Provision is the third studio album by the British pop band Scritti Politti, released in the UK on 6 June 1988 by Virgin Records.

[5] Three singles were taken from the album, but only "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry for Loverboy)" reached the UK Top 40, peaking at No.

The initial drum tracks were all recorded with the Synclavier and at that point the Synclav's sequencer was extremely primitive.

I went straight back to hospital and from there to live the life of a hermit in the Welsh countryside for a good few years.

"[8]After Provision, Gartside would not release another Scritti Politti album for eleven years (1999's Anomie & Bonhomie).

Smash Hits magazine gave the album 6.5 out of 10, and stated "The songs on Provision still twinkle one's toes like nobody's business, especially "First Boy In This Town" and "Bam Salute".

[4] In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it two out of five stars, saying: "To be certain, it's a pleasant listen, and several tracks are pretty entertaining, but the music is so lightweight and Green Gartside's voice is so thin that the album virtually disappears into thin air, leaving behind no impression.

His crisp, jabbing patches have a poke-in-the-ribs feel that hustles Scritti songs along, and his intricate sequences have established him as one of the most inventive architects on the current dance-pop scene".

Gamson himself was pleased with Provision at the time of its release, saying it "worked much better because Green and I developed our collaboration...I think things are much better placed on the new album...first off, it isn't so busy".

In later years he acknowledged the negative experience of making the album: "It was the most digital sounding analogue record ever made.

Commenting on the relationships within the band at that time, he said "by that point we hated each other's guts and didn't talk to each other for ten years".