Scott Walker was born Noel Scott Engel, in Ohio in 1943, his parents divorcing when he was just five years old. Later he briefly studied art at college in California before playing bass as a session musician, before becoming a fan of then subsequently joining the Walker Brothers. At the age of just 22, and by now Scott Walker, the band had their first UK No 1 with Make It Easy On Yourself it was followed by the classic hit The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore).
From teen idol with the Walker Brothers to a reclusive baroque singer-songwriter steeped in European culture, following the commercial failure of his masterpieces Scott 3 and Scott 4 in 1969, Walker descended into depression and creative funk in the 1970s. He’s re-emerged during last 20 years, exploring his “nightmarish imagination,” releasing a series of albums, Tilt (1995), The Drift (2006) and Bish Bosch (2012) that would mark him as one of the most challenging, surreal and avant-garde musical artists today. Scott Walker is one of the most mythologised and elusive figures in popular music and the story of Scott Walker is entertaining, provoking and fascinating. As Julian Cope once said Scott Walker is truly ‘a Godlike Genius.’
On the 19th of August 2016, legendary label 4AD will release the soundtrack of Brady Corbet‘s Childhood Of A Leader, as scored by the equally legendary Scott Walker. Given this and our admiration for him, we thought Scott Walker’s extraordinary often misunderstood, enigmatic talent deserved an entire week’s dedication to his life and works on GIITTV. So, this week we will delve into his back catalogue, our favourite albums and his challenging latter work.
To celebrate we are also compiling a Scott Walker & Walker Brothers covers compilation similar to the one we curated in 2013 for David Bowie if you have a track idea or cover you would like to be considered email [email protected]
The deadline for finished covers is October 1st.
