"The recent re-issue of the "Pop Muzik" hit has revived interest in releases by Robin
Scott's band"
Ten years after it first made the charts, M's "Pop Muzik" has become the latest subject of a
successful '89 remix. But even before its recent chart success, almost everyone knew the song.
Back in 1979, this single by a previously unknown group had screamed to the top of the charts,
and received almost constant airplay. Its chattering synth lines, twanging guitars, and Brigit
Vinchon's pronunciation of 'Muzik' made it both irresistible and unforgettable.
"Pop Muzik" wasn't M's first release, however. The group, fronted by Robin Scott, had already
issued "Moderne Man" on the small indie label Do It Records at the end of 1978. This was quite
a contrast to the hit single, as it had a much heavier, post-punk sound - plus a flipside,
"Satisfy Your Lust", which used the best-known four-letter word. (Both these songs were
re-recorded and segued together, without the 'offensive' language, on M's first album.) At the
time "Moderne Man" made little impact, and so it's obviously a rarity today in its original
picture sleeve.
Another little-known recording surfaced around the same time. This was credited to Comic Romance
(featuring Robin Scott of M) and appeared on Warner Brothers. The A-side, "Cry Myself To Sleep",
was a Scott composition, while the B-side, Scott's "Cowboys And Indians", was rehashed by M for
the album "New York, London, Paris, Munich".
IMAGE
That LP was obviously titled to cash in on the success of "Pop Muzik", which was M's next
release, backed by "M Factor". The album consolidated the group's image, right down to the
sleeve, with its galactic-type motif. The inner sleeve design of a smoking chair, and the
Warhol-style photos of Einstein on the back cover, highlighted the impression that this wasn't
just another pop group. And the music confirmed this idea, moving from Eurobeat through disco
and what can only be called 'party political pop'.
Among the subjects covered on the record were the lure of the financial markets ("That's The Way
The Money Goes"), political propaganda ("Made In Munich"; the original album title was to have
been "Maid In Munich", by the way), and international espionage. This last theme was the one
that M seemed to identify with most - perhaps because their name was also the initial of James
Bond's spymaster boss.
With "Pop Muzik" having reached No. 2 in the BBC charts in May 1979, it was somewhat surprising
that the follow-up singles weren't more successful; but "Moonlight And Muzak" reached only
No. 33, and "That's The Way The Money Goes" No. 45. This second release was actually available
in two different pressings. Every copy of the single was shrink-wrapped, as there was a
competition form attached to the back cover; but you could only enter this contest if your copy
of the A-side ended with a voice saying "It's a winner, it's your lucky day"! Copies of this
version are made even rarer by the fact that you had to send your single back, to verify your
right to entry!
While the band's British success was dwindling away, the band were gaining much more appreciation
in Europe - to the extent that a half-hour television special was made for them, virtually an
early video album, which contained songs from their first LP. Meanwhile, M had prepared a new
set of material by the late summer of 1980.
"Official Secrets", their next release, was their only single not to be issued in 12" form; it
made a paltry No.64. To make up for the lack of 12" release, the follow-up, "Keep it to yourself",
had different B-sides on the 7" and 12" versions. The cover of the 12", incidentally, bore a
rather brave photograph of Robin Scott wearing the most revealing plus fours!
Both these singles were taken from M's second, and last album - "The Official Secrets Act". It
was a record steeped in political and espionage references, with anti- government lyrics on "Your country needs you", and accounts of torture on "Relax", all making sure that you had to sit up and listen. Musically, it was much tighter than the debut LP, thanks in part to the presence of one Mark King on (surprisingly) guitar and drums as well as bass. Scattered throughout the LP are radio transmissions and whispering voices, which add to the overall atmosphere of the set. But it was never exactly clear what M were trying to say politically. They might have been pop anarchists, but unfortunately they arrived to long after punk for their message to be noticed, and ended up not so much anarchists as anachronisms. Whatever their beliefs, however, M's second album was a masterpiece.
After a long period of silence through most of 1981, M suddenly re-emerged on Stiff in 1982,-
when their single "Danube" was released on yellow vinyl in a see-through plastic sleeve. As it
turned out, this was to be their last release - at least, until this year.
DOUBLE-GROOVE
As usual, "Danube" was also issued in 12" form. The band usually gave good value for money: most
of their 12" singles had extended A-sides, and occasionally the B-sides were longer as well. And
the 12" of "Pop Muzik" was billed as the world's first double-groove single, with "Pop Muzik"
and "M Factor" running side by side on parallel grooves, while the flipside (or seaside, as it
was called on the cover) was an extended mix of "Pop Muzik".
Sadly, M never played live; perhaps the fact that they were essentially a one-man studio
creation made that too difficult to contemplate. So we have to Judge their legacy on records
alone; and they reveal Scott to have written 'message' songs to rival anything by Costello,
Weller or their peers. But sadly the pop market wasn't ready for M's message, and the band were
never able to equal the impact of "Pop Muzik".
The appeal of that record, however, was demonstrated recently when Freestyle Records
issued a remixed version, and it once again tore up the charts, leaving the far less ambitious
pop of the 1980s in its wake. Perhaps now is the time for MCA to reissue all of M's recordings,
as the success of "Pop Muzik" has shown, M were wonderful, whether they were creating
manifestoes or just good dance music.
COMPLETE M DISCOGRAPHY
cat. No./Title/Current mint price(£)
COMIC ROMANCE SINGLE
WEAK 17418 CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP/COWBOYS AND INDIANS (1978) ........5
M SINGLES
Do It 640 147 MODERNE MAN/SATISFY YOUR LUST (1978) .................. 6
MCA413 POP MUZIK/M FACTOR (1979) . ........................... 2
MCA 12MCA413 POPMUZIK-M FACTOR/POP MUZIK (1979, 12") . ............... 4
MCA 541 MOONLIGHT AND MUZAK/WOMAN MAKE MAN (1979) ............ 3
MCA MCAT 541 MOONLIGHT AND MUZAK/WOMAN MAKE MAN (1979, 12") ......... 5
MCA 570 THAT'S THE WAY THE MONEY GOES/SATISFY YOUR LUST (1979) . . 2.50
MCA MCAT 570 THAT'S THE WAY THE MONEY GOES/SATISFY YOUR LUST (1979, 12") 5
MCA 650 OFFICIAL SECRETS/MANIAC (1980) ........................ 3
MCA 666 KEEP IT TO YOURSELF/ABRACADABRA (1981) .............. 3.50
MCA MCAT 666 KEEP IT TO YOURSELF (disco mlx)/M'AIDER (1981, 12") .......... .5
Stiff BUY 151 DANUBE/NEUTRON (1982, yellow vinyl) ...................... 3
Stiff S-BUY 151 DANUBE/NEUTRON (1982, 12"). .......................... 5
Freestyle FRS 1 POP MUZIK (1989 remix)/POP MUZIK (original) (1989). ........... 1.75
Freestyle 12 FRS 1 POP MUZIK (1989 remix)/POP MUZIK (1989 dub mix)/POP MUZIK
(original 12" version) (1989, 12") ......................... 3.50
M LPs
MCA MCF 3046 NEW YORK, LONDON, PARIS, MUNICH (1979) .................. 6
MCA MCF 3085 THE OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT (1980) . ....................... 6
(Note: All prices relate to 1989, when this article was published)
