Scars – In Session for John Peel – February 20, 1980 – BBC Radio 1 –
Scars in session tonight. Voted Number 75 of the 100 Greatest Scottish Rock bands of all time, Scars were right in the middle of what was a hotbed of talent in and around Edinburgh in the late 1970s. Starting in their teens in 1977, Scars got a great word-of-mouth from the get-go and the positive reaction to their debut singles prompted John Peel to invite them down to London for the first of two sessions on February20, 1980.
It was the Peel sessions that escalated their popularity, and they began touring, first co-headlining with Comstat Angels, and then headlining on their own.
By 1981 they released their debut album, Author! Author! which reached #67 on the UK charts and continued building their popularity as well as securing them a slot touring as opening act for the Australian band The Church in 1982.
Sadly, the momentum and the pressure were getting to the band, and later on that year frontman and founding member Robert King decided to leave the band and the loss was never quite made up. And Scars dissolved a few months later.
Although they were together a relatively short period of time (1977-1982), and releasing only one album, Scars have been a big influence on the post-punk period, particularly in Scotland where interest has never quite waned for the band. In November of 2010 they announced a one-off reunion gig for the end of December that year, which marked their first appearance together in over 25 years.
Whether it will happen again is anyone’s guess. But as a reminder of their popularity at the time, here is their first session for John Peel in February of 1980. The band may not ring a lot of bells over here in the U.S., but that’s no excuse not to discover this great band and to check out their other material.
Play loud in the meantime.
