Breakthrough
While still in Paris he recorded early versions of "Moderne Man" and "Satisfy Your Lust", tracks which would ultimately appear on the first album. With a group of session musicians he called 'M', he also produced and recorded "Pop Muzik", which was written as his résumé of twenty five years of pop music and of being in the music industry since 1954.
Among the other musicians who played on the track were his brother Julian Scott (on bass), then-unknown keyboardist Wally Badarou, Canadian programmer John Lewis (who died of AIDS in 1982) and backing vocalist Brigit Novik. When it was released in the UK in early 1979, it became a hit, reaching No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 in the US, after which MCA Records, the label which had released the single, requested he record an accompanying album.
New York • London • Paris • Munich was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, at Queen's Mountain Studio, and using their regular engineer, David Richards as well as Julian Scott, Wally Badarou (who would later work with Stevie Winwood, among others) and Brigit Novik. Additional musicians on the LP included drummer Phil Gould (later of Level 42), Gary Barnacle on saxophone and flute, and (at the time) local Montreux resident David Bowie, who did occasional handclaps.
Released in the UK at the end of 1979, the LP was also a sizeable hit in the U.S., where it was released on Sire Records. In contrast to "Pop Muzik", another track titled "Moonlight and Muzak" was released in late 1979 as the third single from the album, peaking at No. 33 in the UK. MCA executives were unhappy with this change of direction, but with a hit behind him, Scott felt it was relevant to be heard at this point. The track was written as a result of his experiences in the U.S. where he came into contact with the music company called the Muzak Organisation.
He described it as "a very weird experience. There were all these white collar workers conscientiously putting together music with the precision of chemists. Way before Brian Eno was doing it, these guys were doing it for real. They were pre-occupied with the pace of workers in factories, and how to maximise their efficiency."
The song was a UK Top 40 hit, and then "That's the Way the Money Goes" became another charting hit inside of a year. A 45-minute film incorporating videos and concert performances to date came as a result of a quick globe-trotting world tour in the wake of the hit.
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