Green Gartside (born Paul Julian Strohmeyer, 22 June 1955, Cardiff, Wales, UK),[1] is a British musician, and the frontman of the band Scritti Politti. Gartside has also worked with Miles Davis, Chaka Khan, Eurythmics, Elvis Costello, Shabba Ranks, Mos Def and Kylie Minogue among others. Gartside's father died whilst he was a child, after which his widowed mother married a solicitor from Newport, Wales named Gordon Gartside, from whom Green adopted his new last name. He later became inspired to adopt the stage name "Green" after a train journey he took back to Wales, in which he looked out of the window and could only see the natural greenery of the area. Green attended Croesyceiliog Grammar School in Cwmbran (now known as Croesyceiliog School) and later studied foundation art at what is now known as the Newport School of Art, Media and Design. In the mid-1970s, Gartside moved to Leeds to study art at Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Metropolitan University). It was there that he formed the post-punk band Scritti Politti in 1977, with school friend Nial Jinks and university friend Tom Morley. After Gartside and Morley had left Leeds Polytechnic, they moved to London, later securing a recording deal with Rough Trade Records who released the first Scritti Politti album Songs to Remember in 1982. However, subsequent Scritti Politti albums featured Gartside with different personnel, with Gartside being the only constant member of the group.
