Scroobius Pip

David Peter Meads (born 3 August 1981), known professionally as Scroobius Pip, is an English actor and podcaster as well as a former spoken word poet and hip hop recording artist from Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. He first gained prominence as one half of hip hop duo Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip sparked by their debut single "Thou Shalt Always Kill".

He manages his own record label, Speech Development Records. He hosted the award-winning weekly radio show The Beatdown on XFM in the late 2000s and currently hosts the Distraction Pieces Podcast. In August 2016, he released a book entitled Distraction Pieces.

He appears as French Bill, an assistant to Atticus, in the eight-part historical fiction series Taboo (2017) on BBC One and FX.

Career Music Early career As a teenager, Scroobius Pip was inspired by punk music to buy a guitar and form various bands with his friends. His musical tastes quickly grew to encompass genres including hip hop and jazz and he became interested in spoken word artists Gil Scott-Heron, Sage Francis and Saul Williams. This encouraged him to go solo; the idea of having no one to rely on or blame other than himself was an appealing challenge.

He adopted his stage name from Edward Lear's poem "The Scroobious Pip". He later explained: "I loved the story. It's about a creature that doesn't know what it is ...By the end [of the poem] he realises that he is simply The Scroobious Pip. He doesn't fit into any one category and can just be his own creature." In 2002 whilst working in an HMV store he made the decision to start saving his writing.

When he had written a full spoken word set and saved enough money to live for a year without income, he quit his job and toured the country in a 1987 Toyota Space Cruiser. Seeking out gig listings for each new town he visited, he turned up and performed his set to the fans queuing outside the venues, with mixed results. After a few months crossing the country, Scroobius Pip moved back home and decided to focus on London and Essex, attending four or five spoken word shows, open mic nights or poetry slams each week – anywhere that would let him perform. Various producers expressed a desire to work with him, but it was the beats of former HMV colleague Dan le Sac that captured his attention and led to the formation of Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip.

Despite growing up in the same Essex town Stanford-le-Hope, the duo's paths barely crossed until they shared a Christmas season working at the Lakeside branch of HMV. Dan Le Sac went on to book Scroobius Pip to play a gig he was promoting at the Fez Club (now Sakura) in Reading and around this time began remixing Scroobius Pip's debut solo album No Commercial Breaks. Pip set up a MySpace page with the solitary track, and the response was very favourable. The pair borrowed £200 to make the music video.

Shunning major label offers, Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip signed to the independent Sunday Best Recordings for their UK releases and Strange Famous Records for the United States. Dan le Sac Vs Scroopius Pip have released three albums to date: Angles (2008), The Logic of Chance (2010) and Repent Replenish Repeat (2013). Since March 2007 they have undertaken multiple UK, US and European tours and have appeared at numerous festivals including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Bestival, Coachella, Lowlands, Pukkelpop and Fuji Rock Festival.

2011: Distraction Pieces Distraction Pieces is the second solo album by Scroobius Pip released in the UK on his own Speech Development Records and in the US on Strange Famous Records. Released on 19 September 2011, the album entered and peaked at No. 35 on the UK albums chart. Produced by Yila and Worgie, the record sees Scroobius Pip's lyrical dexterity and acclaimed blend of rap meets spoken-word play out across a collision of punk, rock and hip hop production.

Collaborators include Travis Barker of Blink-182, Danny Lohner aka Renholder of Nine Inch Nails, Sage Francis, XL Records boss Richard Russell, P.O.S, Zane Lowe, Aupheus, B. Dolan, Steve Mason of The Beta Band and Natasha Fox, who provides the vocals for "Feel It", a cover of Scroobius Pip's favourite Kate Bush song.

Other releases 2010: Poetry in (e) Motion Poetry in (e) Motion is a collection of Scroobius Pip's poems illustrated by artists recruited via his MySpace page. The book was published in hardback on 26 March 2010 by Titan Books.

In 2007, Scroobius Pip put a shortlist of his poems up on MySpace and asked artists and illustrators to submit their interpretations. The only rule was that the poem had to be included in the artwork, in full and unabridged. Within the first few days he had received a small but passionate response. This number grew over the following year, resulting in hundreds of submissions from all over the world.

DVD extras include: 'Talking with Tim and Pip' – comedian Tim Key interviews Scroobius Pip about his Fringe experience 'One Drink' – a chat over a pint with Kae Tempest, Musa Okwonga, Polarbear, and Scroobius Pip Five music videos by Scroobius Pip: 'Astronaut', 'Introdiction', 'Let em Come', 'The Struggle', 'Soldier Boy Kill Em' Two spoken word videos by Scroobius Pip: 'Five Minutes', 'The Astounding Earnest Brace' Two music videos by Speech Development artist Jackamo Brown: 'When She Comes', 'Prayer For Slow Death' Three music videos by Speech Development artist warrenpeace: 'Indoor Voice', 'Hungry', 'FRNKLY STVN'

Future plans Scroobius Pip stated in 2019 that he has no plans to release new music.

Speech Development Records Speech Development Records is the independent label founded and run by Scroobius Pip. On the label's website, Pip describes its 'sloppy’ formation: “In 2006 I had quit my job in HMV and had 1,000 copies of my debut album No Commercial Breaks pressed. The label name I put on them was 'Speech Development Records'. They had no barcodes. I made up a catalogue number... but it wasn't registered anywhere.” This changed for the 2011 release of his second solo album Distraction Pieces, resulting in the label's official formation.

He has since released a slow and steady stream of records by other artists, an eclectic mix of genres, each defined by his admiration for their work. These include:

The first episode of The Beatdown was broadcast on 27 April 2013 from midnight to 1am with the following track list:

The Beatdown was broadcast every Saturday night 12am1am on XFM, until August 2014.

Podcast In 2014, Scroobius Pip started a weekly podcast series called The Distraction Pieces Podcast. In each episode, he has held an in-depth interview with a range of comedians, actors, musicians and DJs. In the series so far he has interviewed, among others, Aisling Bea, Doc Brown, Goldie, Russell Brand, Josie Long, John Osborne, Paddy Considine, Frank Turner, Stewart Lee, Sara Pascoe, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Zane Lowe, Eddie Izzard, Kathy Burke, Richard Herring, Rufus Hound, Stephen Graham, Robin Ince, Wim Hof, James McAvoy, John Cooper-Clarke, Professor Green and Killer Mike.

Film In 2024, Scroobius Pip launched a kickstarter for his directorial debut, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Discography Albums Year Album UK UK Indie Label Notes 2006 No Commercial Breaks – – self-released 1,000 copies 2011 Distraction Pieces No. 35 – UK: Speech DevelopmentUS: Strange Famous Records

Singles

Year Single UK Label Notes 2008 Astronaut – Sunday Best Recordings YILA ft Scroobius Pip 2009 Love Sic – Concord Records Christian Scott Vs Scroobius Pip 2011 Introdiction – Speech Development Records – 2011 Let Em Come (feat. Sage Francis & P.O.S) – Speech Development Records – 2011 The Struggle – Speech Development Records – 2011 Soldier Boy (Kill Em) (feat. B. Dolan) – Speech Development Records –

Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes 2015 The Bastard Executioner Scribe Master / Aiden Under Episodes 6-8 / 10 2017 Taboo French Bill Recurring cast 2018 Walk Like a Panther Terry 2018 Kill Ben Lyk Hipster Ben Lyk 2020 Out of Her Mind Robert Episode 4 - Pop! 2020 The Letter for the King Grey Rider 2021 Debris Anson Ash Main cast 2021 Venom: Let There Be Carnage Siegfried 2024 The Acolyte Scavenger 2024 House of the Dragon Herald 2026 Young Sherlock Fiddle Player Episode 1