Interview with Tommy Scott of Iconic LIverpool Band Space

Nsg Magazines David Lancaster talks to Liverpool’s Tommy Scott who rose to prominence during the early 1990s as the ever majestical frontman of the band Space who went on to huge success with hits such as “Female of the Species”, “Me and You Versus the World”, “Neighbourhood”, and “The Ballad of Tom Jones”, a duet with Cerys Matthews of Catatonia about missing drinks with Johnny Depp in LA and the new solo album he’s been working on.

DL – Hi Tommy, thanks for the interview. Obviously, we are all aware of your canon of work with the band Space and now we have something a bit different to look forward to from yourself, just as we so desperately needed something to help our thoughts meander to someplace different in 2020. The last gig I actually attended was Space at Jimmy’s in Liverpool on the 13th of March this year, just before the country went into lockdown, it was an amazing show. Was that your last gig too, and are you missing the live shows?

TS – Yeah the gig at Jimmy’s was the last gig I played. It seems so strange now as the band and the whole audience we’re blasé about what was about to take over our lives, and I’m glad everyone partied for their lives. I’m missing gigs so much now, it’s fuel for any musician. I just pray to Elvis every night that we can get back to normal soon.

DL – You have a long history of touring Tommy, obviously with Space and also some shows with your side projects, apart from totally losing your voice whilst on tour, what’s the scariest thing that’s happened to you on the road, and is it true that you visited a psychic when you lost your voice?

TS – Yeah the strangest thing for me was when we were supposed to play The Viper Room in L.A. and my voice was totally gone. We turned up to soundcheck and Universal was desperate for us to play they even wanted me to mime and our roadie sing, we obviously told them to sod off. I was gutted coz I had to stay on the sleeper bus and all the lads got to hang out with Johnny Rotten and Johnny Depp was there too. When the voice went, the record company sent me to healers, we had to fly home mid-tour from America, I was just made up to get back to Liverpool and see my wife. But they had other ideas and I’d only been home a day when they sent me to London to see this healer. This fella was supposed to be the best, he did his hands-on thing for an hour then said to me you will now sing like a bird, but all that came out was a croak. That’s when we went to the psychic who was a friend of ours. His name was Billy Roberts and he did his hands-on thing and told me the exact day my voice would come back, the thing is it came back on that very day. Believe what you want but Billy saved my career.  

DL – All of us at NSG we’re very excited at the prospect of a Tommy Scott interview and one of our guys said something lovely about you the other day, he said “Tommy will still be talked about in Liverpool in fifty years time”, it’s true that you have become part of the fabric of the Liverpool music scene, did you ever envisage that you would have such a lengthy music career when you started out back in the 80s in Cantril Farm?

TS – That’s very kind of him. I always felt like the outsider to all the other musicians as my taste in music was so eclectic, but some people can control it and stick to one style, I had to let it all out. The thought of people still talking about me in fifty years is a nice dream, not sure myself though. I never even thought of being a musician when I was a little Canny Farm punk kid, it happened later on when I picked up a guitar for the first time and realized I might be able to give this a go. I had a mate called Scotty who was the lead singer in my first band, he was so talented but too shy to sing, so that’s when I became a singer. Yeah, it’s definitely been a long time but a great ride.

Tommy Scott ( credit: Warren Millar)

DL – Do you sing in the shower, and if so, what songs?

TS – Haha no I hate showers, I get a bath and I’m cursed in a way as I’ve heard so many great songs in my life, but the only songs that pop into my head are songs I hate.

DL – So, November sees you release “Marionette” by “The Thomas Scott Quintet” a delightful piece of work with some lovely arrangements. What was the reason for a solo release now and was it something that you had been planning for a while?

TS – Thanks, I’m very proud of it. I’ve wanted to do a solo album for years but always found a reason to put it off. Most Space songs are based around grooves and samples almost in a hip hop style, so I always wanted to do a verse, chorus, middle 8 types of songs to prove to myself that I could actually do it.

DL – The album has two songs that mention the word “world” in their titles. “Crowded World” and “End of the World”, do you feel that the world could ever come to an end if it became too crowded and what could we do to stop it? 

TS – It’s not only overcrowding but evil governments fuckin’ everything up. Maybe it’ll be one of these pandemics that finally see us all off. I find it funny watching all these old fifties Sci-fi movies saying we will be able to colonize other planets by 1976. I wish it was true though.

DL – “End of the World ” has a fantastic melody and It’s a song about finding love. Any advice for people out there trying to find love in this challenging year of 2020? 

TS – Yeah definitely not on Tinder.

DL – Another song on the album, “God Made Me Ugly” gives off a bit of a Lennon-esque vibe to the listener, were there any old influences revisited on this album, or were there any new artists that you looked to for inspiration during the writing of these songs?

TS – I can see what you mean by the Lennon thing but this album was more influenced by David Lynch and Transformer the Lou Reed album.

DL – The closing track on “Marionette”, “Treasure Chest”, is a duet with Emily Portman, this song seems destined to be a single, it has a very “cinematic” feel, that familiar sound that we have come to associate with your writing Tommy, you have said previously that the movies have been an influence on you as a musician, what films, in particular, have had an effect on you?

TS – Yeah, I agree I think it will be a single. Emily Portman is seriously talented and it was a privilege to sing with her. The movies I’m influenced by are as eclectic as the music I like, anything from Hammer horror, spaghetti westerns, science fiction, and horror films like Nosferatu to The Shining. I’m not a big fan of comedies though.

DL – I hear that you designed the sleeve and artwork yourself, can you tell us a bit about that?

TS – I like to design covers for albums, It’s great fun and takes me back to my DIY punk days. To be honest it’s just another way to be creative when I’m not writing songs.

DL –  The album has a great cast of players, Phil Hartley (your mate from Space) along with Chris Sharrock, Paul Hemmings, and a helping hand from Pete Wilky, with the recording, also being done at The Viper Studio…Was it a conscious decision to try and get a hometown crew together for the sessions and keep it local, do you think using Liverpudlians gave the album a certain vibe?

TS – Haha to be honest they’re just great people to know. I’ve known Paul since the 80’s we’ve been in bands together; he was even “best man” at my wedding. Phil is a musical genius; he did all the string arrangements. Chris Sharrock is more than just a drummer, he plays the kit like a painter, I had shivers down my spine just watching him. I’m so grateful to Pete, he’s another really talented artist, the album wouldn’t have come out if it weren’t for him and Nick Graff.

DL – Finally, what’s next for yourself Tommy?  Do you plan to tour these songs if possible and will we see a second album from the quintet? 

TS – Funnily enough,  I’ve got the solo bug now and I’ve already written the next solo album. We’re putting the next Space album out in February so we’ll be touring that if the germs allow. I’m definitely going to fit in some solo gigs too.

You can pre-order Tommy’s upcoming album on the links below.

You can follow Tommy and his band Space on all the social links highlighted pink below.

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