ESG's Come Away with ESG

A musical snapshot of the New York club scene in the 1980s through the sounds of punk pioneers ESG.

Funk rock band ESG was formed in New York’s South Bronx in the late 1970s by sisters Renee, Valerie, and Deborah Scroggins. They were one of the first bands to sign to the famed British indie label Factory Records and worked with renowned producer Martin Hannett on their early EPs. The signature guitar sound from their iconic single “UFO” is one of the most sampled in history, and musicians from Karen O to Kathleen Hanna list the group as a direct influence. So why do the Scroggins sisters appear a mere footnote in the 1980s music history?

Through interviews with founding member Renee Scroggins and cult figures from 1980s New York and North England, this book follows the sisters and their innovative beats from the New York projects to the heart of the dance floor. This book repositions ESG in their rightful place as trailblazers in the dance-punk scene and explains how their primal beats paved the way for dance music today.

Cheri Percy is a music journalist and radio host based in the UK. Her work has been featured in the Guardian, Noisey, Refinery29, and FADER. She is the host and program coordinator of The Other Woman Collective on Soho Radio.

33 1/3 is a series of short books about popular music, focusing on individual albums that influenced music history.