A seminal Edinburgh post-punk group who disbanded more than 40 years ago have reformed with one of the country's best-known actors on vocals.
Scars, who, along with the likes of Josef K and the Fire Engines, were one of the hottest bands to emerge out of the city's vibrant post-punk scene of the late 1970s, have announced they will play two shows - including one in Edinburgh, with actor Tam Dean Burn.
It marks an exciting return for the cult group, who vanished in 1982 after having released their one and only album, Author! Author!, to rave reviews from the British music press the previous year.
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Musically-talented siblings Paul and John Mackie formed the band while still in their teens in early 1977, later recruiting Calumn Mackay on drums, with Robert King joining as frontman.
While the original line-up of Scars briefly reunited in 2010 for a sell-out show at the HMV Picturehouse in Edinburgh, there had been no plans for any future encore, but now the band is back with Outlander and River City actor Tam Dean Burn taking the place of Robert King.
The new-look iteration of the group came about after the Mackie brothers took to the stage with Tam Dean Burn and Teenage Fanclub drummer Stuart Kidd at the Hungry Beat book launch at La Belle Angele in November 2022, where they played two Scars classics: Horrorshow and Adult/ery.
Released last September, Hungry Beat, co-authored by Douglas MacIntyre and Grant McPhee, charts the story of Scottish independent pop in the late '70s through to the mid-1980s, with alternative bands such as the Scars featured heavily.
Now, much to the delight of a whole generation of Edinburgh punks, the Scars, along with Burn, have committed to two standalone shows; one with Port Sulphur at Glasgow's C.C.A. on Saturday, May 6, and the other at the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh on Saturday, June 17.
Scars guitarist and co-founder Paul Mackie told Edinburgh Live the band will be billed as 'The Scars feat. Tam Dean Burn' to differentiate them from their Author! Author! incarnation.
As well as performing old favourites at the shows in Edinburgh and Glasgow, there's also the prospect of the reimagined Scars releasing brand new material, while the addition of Tam promises to take them into uncharted territory.
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Paul said: "When we did the Hungry Beat concert with Tam, we decided that it worked so well that we could imagine a new branch, a new direction for the Scars.
"We've started rehearsing again and it just sounds incredible. We're taking it right back to basics and starting off again with our glam rock roots.
"We're also moving into this new direction, which is more theatrical, a bit spacey, a bit funky, but obviously still us, so that it's an absolute powerhouse of a sound.
"Tam's been in our orbit since the very, very beginning. He brings this whole theatrical thing and we're now also interested in doing a bit of spoken word stuff, which we've also had in the past with songs like Your Attention Please.
"It's that strand that Tam's really tapping into and he puts forward a very larger-than-life persona. All of those good things, that's what he's bringing to it."
While he's recognised far and wide for his screen roles, which include major works such as Local Hero, War Horse and Outlaw King, Tam Dean Burn is no novice when it comes to fronting bands.
The Clermiston-born actor was a founding member of and singer in The Dirty Reds, a group who would later morph into the Fire Engines. Tam left the band to concentrate on his acting career, but the lifelong punk never completely gave up on music.
Tam told us he's delighted that what was meant to be a 15-minute performance with the Mackie brothers has become two full shows, with the prospect of new recorded material to follow.
The actor, who starred in River City as gangster Thomas McCabe, said: "The Hungry Beat gig with the Mackies at La Belle Angele was just meant to be this one-time thing, but it went really well and they were both really keen to see if we could take it further. I was up for it, and Calumn [Mackay], it just sort of fitted with him as well.
"We've all rehearsed together now and it's sounding great. They're brilliant - all of them - such brilliant musicians, so it's a total joy for me."
Tickets for the Scars featuring Tam Dean Burn at Glasgow's CCA are on sale now.
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