Robyn Hitchcock
Vocals and guitar Kimberley Rew
Guitar and vocals Andy Metcalfe
Bass and vocals (until 1979) Morris Windsor
Drums and vocals Matthew Seligman
Bass and vocals (after 1979) with Alan 'Wangbo' Davies
Guitar and vocals (1976-77) Jim Melton
Harmonica and vocals (1977-79)
Influences
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Pink Floyd / Syd Barrett, The Byrds, Captain Beefheart, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley and Sun Records.
The Soft Boys formed in 1976 in Cambridge, UK. The songwriting style of their leader, Robyn Hitchcock, leant heavily towards 60s psychedelia and pop and as a result they failed to find favour with the mainstream music press. That said, their music soon gathered a keen local following and their albums are today hailed as cult classics.
Managing to keep the flame of Dylan, Barrett and the Byrds burning through the frosty punk years guarantees them a place in pop legend. They split in 1981, reuniting for a few gigs in 1994 and again in 2001 to tour and record the 2002 album "Nextdoorland" which built further on their past glories.
They remain a hidden gem in the vast catalogue of rock, although their seminal second LP "Underwater Moonlight" from 1980 crops up regularly in the favorite album lists of the best-informed of today's more enlightened groups.
ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY
A Can Of Bees (1979)
Underwater Moonlight (1980)
Two Halves For The Price Of One (1981)
Invisible Hits (1983)
Live At The Portland Arms (1983)
The Soft Boys 1976-1981 (1993)
Nextdoorland (2002)
Side Three (2002)
Read Kimberley Rew's band history at his website. Please note that the official Soft Boys website is currently offline, though may pop up again once Yep Roc release the long-awaited Soft Boys box set in late 2008 / early 2009.
Here's a rare archive recording of the Softs live in Leeds in 1980:
Dedicated to all the women, men, gays, lesbians or heteros, to all who have different politic opinions who are persecuted all over the world by laws, dictature, religions and corrupted states. From north to south, from west to east...
~::A RECOMMENDATION INNOCUOUS::~ Have a slight, mingling listen to our trim pickings. Our slim trippings. at your disposal are 2 tracks from our EP and a superhot new underground demo
Wow! 'Tis an honour to be in your top friends! The Soft Boys' music means a lot to Nutsak. We covered "I Wanna Destroy You". Sadly, we kinda destroyed the harmonies! All the best from Montréal.
Feel free to have a look around - other artists featured on the burning shed site include Porcupine Tree, William D Drake, 21st Century Schizoid Band ( former King Crimson people) Hatfield & The North....Roger Eno
