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  Robyn will be doing a short US tour in November, performing I Often Dream Of Trains with Terry Edwards on keyboards, horns, & bass and Captain Tim Keegan on guitar. They will be appearing in NYC at Symphony Space on November 22, which is being filmed by John Edginton for the Sundance Channel and DVD release on YepRoc. More dates will be announced in a couple months.
 
On Tour
June
27 Glastonbury Festival – LMS tent 11pm
with The Psychedelic Trams
Glastonbury
July
4 Barcelona
with Tim Keegan
 
July – Robyn solo tour, Northeast USA
9 The Iron Horse Northampton, MA
10 The Linda (WAMC Performing Arts Center) Albany, NY
11 Stephen Talkhouse Amagansett, NY
12 The Blend Ridgewood, NJ
13 John & Peter's New Hope, PA
15 & 16 The Turning Point Piermont, NY
17 World Café Live Philadelphia, PA
July – UK
  Robyn is part of the Rogues Gallery in Hal Willner's sea chanty show on these nights:
24 The Sage Newcastle
25 The Barbican London
August
13 Strade Blu festival: Ravenna, Hannah-Bi (solo) Italy
28 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Robyn will be Very Special Guest of BIg Star
London
September
12 End Of The Road Festival – solo Dorset
News for 2008

 

Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death & Insects, along with director John Edginton's film about Syd Barrett, is being screened in LA as part of the Mods and Rockers film festival.
http://www.modsandrockers.com/schedule.html#200807021930

NOW AVAILABLE!
Nick Lowe/Robyn Hitchcock Fillmore poster
VERY LIMITED SUPLY!
Order here

 

 

Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3/Nick Lowe split 45
Not available in stores, one side is RH&V3's "SickBoy" (with vocal harmonies by Chris Ballew and Nick Lowe), the other side is Nick's solo version of "Heart of the City," recorded live in the studio at WFUV, NYC.
Order here

Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians expanded reissues and boxset will be
released by YepRoc on August 19, 2008:

Luminous Groove box set (CD-YEP-2614 , LP-YEP-2614)
Fegmania! (CD-YEP-2615 )
Element Of Light (CD-YEP-2616)
Gotta Let This Hen Out (CD-YEP-2617)

Robyn was on NPR's new show, The Bryant Park Project. The video is great, a 2 camera shoot in a radio studio!

Direct link to the piece:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89551980

Video on the BPP blog:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2008/04/robyn_hitchcock_plays_at_the_b.html

Robyn was interviewed on San Francisco's KQED radio program, The California Report, as part of their California Song series.

It can be heard here:
http://www.californiareport.org/ (scroll down the page to it).

Colin Meloy of The Decemberists was guest DJ on NPR's All Songs Considered. He played "I Often Dream of Trains" as part of his set. Listen here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=37

Robyn is featured on NPR's Best Song in the World Today
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18939017

PopMatters debuts "20 Questions", a weekly feature of short, sassy questions aimed to encourage playful responses that reveal the gist of the artist. Robyn is the subject of the first one.
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/54612/robyn-hitchcock/

Robyn can be seen playing "Sounds Great Dead" with Terry Edwards, on YouTube.

Robyn, with Terry Edwards, will be performing "Sounds Great When You're Dead" on BBC 2's "Later...With Jools Holland" Friday, February 1. It will be up on the "Later" website for a week thereafter.

Robyn on the BBC
Robyn appeared on the BBC Radio 4 program "Loose Ends" on Jan 12, performing "Trams Of Old London" which can be heard here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/looseends.shtml

 
At the Fast 'n' Bulbous Beefheart night at the Knitting Factory on 9 April 2008, Robyn and Gary Lucas performed "China Pig" and "Sure 'Nuff 'n' Yes I Do."

Joey the Chinchilla with Richard Bishop & RH, Hollywood 11 April 2008

 

Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death & Insects is being released on DVD March 25th.

From writing, recording and life on the road to live performances with the Venus 3 (Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey andBill Rieflin), this original documentary also features appearances by Nick Lowe, John Paul Jones, Chris Ballew and Gillian Welch.

DVD Extras includes brand new songs and a special rooftop performance, direct from Hitchcock's London home.

 
Shadow Cat by Robyn Hitchcock

Shadow Cat
Sartorial Records in the UK is releasing "Shadow Cat" a collection of Robyn's rarities, all originals except for a cover of Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary". (details)

 

News from 2007
  During radio stations KUT's SXSW 2007 Music Festival celebration, Jeff McCord welcomed Robyn Hitchcock to Studio 1A for an interview which can be heard here: http://kut.org/items/show/7689

I Wanna Go Backwards
The first of two upcoming collections, I Wanna Go Backwards box set includes three classic albums. Hitchcock's first solo album Black Snake Diamond Role is a private rock album featuring ex-Soft Boys, a Vibrator, a Fur and other friends. I Often Dream of Trains finds Robyn at his all-acoustic zenith with a seminal collection of kaleidoscopic, stripped down folk. Eye continues in the tradition of Trains draping layered lyrical imagery over his most musically direct work to date. All the albums feature bonus tracks and enhanced liner notes: reminiscences (BSDR & WTMB), an excerpt from a novel in progress (Trains), and original poetry (Eye), plus previously unseen photos and Hitchcock cartoons. Additional bonus material includes While Thatcher Mauled Britain Part 1 & *, a two-disc comprehensive look at a labyrinth of Robyn's largely unreleased solo b-sides, outtakes and home recordings.

In addition to the exclusive box set packaging, all three albums will also be simultaneously re-released separately. Individual album versions will also feature the bonus tracks included on the box set versions as well as the enhanced liner notes. In addition to compact disc format the set will also be released in an eight-record vinyl box set version complete with original LP artwork.

Released by Yep Roc on November 13, 2007

 

Robyn on Cooking with Rockstars

Robyn interview in The Cleveland Scene

 

Robyn busking in Cambridge in 1976!

Recently discovered photos by Alan Crease. According to Robyn,
"I still have that guitar, but not those trousers."

 
 

Robyn and Jonathan Demme, New York, March 2007
(photo by Michèle Noach)

Robyn and Jon Brion, Los Angeles, April 2007
(photo by Michèle Noach)

 

Photos from the recent Games for May concert can be seen here.

New LP Release
Olé! Tarantula now available as a vinyl LP!
Deluxe pressing on 180 gram vinyl
Available here

Storefront Hitchcock and Jewels for Sophia being reissued on June 26 by
Noble Rot with liner notes Scott Schinder.

On July 2 Satorial Records in the UK is releasing Readymades which includes a song by Robyn called "Painkiller Song" recorded wth Jon Brion. The disc also includes songs by The Higsons, Butterfield 8, Gallon Drunk, Lydia Lunch, Terry Edwards and others.

Sundance
Sundance Channel has chosen Robyn as an artist for the "Spotlight" section on their website. The link below is to the page they've created for him. It has an exclusive interview with Robyn by comedian Eugene Mirman, as well as video from Robyn's performance at SXSW this year.

The documentary by John Edginton, Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death and Insects will be debuting at the SXSW film festival. It then makes its television debut on the Sundance Channel on Tuesday, March 27 at 10pm ET/PT.

Tracking Robyn's work with the Venus 3 from recording sessions at his West London home in July 2006 through live performances in December, the hour-long film also features appearances by musicians including Morris Windsor, Nick Lowe, John Paul Jones, Gillian Welch, and David Rawlings.

 

An EP by Robyn and the Venus 3 titled Sex, Food, Death and Tarantuals will be released by Yep Roc Records on March 6. Featuring an array of live and unreleased tracks, the seven song CD version will be free with purchase of Ole! Tarantula at participating independent record stores, and will also be sold separately. A nine song version of the EP (including 3 songs not available on the CD version) will be available for download.

CD EP track listing:
Ole! Tarantula [from Ole! Tarantula]
The Afterlight (Live) [previously unreleased, with The Venus 3]
Sally Was A Legend (Live)
Queen of Eyes (Live)
Sometimes A Blonde (Live)
(A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs (Live)
Give It To The Soft Boys (Live)

Downloadable EP track listing
The Afterlight (Live)
Sally Was A Legend (Live)
Queen of Eyes (Live)
Sometimes A Blonde (Live)
(A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs (Live)
Give It To The Soft Boys (Live)
Luckiness [previously unreleased]
Cigarettes, Coffee, and Booze (Live)
Copper Kettle [traditional]

 
The recently completed film One Winter Story is a surf movie by Elizabeth Pepin and it includes four songs by Robyn. It has been selected as one of 17 US films to represent the United States at the international Input competition. For more info, go to www.input2007.org
 
Robyn has contributed two poems, "They Came From the Future" and "I Caught Intelligence," to the short story anthology, Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge. This is being published February 5 by Pyr.
 

An interview with Robyn by Dennis Cook appears at Jambase.

An interview with Robyn appears on the Fender website.

 

21 Dec 06
Our two performances of "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" (the first Pink Floyd album, mostly composed by Syd Barrett) last weekend at the 3 Kings in Clerkenwell, London raised £4,080 for Medecins Sans Frontieres.

The line up on Saturday was me on guitar, Terry Edwards on keyboards and horns, Paul Noble on bass, and Morris Windsor on drums and vocals. On Sunday we were joined by Kimberley Rew on guitar and vocals.

Compere/auctioneer on Saturday was Mark Ellen, on Sunday it was Adam Buxton. The shows were organised by Michèle Noach and Deke Eichler. James Kliffen from MSF spoke about the situation in Darfur, which is the money raised here will be targeted.

We'd like to thank everybody who came along to support MSF and give us an excuse to play this unbelieveable music.

Many thanks!

Happy Solstice,

Robyn

 

Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 live radio appearances:

March 16
Live webcast from Austin, TX at 8:30 pm:
http://www.kut.org/items/show/7616

Amazon has posted a streaming interview with Robyn, during which he performs these songs: "Ole Tarantula," "Adventure Rocket Ship," "Creeped Out American Girl," and "English Girl."
http://www.amazon.com/wire.

December 7
The World Cafe

December 4
WFMU On Air at 4pm

November 28
The Eclectic Company on WXRT in Chicago 10pm CST.
Listen live here or at or http://www.wxrt.com

November 13
2:30 pm EST - WYEP, Pittsburgh

November 10
102.1 The Edge, Toronto, ON
Dave Bookman's show
http://www.edge102.com/station/sp_player_faq.cfm

November 9
WQKL (107.1), Ann Arbor
Robyn & Venus 3 on Martin Bandyke's show.
http://2005.annarbors107one.com/pages/streaming.html

November 8
WXRT, Chicago
http://www.wxrt.com/

WNYC
Soundcheck

 

 

Videos

Video of Robyn, Peter, & Sean at Real/Rhapsody's SXSW party can be seen here.

Adventure Rocket Ship (performance video)

Adventure Rocket ship (animated video)

Rhapsody
Rolling Stone

Robyn's storyboards for "Adventure Rocket Ship" video can be seen here.

The CD, Rough Trade 2 will be released October 2nd and features the Soft Boys recording of "I Wanna Destroy You"

Robyn talks with Mark Ellen about Syd Barrett for a Word Podcast.

This is how you find it on the iTunes store:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=137323360&s=143444

XML feed:
http://laxman.audioblog.com/rss/wordpodcast.xml

Robyn has a song, "I Wish I Was Doing This" on the compilation CD Graciously released by Funzalo Records. One third of the proceeds go to the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity's Musician's Village Project to aid in thier work in the Gulf Coast area.

Available through the label:
http://www.funzalorecords.com/graciously.htm

 

Robyn appears on the new Live & Direct Volume 7 from WYEP Radio in Pittsburgh. He performs 'We're Gonna Live In The Trees". These CDs are normally available as a thank you gift with a pledge of $75 to WYEP. As a special invitation to fans of Robyn's, the CD can be purchased for $15. Please email your request to WYEP's Membership Director Kathleen Radock at kathi@wyep.org.

More info at: http://wyep.org/member/liveanddirect.asp

New Recording
On April 24th, This is the BBC is being released by Hux/Navarre in the US. (It was released by Hux in the UK on April 10th.) This is a collection of BBC sessions recorded by Andy Kershaw and Mark Radcliffe in the 1990's and features Kimberley Rew, Tim Keegan, Jake Kyle and Rob Allum.

Track List:
1. Man With a Woman's Shadow
2. Heliotrope
3. DeChirico Street
4. The cheese Alarm
5. Jewels For Sophia
6. Polly on the Shore
7. Where Do You Go When You Die?
8. I Saw Nick Drake
9. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
10. Andy Kershaw Jingle
11. Birds in Perspex
12. Sally Was a Legend
13. Elizabeth Jade
14. Madonna of the Wasps

Underwater Moonlight by The Soft Boys has been used in a video shot mostly underwater and can be seen at the Greenpeace website.

New Photos
Photos of Robyn and The Minus 3
Brighton, UK January 2005

View photos here.

The March issue of Believer Magazine has an interview with Robyn, which he feels is the most in depth one he's given in recent years.

On-Line Photos
Robyn played on NHK Radio in Tokyo when he was in Japan during the first week of October. The show's not on the internet, but there are some photos http://www.nhk.or.jp/livebeat/

Playing drums with Robyn is Jamie Huggins from the band Of Montreal, based in Athens GA.

Additional photos of Robyn & Scott McCauhey in performance can be found here.

Hitchcock the Cat

"Here is a cat in Seattle named Hitch. He is wearing my glasses."
Robyn

New Japanese CD Release
The Oak Tree label in Japan has released a new Robyn Hitchcock compilation, Obliteration Pie. This 16 song set includes some new, live and rare recordings, as well as two videos.

This is now available for purchase at our on-line store.

Purchase from our UK store here.

Track List

  1. Madonna of the Wasps (new recording)
  2. City of Women
  3. I Fall Into Your Eyes
  4. Arms of Love (new recording)
  5. A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations, Briggs
  6. Madelaine
  7. Let thesun Begin
  8. My Dreams are Scars
  9. Frank Sinatra (verbal)
  10. My Wife and My Dead Wife (live)
  11. Chinese Bones (live)
  12. Funkytown
  13. Butterfly
  14. Queen Elvis (new recording)
  15. The Man With the Lightbulb Head (original recording and video)
  16. I Often Dream of Trains (original recording and video)

Robyn will be doing a short Japanese tour in October:
Friday 7 & Saturday 8 - Tokyo - Minaiaoyama Mandala (TEL: 03-5474-0411)
Monday, Bankholiday 10 - Osaka - Knave (TEL: 06-6535-0691)

For more information: http://www.mplant.com/robyn.html
and in English: http://www.mplant.com/robyn/tourinfo05_eng.html

Photos
Here's the link for photos from the sensational opening night of Michèle Noach's new exhibition in Seattle. http://www.tonx.org/

Editions PAF! Gift Pack
Just in time for the holidays you can now purchase from our store Star For Bram, Robyn Sings and Luxor together at a substantial savings: $40 for all three (one of which is a double).

Radio
We recommend Howard Thompson's radio program, Cake. Besides playing Robyn there are many other fine reasons to be listening. And, making him even cooler, in his days working for record companies he signed, among others, The Psychedelic Furs, Billy Bragg, and Motorhead.

Robyn can be heard in this Yep Roc podcast.

Robyn is one of the artists invited to create a playlist of music they love on Rhapsody radio. You can hear it here.

Robyn's playlist is . . .

Robyn's appearance with Jon Langford from The Mekons on WXRT from Chicago can be heard on April 25, 2005 at 10 pm CST.

We also now have an archive of other radio appearances in a new section found here.

Robyn's appearance on a Dutch radio program can be heard for the next
couple weeks.

Listen here for the following Dutch program:
SxSW sessie op de hotelkamer van Chris Kijne: Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Reccomends
Night Of The Crabs, a seminal book by Guy N. Smith. He wrote many others, including the Slime Beast, the Sucking Pit, Origin Of The Crabs, and two volumes on gardening.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440203384/104-3227903-8628763?v=g lance

Is Ready To Be Sold!

Robyn performs the song "Crumble Like Dust" on the Spyda compilation CD
Caught in the Net available from http://www.spydarecords.co.uk

Elixirs & Remedies, the Robyn Hitchcock and Grant Lee Phillips concert
film is now availabel on DVD from Scotopia Pictures

 

New Song

A recent recording of Robyn performing "I Often Dream of Trains" appears on For The Kids Too!, which is released Oct. 19 on Nettwerk America. Other artists on the CD include Butterfly Boucher, Nada Surf, David Mead, Ron Sexsmith, and Matthew Sweet.

The Bike Show Archive
Jack Thurston's cycling program on Resonance Radio. Recommended for discerning cyclists throughout the Galaxy. Live interviews on wheels, with music and pneumatic philosophy, all conducted by Jack himself. For more information, go here.

Robyn played a few songs on KEXP in Seattle in early September, 2004, which can be heard here.

NEW:
Poems by Robyn / Drawings by Robyn / Photos of Robyn

Robyn recommends reading this article by Michel Faber, about his planned visit to Afghanistan to write about Medecins Sans Frontieres (the organization for whom he and guests are doing the "White Album" benefit for in early August).

INHERITANCE is scheduled to hit the video stores on Feb.8, 2005. This is a
horror film directed by Kris Kristensen, who directed ELIXIRS AND REMEDIES.

The movie features two of Robyn's songs: "A Man's Gotta Know His
Limitations, Briggs" (featuring Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey) and "I Feel
Beautiful" (a duet with Grant-Lee Phillips). There may also of a small
theatrical run in conjunction with the film's video release. More info at:
http://www.scotopiapictures.com

The Manchurian Candidate, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Liev Schrieber opens in US cinemas on July 30th. Robyn Hitchcock has a cameo appearance in the movie as Laurent Tokar, a double agent.

August 7 and 8 at 3 Kings
White Album Against The War performance

We raised a total of £5,665 for Médecins Sans Frontières over the two nights of "The White Album Against The War" at the Three Kings. Darren,Kim, Morris, Paul and I had a great time saturating ourselves in this late Beatle music and playing it at point-blank range without oxygen cylinders. Thank you to everyone who came to the gigs.

The money will go to Darfur, Sudan, where MSF are now helping to improve life for many stricken people. We hope to do another session at the 3 Kings for MSF before too long.

Michèle Noach (who organised the event) and I would also like to thank: Adam Buxton, Ed Harcourt, Callina de la Mare, Terry Edwards, and Romeo Stoddart for helping out with the show; Peter Blake for donating artwork to the after-show auctions; Liz Crawford, Michel Faber, and Vicky Hawkins for MC-ing between sides 2 and 3; and Deke Eichler and Simon Griffin for "Number 9."

- Robyn

photos by Michèle Noach

A Slipping-Down Life directed by Toni Kaylem and starring Guy Pearce and Lili Taylor is on limited US movie release. Guy Pearce plays a rock musician in the film, and sings "Elizabeth Jade" (also "You've Got A Sweet Mouth On You, Baby") on the soundtrack on Commotion Records.

Magnet Interview

Magnet interview was published in the Feb/March 2004 issue.

Available online at www.magnetmagazine.com

Queer Street

The new Terry Edwards compilation CD, "Queer Street" includes Robyn
performing the old Gary Numan song "Are Friends Electric" with Kimberley
Rew, Morris Windsor, Paul Noble and Terry Edwards on trumpet. Available
from www.terryedwards.co.uk

Wig In A Box

Robyn appears on the charity album called Wig In A Box based on Hedwig And The Angry Inch. It features a wide range of performers covering Hedwig songs, and a new song of Robyn's based on the Hedwig experience.

Called "City Of Women," he's joined by Kimberley Rew on guitar and vocals, Morris Windsor on drums and vocals, Paul Noble on bass, and Terry Edwards on saxophone. The album will be released October 21st and can be obtained through www.offrecords.com.

Robyn in New Fiction Anthology

Robyn wrote a story for the fiction anthology Carved In Rock, published by Thunder's Mouth Press in the spring of 2004. It also includes contributions from Kinky Friedman, Larry Kirwan, Jim Carroll, Joan Jett, Greg Kihn, Richard Hell, Ray Davies, Graham Parker, Eric Burdon, Mark Laidlaw & John Shirley, Suzzy Roche, Johnny Strike, Pamela Des Barres, John Entwistle, Pete Townsend, Lydia Lunch, Excenne Cervenka, Wayne Kramer, Steve Earle, Ann Magnuson, Willie Nile, Mick Ferren, Mary Lee Kortes, Steve Wynn, M Gira, and Ray Manzarek.

BAD PENNY TO AIR ON BBC1 TEATIME TELLY

Robyn's "The Yip Song" is used as the theme tune to the surreal kids' sitcom Bad Penny, created and written by Dean Wilkinson (www.deanwilkinson.co.uk). It's been airing on the digital CBBC channel and is to be shown on terrestrial August 2004. It'll be on weekday teatimes BBC1. See www.badpenny-online.co.uk for the exact dates.

Bad Penny stars Anne Foy as Penny who's actually the good one constantly trying to thwart the bizarre criminal activities of her roguish family. The cast also includes Graham Fellows a.k.a. comedian John Shuttleworth. More of Robyn's music is used in the show as well as tracks from The Stranglers, The Cure, Love And Rockets and Martin Newell.

Recommended Book:

Leviathan by Peter Blegvad

About which Robyn says: "Peter's mind stalks elegantly across the crags and swamps of day-to-day. Exitentialism, illuminating all it sees and then some. You should give Leviathan to someone you really like – yourself, perhaps. And the drawings are exquisite. Viva! el Blegvad."