M (band)

British new wave and synth-pop group

Not to be confused with -M-.

Origin| London, England
Genres|

* New wave
* synth-pop

Years active| 1978–present
Labels|

* Stiff
* MCA
* Sire/Warner Bros.
* Yup!

Members| Robin Scott

M are an English new wave and synth-pop music project that formed in 1978 in London, England by Robin Scott.[1] M is most known for the 1979 hit "Pop Muzik", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in May 1979, and number one in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on 3 November 1979.[1] Musicians who contributed to M at one time or another included Wally Badarou, Mark King, Phil Gould and Gary Barnacle of Level 42.[1]

## Band history

[edit]

### The *M* Project

[edit]

Robin Scott first used the pseudonym M in 1978, when he released the single "Moderne Man".[2] His next single, "Pop Muzik", featured Scott's brother Julian on bass, his wife Brigit Novik on backing vocals, and Wally Badarou on keyboards.[2] The album New York–London–Paris–Munich was released in 1979.[2]

M had three other singles that achieved a chart entry in the UK, "Moonlight and Muzak" (No. 33 in December 1979), "That's the Way the Money Goes" (No. 45 in March 1980) and "Official Secrets" (No. 64 in November 1980).[3] M have released five studio albums throughout their career so far: New York • London • Paris • Munich in 1979, The Official Secrets Act in 1980, and Famous Last Words, mostly recorded in 1982,[1] but wasn't released in the UK until 2000.[4][5] A fourth album, Robin Scott with Shikisha, was recorded in 1984 but wasn't released until 1998.

M's first single "Moderne Man" was later re-recorded and remixed with "Satisfy Your Lust", the B-side of "That's the Way the Money Goes", for inclusion as a medley on M's album New York • London • Paris • Munich. The original single releases appeared on the 1997 CD re-release. A remixed version of "Pop Muzik" was played before each concert of U2's PopMart Tour.[citation needed]

On 23 June 2023, Scott released "Break the Silence", the first new single by M in 43 years.[6][7]

But it took over a year for that single's parent album, M's fifth, to be released. "The FAQs of Life" arrived as a Streaming/Download album release on July 10th 2025.

## Band members

[edit]

### Founding member

[edit]

* Robin Scott – vocals, guitar, synthesizer, piano, keyboards

### Session contributors and credits

[edit]

* Brigit Novik Vinchon – vocals (1978–1982)
* Wally Badarou – keyboards, synthesizers, sequencer (1978–1984)
* Julian Scott – bass (1978–1982)
* Philip Gould – drums, percussion (1978–1980)
* Gary Barnacle – saxophone, flute (1978–1982)
* David Bowie – handclaps (1978)
* David Vorhaus – synthesizer (1980)
* Mark King – guitar, drums, bass (1980–1982)
* Paddy Keenan – uilleann pipes (1980)
* Marlisse & Steve – backing vocals (1982)
* Mary Bird – backing vocals (1982)
* Andy Gill – guitar (1982)
* Gordon Huntley – guitar (1982)
* Jamie West – guitar (1982)
* Nick Plytas – organ, moog bass, piano, backing vocals (1982)
* Barry Adamson – bass (1982)
* Tony Levin – bass (1982)
* Andy Anderson – drums (1982)
* Sergio Castillo – drums (1982)
* Yukihiro Takahashi – drums (1982)
* John Lewis – synthesizer, sequencer (1982)
* Thomas Dolby – synthesizer, sequencer (1982)
* Sammy Smile – bass (1984)
* Columbo Lamu – brass (1984)
* Tabu Frantal – guitar (1984)
* Mose Fan Fan – guitar (1984)
* Shikisha – vocals (1984)
* Betty Boo Hlela
* Doreen Webster
* Julia Muntu Mathunjwa

## Discography

[edit]

### Albums

[edit]

#### Studio albums

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions

|
|

AUS
[8] | US
[9]
New York–London–Paris–Munich | 1979  | 97 | 79
The Official Secrets Act | 1980  | — | —
Famous Last Words*  | 1982  | — | —
Jive Shikisha!†  | 1984  | — | —
The FAQs of Life | 2025  | — | —
| "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

* Recorded in 1982. Released in UK 1998.

† Recorded in 1984 – not released until 1998 and credited to Robin Scott & Shikisha.[10]

#### Compilation albums

[edit]

* Pop Muzik – The Very Best of M (1996, Music Collection International)
* Pop Muzik (1997, Collectables Records) Reissue of the US version of New York–London–Paris–Munich.
* 'M' The History – Pop Muzik The 25th Anniversary (2004, Union Square Music)
* Pop Muzik – 30th Anniversary Remixes (2009, Echo Beach) Remix album featuring 13 remixes of "Pop Muzik".

### Singles

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Certifications

|
|
|

[3] | AUS
[8] | US Hot 100
[11] | US Dance
[12]
"Moderne Man"  | 1978  | — | — | — | —  |
"Pop Muzik"  | 1979  | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4  |

* BPI: Silver[13]

"Moonlight and Muzak"  | 33 | 37 | — | —  |
"That's the Way the Money Goes"  | 1980  | 45 | — | — | —  |
"Official Secrets"  | 64 | — | — | —  |
"Keep It to Yourself"  | 1981  | — | — | — | —  |
"Danube"  | 1982  | — | — | — | —  |
"Eureka"‡  | 1983  | — | — | — | —  |
"Crazy Zulu"‡  | 1984  | — | — | — | —  |
"Pop Muzik" (remix)  | 1989  | 15 | — | — | —  |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

‡ – billed as Robin Scott

## See also

[edit]

* Music history
* Pop music

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 319\. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
2. ^ a b c Huey, Steve. "Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
3. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 335\. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
4. ^ Famous Last Words. Discogs. November 2, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
5. ^ Famous Last Words. AllMusic. January 28, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
6. ^ "Did it inspire Bowie's Let's Dance? How M made crossover classic Pop Muzik". The Guardian. 5 June 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
7. ^ "Robin Scott M". bio.to.
8. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 183\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. ^ "M - Billboard 200 Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019.
10. ^ "Robin Scott - Album Discography". AllMusic.
11. ^ "M - Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019.
12. ^ "M - Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
13. ^ "M - Pop Muzik". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* M discography at Discogs

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

Artists|

* MusicBrainz