|
|
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | '''Tom Robinson''' (born [[1950]] [[June 1]], in [[Cambridge]] [[United Kingdom|UK]]) is an [[England|English]] [[songwriter]] and [[broadcaster]] probably best-known for the [[United Kingdom|UK]] [[chart-topper|hit]] [[song]]s "2-4-6-8 Motorway" (1977), "(Sing If You're) Glad To Be Gay" (1978) and "War Baby" (1983). Robinson attended a [[Quaker]] school ([[Friends School Saffron Walden]]) between 1961 and 1967.
| + | nn |
| − | | + | |
| − | ==Career==
| + | |
| − | Robinson was the founding member of the [[Tom Robinson Band]] (TRB), an overtly [[politics|political]] [[band (music)|band]] with several classic hits in the [[1970s]], such as "2-4-6-8 Motorway",[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMy2bmSAIeA] "Power in the Darkness", "Up against the wall"[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YSA0Ncaljo]and "Don't take no for an answer"[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC9b97cL-9Q]
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | He was an outspoken advocate of the gay movement in the [[1970s]] and perhaps his best known song is "Glad to be Gay"[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHG2LJGfEdw], originally written for a [[Gay Pride|Pride]] [[rally]] in [[London]] in 1976, and which reached No.18 in the [[UK Singles Chart]] as part of TRB's "Don't Take No For An Answer" [[Gramophone record|EP]].
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In the [[1980s]] he fronted and bankrolled [[Sector 27]], a less political [[rock band]] which released one [[album]] - produced by [[Steve Lillywhite]] and left Robinson virtually [[bankruptcy|bankrupt]]. He fled to [[Hamburg]] to escape his creditors where he penned his 1983 hit "War Baby" and released his first [[solo (music)|solo]] [[album]] ''North By Northwest''. His return to the UK led to late-night performances at the [[Edinburgh Fringe]], some of which later surfaced on the [[live album]] ''Midnight at the Fringe''. With his various bands and as a solo [[musician|artist]], he has released a dozen [[recording studio|studio]] albums plus a variety of [[single (music)|singles]] [[compilation album]]s, live [[Compact disc|CDs]] and [[limited edition]], [[fanclub]] only [[Bootleg recording|bootleg]]s known as the Castaway Club series.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Since the late 1980s he has increasingly worked as a broadcaster and [[Disc jockey|DJ]] on [[BBC Radio]]. He has presented programmes such as ''[[Home Truths]]'', ''Pick Of The Week'' and ''[[The Locker Room]]'' - a long running series about men and masculinity - on [[BBC Radio 4]], and was awarded a Sony Academy Award in 1997 for "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" a [[radio documentary]] on gay music produced by Matthew Linfoot. He has also worked on [[BBC Radio 1|Radios 1]], [[BBC Radio 2|2]], [[BBC Radio 3|3]], [[BBC Radio 5 Live|5 Live]] and [[BBC 6 Music]] - where he currently presents his own new music show with sessions and live music guests on Monday and Tuesday nights.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | He has become an advocate for a wider sexuality than his earlier portrayal as only a [[homosexual]] campaigner allowed - [[marriage|marrying]] a woman and starting a family. The family newspapers found this exceptionally amusing, with headlines such as "BRITAIN'S NO 1 GAY IN LOVE WITH GIRL BIKER" (''[[The People|The Sunday People]]'') and "GLAD TO BE DAD" (''[[The Sun (newspaper)|The Sun]]''). Robinson maintains that he suffered abuse from homosexual activists as a result. His last studio album ''Having It Both Ways'' (1996) included a short hidden track at the end of the record, sung [[a cappella]] to the tune of his earlier hit "Glad To be Gay", in which he sings about having spent twenty one years fighting for gay liberation, ending with the line "I'm not gonna wear... a 'straight' jacket for you".
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Robinson rarely performs live nowadays, apart from two annual free concerts, known as Castaway Parties, for members of his mailing list. These take place in [[South London]] and [[Belgium]] every January. In the Belgian Castaway shows, he introduces many songs in [[Dutch language|Flemish]]. The Castaway Parties invariably feature a wide variety of established and unknown artists and groups who have included [[Show Of Hands]], Philip Jeays, Jan Allain, [[Jakko Jakszyk]], [[Stoney (musician)|Stoney]], [[Roddy Frame]], The Bewley Brothers and [[Paleday]] alongside personal friends such as [[Lee Griffiths]] and [[T. V. Smith]].
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | He is also an enthusiastic proponent of [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] computers, which he has used extensively since the mid [[1980s]] and in 1999/2000 was involved in celebrity seminar work for Apple to promote their home video editing [[software]] [[iMovie]].
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | His [[sibling|brother]] is the [[television director]] and [[Television producer|producer]], [[Matthew Robinson]].
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | ==Discography==
| + | |
| − | ===Singles===
| + | |
| − | * "The Whitby Two-Step" (1975)
| + | |
| − | * "2-4-6-8 Motorway" (1977)
| + | |
| − | * "Don't Take No For An Answer" EP (1978)
| + | |
| − | * "Up Against The Wall" (1978)
| + | |
| − | * "Bully For You" (1979)
| + | |
| − | * "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (1979)
| + | |
| − | * "Not Ready" (1980)
| + | |
| − | * "Invitation" (1980)
| + | |
| − | * "Total Recall" (1981)
| + | |
| − | * "Now Martin's Gone" (1982)
| + | |
| − | * "War Baby" (1983)
| + | |
| − | * "Listen to the Radio (Atmospherics)" (1983)
| + | |
| − | * "Back in the Old Country" (1984)
| + | |
| − | * "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (1984 - [[Steely Dan]] [[cover version|cover]])
| + | |
| − | * "Prison" (1985)
| + | |
| − | * "Nothing Like the Real Thing" (1986)
| + | |
| − | * "Still Loving You" (1986)
| + | |
| − | * "Feel So Good" (1987)
| + | |
| − | * "Spain" (1987)
| + | |
| − | * "Hard Cases" (1988)
| + | |
| − | * "Blood Brother" (1990)
| + | |
| − | * "Living In A Boom Time" (1992)
| + | |
| − | * "Hard" (1994)
| + | |
| − | * "Connecticut" (1996)
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | ===Albums===
| + | |
| − | * ''Cafe Society'' (1975)
| + | |
| − | * ''Power In The Darkness'' (1978)
| + | |
| − | * ''TRB Two'' (1979) (produced by [[Todd Rundgren]])
| + | |
| − | * ''Sector 27'' (1980)
| + | |
| − | * ''Tom Robinson Band'' (1981)
| + | |
| − | * ''North By Northwest'' (1982)
| + | |
| − | * ''Cabaret '79: Glad To Be Gay'' (1982)
| + | |
| − | * ''Hope and Glory'' (1984, later reissued as ''War Baby: Hope and Glory'')
| + | |
| − | * ''Still Loving You'' (1986)
| + | |
| − | * ''The Collection'' (1987)
| + | |
| − | * ''Last Tango: Midnight At The Fringe'' (1988)
| + | |
| − | * ''We Never Had It So Good'' (1990, with [[Jakko Jakszyk]])
| + | |
| − | * ''Winter of '89'' (1992, bootlegged as ''Motorway: Live'')
| + | |
| − | * ''Living In A Boom Time'' (1992)
| + | |
| − | * ''Love Over Rage'' (1994)
| + | |
| − | * ''Having It Both Ways'' (1996)
| + | |
| − | * ''The Undiscovered Tom Robinson'' (1998)
| + | |
| − | * ''Home From Home'' (1999)
| + | |
| − | * ''Smelling Dogs'' (2001, spoken word album)
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | ==See also==
| + | |
| − | *[[Tom Robinson Band]]
| + | |
| − | *[[BBC 6 Music]]
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | ==External links==
| + | |
| − | *[http://www.tomrobinson.com Tom Robinson's Official Webpage]
| + | |
| − | *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/tom_robinson/ BBC 6 Music's ''Evening Sequence'' webpage]
| + | |
| − | *[http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/tom_robinson/ Tom's blog on the Guardian]
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | {{lgbt|Tom Robinson}}
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | [[Category:Living people]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:BBC 6 Music DJs]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:Bisexual musicians]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:English musicians]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:British radio personalities]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:British radio DJs]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:Punk rock musicians]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:New Wave musicians]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:English socialists]]
| + | |
| − | [[Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom]]
| + | |
