecracker
  5. Don't Let Go
  6. Japanese Cameras
  7. Jazz Cigarette
  8. Cosmonaut No 7
  9. Pajo Gear
  10. Chomsky Airport
  11. Lifeline
  12. Prison Architect

References

1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 484. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Scarfo", in The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0