RGG May 2016 - p.28
An intimate acoustic evening with songsmith,
broadcaster, activist and raconteur Tom
Robinson. Born in 1950, Tom was mentored by
Alexis Korner and first discovered by Ray
Davies, who produced his debut album with
Café Society back in 1975.
His musical journey has included getting
banned by the BBC for being Glad To be Gay,
fighting fascism alongside The Clash, playing
Glastonbury with Peter Gabriel, writing lyrics for
Elton John, drug smuggling in East Germany,
two nervous breakdowns and a period in
tabloid hell after falling in love with a woman.
Subsequently forgiven by the BBC, he has
presented programmes on all seven of the
corporation's national radio networks, and won
two Sony Radio Academy awards for his warm
and accessible broadcasting style. And after a
twenty year recording hiatus, his 2015 come-
back LP Only The Now was awarded 4/5 stars
in Mojo, 8/10 in Uncut and made a 6 Music
Album Of The Day.
Home in the Morning Tour
+ Lee Forsyth Griffiths
Since Tom's 1978 breakthrough album Power
In The Darkness supported causes like Rock
Against Racism and Amnesty International,
some reviewers have noted similar 'extreme
political views' in several songs on the new
record. "It's odd" muses Robinson "that
nowadays believing in fairness, tolerance and
justice seems to make you an extremist."
This thoughtful one-man show revisits the back
catalogue of a master craftsman. Little-known
gems sit alongside classics such as War Baby,
Glad to Be Gay and 2-4-6-8 Motorway -
interspersed with hilarious anecdotes from five
decades on the wilder fringes of the music
industry.
We have a pair of tickets to give
away for this gig at The Robin,
Bilston on 18th May. Just send an
email to the address below with ‘Tom’ in the
subject title to be in with a chance of winning.
TOM
ROBINSON
MAY
18
r
gg
