GREEN

-- Smash Hits, March 29-April 11, 1984

That's what he calls himself. He's the singer, the writer -- in fact, the only remaining member -- of a group called Scritti Politti. And his aim's "to make a record people like the sound of". Seems to have worked with Peter Martin.

I'm not really sure where I fit in," explains Green, slowly chewing on his gum. "I'm certainly not part of this horribly pompous movement that have given up dallying with black music and have gone back to their old-fashioned rock."

He won't say exactly who but I can only assume he must be talking about people like Duran Duran and Simple Minds. Whatever, it's no wonder he sounds confused.

Six years ago Green started singing in a punk band called Scritti Politti. In time they transformed into purveyors of sumptuous yet "scrappy" pop, the results of which can be found on their one and only LP to date, "Songs To Remember" (which came out in the summer of '81). Now he's out on his own, still using the name Scritti Politti -- which incidentally means nothing -- and hanging out with the creme de la creme of the world's disco musicians in New York. A real rags-to-riches tale? Well, almost.

He's 27 years old, a self-assured and rather intellectual type who peppers his speech with long words and will talk about even the simplest thing as if it were part of some complicated University thesis. In fact he says he's even scribbled down all his musical experiences in the form of a novel about The Mechanics Of Pop but has since, apparently, "lost the manuscript".

So you probably won't be surprised to find that his new single, currently snaking up the charts, is called "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)". You can't help but wonder if all these strange names -- "Wood Beez", Scritti Politti, even Green come to that -- along his subtle image (Marilyn-like hair and earrings, a dash of Bryan Ferry's exquisite dress sense) might seem a bit complicated to potential customers.

"Rubbish!" he exclaims. "I don't understand what's complicated about it all. It's just a noise. It's just a name. Little kids don't freak out when China Crisis ponder the various possible meanings of their name. It's just arrant nonsense. And if you want a complicated image take Boy George, or the song 'Karma Chameleon', if it comes to that. His image, his relationship to his music, his sexuality, style and all the resonances of that -- they're very complex. I just don't see why any of this should negate the possibility of me being very popular. The only conditions are that you make a record people like the sound of, and it's as simple as that."

And that's just what he's done. But unlike other potential mega-stars -- like, say, Madonna -- he hasn't earnt his reputation on an all-round ability to perform in public -- singing, dancing, acting and all that lot. But, then again, he's trying to get away from this image people seem to have of him as this sort of invisible pop singer who spends every waking hour noodling about with tapes in a studio. For Green even making the video for "Wood Beez" (his first) was a bold move into the limelight.

"Every time I do an interview, I come across as though I'm sitting on the fence deliberating the whys and wherefores of pop, but really I'm not. I want to be a part of it."

And he's certainly got the voice -- as sweet and palatable as a Milky Bar -- and he even feels he's got "a great deal in common with Boy George and also, if I'm feeling particularly generous, with Morrissey of The Smiths".

All in all I think it would be quite a safe proposition to say Green is something rather special. He tends to disagree.

"At school I was mystified by music because I thought the people who made it must be divine talents -- but it's patently not the case. I mean it shouldn't be forgotten, I'm the great pretender. I'm nothing special." Nevertheless I'm sure some would disagree -- especially Virgin who signed him for an undisclosed amount (which usually means Rather A Lot).

But enough of this. It's about time we discovered a bit about the background of this man who calls himself Green Strohmeyer-Gartside (his surname's real, believe it or not). He was brought up in South Wales, moving house about every nine month which was possibly the reason for his "going through a bad patch with the parents. Everybody goes through a bad patch but mine was particularly extended -- from the age of 8 to 20! He became "politicised" at school, left as a protest and changed his name to Green -- "Unless you're particularly pleased with your name, I think you're rather foolish not to change it." He worked in a steel mine ("a year of hell"), left to study art at Leeds Poly (the same place as Marc Almond), saw the Sex Pistols, was immediately converted to punk, left Leeds Poly and became a musician. And since then the quality of his music seems to have changed pretty drastically. His first single cost £300 to record, the "Songs to Remember" LP -- which seemed quite sophisticated at the time -- he now calls "sloppy", so he headed for the precise technical sound offered by some of the New York studios.