# Scott Lavene British singer-songwriter from Essex (Romford). A wry, storytelling songwriter in a very English tradition — reviewers reach for Ian Dury (fairground bark, lyrical smarts), Elvis Costello (wordplay), Madness (deadpan pop), Lou Reed, Talking Heads, Chas and Dave, and Tom Waits as reference points. Songs read like short stories set to music: character sketches, wit, and melancholy in roughly equal measure. ## Background Started singing at 16, initially covering other people's songs before writing his own. Describes himself as an obsessive record collector and reader from a young age; left Romford at one point to live in a tent in France before eventually settling in Canterbury. ## Career Released his first material under the name Big Top Heartbreak (*Deadbeat Ballads*, 2016) before recording under his own name. *Broke* (2019) was his debut album as Scott Lavene, followed by *Milk City Sweethearts* (2021), *Disneyland in Dagenham*, and more recently *Cars, Buses, Bedsits and Shops*. ## Discography - *Deadbeat Ballads* (2016, as Big Top Heartbreak) - *Broke* (2019) - *Milk City Sweethearts* (2021) - *Disneyland in Dagenham* - *Cars, Buses, Bedsits and Shops* Note: exact release years for the last two weren't confirmed in research — worth double-checking and filling in. ## Notes to self - Natural companion to [[Misc./Music/Baxter Dury|Baxter Dury]] given the shared Ian Dury/deadpan-English-storytelling lineage reviewers keep drawing. - Fill in release dates for *Disneyland in Dagenham* and *Cars, Buses, Bedsits and Shops* once confirmed. - Haven't actually listened yet — this note is skeleton-only, flesh out impressions once I have.