Crazy to exist
The confounding young Scotland: why short-lived Postcard misfits Josef K continue to fascinate
ALANDIMMICK
Kafkaesque:JosefK’s Malcolm Ross and Paul Haig on stage in Glasgow, May 21, 1981
WHEN Josef K were promoting a retrospective compilation in 1987, they were asked about the title. Why was it called Young And Stupid? “Because we were,” they replied. Since then, the Edinburgh band’s mystique has only grown, and their slim catalogue has been endlessly reappraised. The fact that Josef K’s music was released on Postcard Records has been a help and a hindrance. The group were outshone by the more flamboyant Orange Juice, and the label’s sock-drawer Svengali Alan Horne sometimes gave the impression he had signed them by mistake.