I first saw the Tom Robinson Band (TRB) live in March 1978 at a local civic festival hall. The band had a soaring reputation as a top punk band at the time. They were up there alongside the likes of The Clash and The Damned in the punk rock takeover.
TRB led by Robinson had attitude, political anger and resentment, along with some damned good music. They even had a hit single behind them. It wasn't quite the sort of band that came to our small town. We joked they must have been booked ages before they hit the headlines and charts and were cheaper and less trendy.
That made it quite an event locally and a memorable night for a packed and excited crowd. TRB were brilliant live, they'd been gigging a lot in those early years and had a great set and performance in them. The hit single “2-4-6-8 Motorway” was a top five hit in the UK in October 1978 and an obvious crowd pleaser.
Tom Robinson is still electric live
It was more pop rock and felt quite different to many of their other songs. A bit less punk rage and protest perhaps. But the other songs in the set covered a range of topics with plenty of anger and points to make and held the audience's attention fully.
I bought their first album Power In The Darkness when it came out a few months after the gig in May 1978. It included a bonus disc with extra tracks and both were crammed with their songs and protests. The sleeve notes quoted the founding declaration of Rock Against Racism which Robinson supported. This on the back of the gig was all heady fuel indeed for my teenage self back then.
Tom Robinson - That punk rocker 45 years later
And here we are some 45 years later. I’ve just been to see Tom Robinson - Up Close And Personal. A run of gigs he describes as ‘songs and stories spanning five decades of adventures in the music industry’. It's a venue in Cambridge with a small but sold out audience of around 180.
Robinson remains very current in the world of music, in particular through his BBC Radio 6 show. He regularly champions new music there as shown by his supporting act for the evening Sam Eagle. Robinson’s delight at introducing him, and Eagle’s respect for Robinson, were both very evident. Eagle’s first album Are You Listening was released that day. His short acoustic set was very chilled and mellow and he looks to be one to watch out for.
Robinson ensured more warm applause for Eagle and told us he’ll be back on in 15 minutes. When he returns to a simple stage, he explains he is his own roadie and sound engineer for the night. It’s the man himself with a couple of his acoustic guitars and a keyboard. The format for the night included plenty of his music and hits plus a lot of humourous memories and scene setting introductions for the songs.
He is no longer that angry young man surrounded by his band. This was a much more reflective Robinson. Now aged 73 he’s clearly still passionate at heart about many issues. The lyrics of several songs have been updated to cleverly put his protests against the establishment, injustice and much more into the current context. It’s notable though that although he has updated the words, the main focus points of his ire remain very similar to his earlier days.
The rewrites worked especially well on “Up Against The Wall”, “Days That Changed The World” and “Mighty Sword Of Justice”. The acoustic guitar and keyboard soften the anger slightly, he’s now less fast and furious but very much power and passion. Robinson’s notable voice and distinctive timbre with gravelly tones remains, his lyrics continue to tell a story and make his points clearly and well.
Tom Robinson “Glad To Be Gay”
Among the set list sits “Glad To Be Gay”, it's the one song where his setting for the song has seen real change over the years. The single was banned by the BBC when released in 1978, but still made the charts. Somewhat ironic given his role there as a DJ now.
Over the subsequent years, the shift from illegality to the whole openness on LGBTQ+ is quite a contrast. As is Robinson’s own personal story, including his teenage breakdown, through to his wife and children, which the ‘up close and personal’ setting allowed space to explain. An audience sing along to the chorus in Cambridge on Friday was quite different to a slightly bemused and confused teenage crowd way back in 1978.
A few more hit songs and old favourites, some chat about getting older and replacement knees, but he’s still that same rebel at heart you feel. Robinson returned for an encore with what he jokingly referred to as an extended medley of his only number one record, an acoustic “2-4-6-8 Motorway”. The crowd demanded a couple more songs, which he delivered and a brilliant evening was done.
The relaxed and simple format works very well. Robinson has moved from angry punk rocker to a different sort of entertainer but hasn't lost any of his protest power or sharp lyrical skills. The acoustic or keyboard versions stand up excellently. We've all moved on and changed since his early days too, but Robinson's songs still resonate and we can feel the angst behind them.
It's quite a shift from that early period in style and presentation, but it's been quite some 45 years in-between. The messages remain largely unchanged though and it's still heady fuel for my much older self too.
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