Robin Scott

Robin Edmond Scott (born 1 April 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the founder and sole member of the new wave and synth-pop music project M, who had a transatlantic hit with "Pop Muzik" in 1979. His career encompasses six decades.

Early life Robin Edmond Scott was born on 1 April 1947 in Croydon, Surrey, where he attended Croydon Art College and met future fashion designer, entrepreneur and music manager Malcolm McLaren in the late 1960s.

Scott began performing his own songs and accompanying himself on guitar. He spent a period playing folk music clubs as a solo musician, sharing bills with emerging artists such as David Bowie, John Martyn and Ralph McTell. He also recorded a session for the BBC, one of the tracks from which was included on the CD reissue of the album in 2001. then-unknown keyboardist Wally Badarou, MCA executives were unhappy with this change of direction, but with a hit behind him, Scott felt it was relevant to be heard at this point. The track was written as a result of his experiences in the US where he came into contact with a brand and company called Muzak.

The song was a UK Top 40 hit, and then "That's the Way the Money Goes" became another charting hit inside of a year. A 45-minute film incorporating music videos and concert performances to date came as a result of a quick globe-trotting world tour in the wake of the hit.

Other M releases In late 1980, the follow-up studio album called The Official Secrets Act was released, containing the songs "Keep It to Yourself" and the title-track, and was inspired, albeit tongue-in-cheek, by the overwhelming worldwide paranoia of the time. It was recorded in the UK and Dublin, Ireland, with contributions from Bill Whelan (the man behind Riverdance, who at the time worked as an arranger). Among the musicians on the album were Phil Gould on drums again, who also introduced his friend and subsequent Level 42 colleague Mark King. King at the time played guitar as much as bass; these recordings took place prior to his discovery of his trademark sound. In 1981, Scott co-produced rising star Ryuichi Sakamoto, MCA declined release of the album in the UK, and it was only released in France, Italy and the US (Warner-Sire Records).

In mid-1982, MCA and M parted company. At this point some role reversing took place and Scott produced the M single "Danube" for the Stiff label, featuring Brigit Novik on vocals, followed by "The Wedding Dance" presenting Novik as an artist in her own right.

African phase As a development of the ethnic references on The Official Secrets Act and the Stiff releases, Scott found a new musical direction, producing an extended play (EP) of African acts in Kenya. This led to the studio album Jive Shikisha! (credited to Robin Scott and Shikisha), recorded in Kenya and the UK between 1983 and 1984, with musicians from several different African states. The album featured a female vocal trio from South Africa, Shikisha (hence the album title), Wally Badarou and Julian Scott.

Most of this world music was originally suppressed, but was remastered and released in 2003. The resurgence of interest in Scott and the history of "Pop Muzik" follows the Irish rock band U2's use of the Steve Osborne remix opening their PopMart Tour (1997–1998). Remixes have come from all sides, from Marcus' "Pop Muzic 2001" in 2002, and by Junior Vasquez and the Dub Pistols in 2003.

In 2003 a collection of Scott's artwork was shown at the Ensign Gallery in London. and a compilation album including both retrospective studio recording and period demos was released with title of Life Class featuring artwork from the exhibition.

Scott appeared in the Countdown Spectacular two-concert series in Australia between late August and early September 2007, where he performed "Pop Muzik" live for the first time. In 2009, an album featuring the original 1979 mix and thirteen remixes of "Pop Muzik" was issued by Union Square.

Recent work In August 2017, Scott released the studio album Emotional DNA in the digital download format. On 5 July 2023, Scott released the first new single by M in 41 years, a track called "Break the Silence". and, also under the *M*/Robin Scott moniker, released The FAQs of Life on 11 July 2025 through BMG. In June 2026 two remixed/re-recorded versions of The Official Secrets Act (Amplified and Classified) were released through license with BMG.

Discography Woman from the Warm Grass (1969), Head New York • London • Paris • Munich (1979), Sire The Official Secrets Act (1980), Sire Famous Last Words (1982), Sire High Life Music EP (1983), Swahili/Albion Life Class (2003), Yup! Pop Muzik – The Remix Album (2010), Union Square Emotional DNA (2017), self-released The FAQs of Life (2025), BMG The Official Secrets Act – Amplified (2026), BMG (Under License) The Official Secrets Act – Classified (2026), BMG (Under License)

Collaborations Left Handed Dream (1981), Epic – Ryuichi Sakamoto featuring Robin Scott The Arrangement (1982), Alfa – Ryuichi Sakamoto featuring Robin Scott Jive Shikisha! † (1998) Recorded in 1984 – Robin Scott and Shikisha