[Cover photo credit to Fifty Foot Woman]

Barry Adamson has shared “Babs Johnson is Divine,” the latest track from his forthcoming album, SCALA!!!. The new album, which scores the documentary about London’s notorious rep cinema, is set for release via Mute on limited edition “banned blood” red vinyl, CD and digitally on January 16, 2026.

“Babs Johnson is Divine” pays tribute to one of the late-night cinema’s most beloved actors, Divine: Babs Johnson being the performance artist’s character in Pink Flamingos (1972), directed by John Waters.

Adamson’s music for SCALA!!! Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World’s Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits (Jane Giles, Ali Catterall, 2023), channels the story of the Scala cinema in London which ran from 1973-1993.

During that time, the cinema hosted double-feature screenings, all-nighters, occasional live performances, and frequent showcases for auteurs such as John Waters, Russ Meyer, Derek Jarman and David Lynch. It became hugely influential to generations of artists and audiences.

The documentary features interviews with regulars, staff and artists such as John Waters, Peter Strickland, Mark Moore, Ben Wheatley and Barry Adamson, who talks about the cinema’s impact on his own creative vision.

Adamson played in various bands, but became a solo artist came after a three-year stint with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and with the release of his first solo album, Moss Side Story. Adamson has worked with intriguing directors including Derek Jarman (The Last of England, 1987), David Lynch (The Lost Highway, 1997), Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers, 1994) and Danny Boyle (The Beach, 2000).

Having released ten studio albums, Adamson’s collaborations in recent years cover a variety of art forms, including scoring an Olivier Award winning ballet performance by Sylvie Guillem, and Ballet Boyz. His most recent studio album Cut To Black was released in 2024.