Thomas Scott (born 18 February 1964) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is the lead singer and guitarist of the Liverpool band

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

. Scott started out as the band's bassist, but switched to guitar after David "Yorkie" Palmer joined in 1997, partly so that he could concentrate on vocals. Prior to Space, he has played in various Liverpool bands, such as the Substitutes (with Jamie Murphy), Hello Sunset and the Australians (with

Franny Griffiths Francis Griffiths (1 July 1966, Liverpool, England) is a keyboardist, producer and remixer, who is best known for being a member of the band, Space (UK band), Space. He also plays guitar, melodica and piano. His main influences are Kraftwerk, Hi ...

, who later became Space's keyboardist). Following Space's original breakup in 2005, Scott formed The Drellas, which in 2011 morphed into the current line-up of Space after Griffiths rejoined the band. On 22 November 2020, Scott released his debut solo album ''

Marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...

'' under the moniker The Thomas Scott Quintet.

Biography

Scott was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. He lived in Everton until he was five, when his family moved to the Cantril Farm Estate, now

Stockbridge Village Stockbridge Village is an area of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 6,018. It was the subject of an article in a special report by ''The Economist'' entitled "A new kind of ghetto", which descri ...

. Scott's father, a former Ford factory worker, died of cancer in 1995, an event which would later inspire "Avenging Angels". Scott grew up with a love of films,

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, all of which has informed his writing. Around the early 1980s, Scott enrolled on a

Enterprise Allowance Scheme The Enterprise Allowance Scheme was an initiative set up by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative UK government which gave a guaranteed income of £40 per week to unemployed people who set up their own business. It was first announced on 13 November ...

-funded course for unemployed musicians in Northern England, alongside

Mike Badger Michael Clifford Badger is an English singer-songwriter, artist and sculptor from Liverpool, England. Co-founder of The La's he went on to form alternative country/roots rockabilly band The Onset in 1988 and Mike Badger and The Shady Trio in ...

, John Power and

Lee Mavers Lee Anthony Mavers (born 2 August 1962) is an English musician. Mavers was the songwriter, singer and rhythm guitarist in The La's and is best known for the song " There She Goes" from October 1988. Mavers was originally the bassist for the Live ...

, all of whom would later become members of

The La's The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badge ...

. In 1984, Scott formed his first group, Porcelain Touch, whose lineup included keyboard player Franny Griffiths, who later changed their name to Hello Sunset. By 1987, Hello Sunset had morphed into The Australians, and their songs "Sadie" and "The Girl Who Loved Her Man Enough Too Kill Him" were included on the ''Vinyl Virgins'' and ''Hit the North'' compilations, respectively. In 1992, Scott formed Space with Jamie Murphy and Andy Parle, with Griffiths joining a year later. When the band toured the United States for the first time in 1997, Scott lost his voice for two months due to stress, and the band subsequently had to cancel their tour. Scott stated that after trying numerous kinds of therapies and cures, he saw a psychic, Billy Roberts, who was able to predict the exact date his voice would come back. Space split in 2005, and Scott formed the Drellas, the original line-up of which included Space's then drummer Leon Caffrey, and Phil Hartley — who had previously worked with Space as a producer and technician — on bass. The Drellas then morphed into Tommy Scott & the Red Scare, featuring Scott, Hartley and two new members, Allan Jones (drums) and Ryan Clarke (keyboards), as well as a saxophone player. Hartley, Jones and Clarke would all later join the new line-up of Space, when the band reformed in 2011, following the death of Andy Parle two years earlier. Both Scott and Murphy admitted to having fallen out with each other, but were on amicable terms by the time the band reunited. On 22 November 2020, Scott released his debut solo album ''

'' under the moniker The Thomas Scott Quintet.

Influences

Although Scott cites films and cartoons such as ''

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...

'' as his main influences, musically, his influences include

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

– as referenced in 'A Liddle Biddy Help From Elvis', from ''

Tin Planet ''Tin Planet'' is the second studio album by English band Space, released on 9 March 1998. Recorded in late 1997 following a tumultuous year for the group, ''Tin Planet'' was a continuation of the eclectic blend of musical styles explored on th ...

'' – and

the Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...

. As a teenager, he frequented Eric's and saw several bands that would go on to influence him, such as

the Au Pairs The Au Pairs were a British post-punk band that formed in Birmingham in 1978 and continued until 1983. They produced two studio albums and three singles. Their songs were said to have "contempt for the cliches of contemporary sexual politics ...

and

Spizz Energi Spizzenergi are an English punk/ new wave band led by vocalist/guitarist Spizz (real name Kenneth Spiers, born Solihull 1959). Formed in the late 1970s, the band changed its name every year, subsequent names including Athletico Spizz 80, Spizz ...

Equipment

Scott has used the following equipment: * Framus bass * Vox Teardrop bass * Fender Coronado guitar * 1972 Tiesco guitar * 1969 Audition Sunburst guitar * 1976 Starway Sunburst guitar * Farida GNA-80 guitar * 1965 EKO 500/4V guitar * Vox AC30 amplifier * Fender Pro Reverb amplifier * Echoman Delay pedal * Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal * VHT Combo amplifier * Danelectro Tape Echo pedal

References

External links

Official Space websiteThe Thomas Scott Quintet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Tommy 1964 births Living people 20th-century English singers 21st-century English singers Alternative rock singers English rock guitarists English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English rock singers Musicians from Liverpool 20th-century bass guitarists 21st-century British guitarists 21st-century British male singers 20th-century British male singers