The Soft Boys were an English rock band led by guitarist Robyn Hitchcock. The band formed in 1976 in
Cambridge, England and released two albums before disbanding in 1981. Though the Soft Boys’ initial career was brief, their style of psychedelic music and retro folk-rock had a big influence on the development of jangle pop, indie rock, and neo-psychedelia during the 1980s and beyond. The Soft Boys were one the most influential British bands of their time in shaping alternative and indie music, though they were considered a quirky cult item in their original run.
Led by Robyn Hitchcock, the group blended edgy pop and punk's fearlessness with a love of
psychedelia and folk-rock. Their offbeat and hooky melodies, matched with Hitchcock's witty, surreal lyrics, set them apart from their peers, and R.E.M. were just the best known of the many bands that learned from their example. They made a striking debut with 1979's A Can of Bees, and 1980's Underwater Moonlight was an edgy, joyous masterpiece that led the way to Hitchcock's solo career.
Matthew Seligman replaced Metcalfe on bass in 1979. The band broke up in 1981 after the release of
their second album, Underwater Moonlight. Rew formed the more mainstream pop group Katrina and the Waves. Hitchcock went on to a prolific career with a similar whimsical, surrealistic style. In 1984, he formed Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians with fellow Soft Boys Morris Windsor and Andy Metcalfe and went on to tour and record for ten years.
They were briefly joined by Rew, Jim Melton and Seligman in a re-formed Soft Boys for a UK tour in
1994 to mark the release of a box set of their work. They briefly came together again in 2001 without Metcalfe for the 20th anniversary of Underwater Moonlight and the release of a new album, 2002’s Nextdoorland. They disbanded once again in 2003. Matthew Seligman died in 2020 due to complications from the COVID-19 virus; he was 64 years old. In 2025, Underwater Moonlight was given a deluxe reissue on CD and LP to honor the album's 45th anniversary.
01. THE SOFT BOYS - A CAN OF BEES 1979
The Soft Boys, like so many other underground miscreants in the '70s, spent their formative years
(unbeknownst to them) generating enough critical capital to earn much sought-after biographical adjectives like “influential” and “underrated.” The Robyn Hitchcock-led, Cambridge, England-born, pseudo-psych rock outfit's shared love for all things Byrds, Beatles, Dylan, and Syd Barrett was both venerated and blown to smithereens on their 1979 debut long-player, A Can of Bees.
The Soft Boys – 1979 - A Can Of Bees
Label: Rykodisc – RCD 20231
Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 1992
Genre: Rock
Style: Power Pop, Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. Give It To The Soft Boys 1:57
02. The Pigworker 4:30
03. Human Music 4:30
04. Leppo And The Jooves 5:25
05. The Rat's Prayer 3:18
06. Do The Chisel 3:03
07. Sandra's Having Her Brain Out 4:07
08. The Return Of The Sacred Crab 2:54
09. Cold Turkey 4:20
10. Skool Dinner Blues (Live) 2:23
11. Wading Through A Ventilator (Live) 3:57
12. Leppo And The Jooves 5:30
13. Sandra's Having Her Brain Out 3:46
14. Skool Dinner Blues 2:14
15. Fatman's Son 2:38
16. (I Want To Be An) Anglepoise Lamp (Live) 2:51
17. Ugly Nora (Live) 3:05
LINE - UP
Guitar, Vocals – Kimberley Rew, Robyn Hitchcock
Bass, Vocals – Andy Metcalfe
Drums, Vocals – Morris Windsor
Percussion, Vocals, Harmonica – Jim Melton
Violin – Gerry Hale
Written-By – John Lennon (tracks: 9), Robyn Hitchcock (tracks: 1 to 8, 10 to 17)
NOTES
All songs published by Complete Music, Ltd. (PRS) and administered by Complete Music USA, Inc. (ASCAP) except Tracks 10, 11, 14 to 17 published by Two Crabs (PRS). Track 9 published by Maclen Music (BMI).
Of note, Track 7 is an alternate version while track 13 is the initial album version.
Flac Size: 412 MB
02. THE SOFT BOYS - UNDERWATER MOONLIGHT 1980
More angular and jarring than the band’s beloved 1980 follow-up, Underwater Moonlight, Hitchcock, Kimberly Rew, Morris Windsor, and Andy Metcalfe sounded positively possessed, channeling both '60s progressive rock and late-'70s punk into an unholy guitar-driven onslaught fueled by Hitchcock's surreal
lyrics: opening a record with a line like “feel like asking a tree for an autograph” is one thing, but backing up those words with an atonal, apocalyptic blues riff is another. Although the neo-psychedelic flourishes are fascinating, the key to record's success is how each song is constructed around rock-solid hooks and melodies that instantly work their way into the subconscious. In fact, that's the most notable thing about Underwater Moonlight -- it updates jangling, melodic guitar pop for the post-punk world, which made it a touchstone for much of the underground pop of the mid-'80s, particularly R.E.M.
The Soft Boys – 1980 - Underwater Moonlight ...And How It Got There
Label: Matador – OLE 500-2
Format: 2 x CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: October 19, 2010
Genre: Rock
Style: Power Pop, Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. I Wanna Destroy You 2:52
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
02. Kingdom Of Love 4:10
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
03. Positive Vibrations 3:10
Sitar – Andy King
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
04. I Got The Hots 4:42
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
05. Insanely Jealous 4:15
Bass [Rhythm] – Robyn Hitchcock
Violin – Gerry Hale
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
06. Tonight 3:44
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
07. You'll Have To Go Sideways 2:57
Bass, Synthesizer – Kimberley Rew
Written-By – Rew, Hitchcock
08. Old Pervert 3:52
Written-By – Rew, Seligman, Windsor, Hitchcock
09. The Queen Of Eyes 2:01
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
10. Underwater Moonlight 4:17
Violin – Gerry Hale
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
ALBUM OUTAKES
11. He's A Reptile 4:27
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
12. Vegetable Man 2:59
Written-By – Syd Barrett
13. Strange 2:59
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
14. Only The Stones Remain 2:50
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
15. Where Are The Prawns? 6:06
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
16. Wey Wey Help Uh Hole 3:30
17. Dreams 4:37
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
18. Black Snake Diamond Rock 4:24
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
19. There's Nobody Like You 3:11
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
20. Song #4 4:35
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
Flac Size: 519 MB
CD2. ...AND HOW IT GOT THERE
01. Empty Girl (Bonus Track) 4:59
02. Have A heart Betty (Mark 2) (Bonus Track) 2:37
03. Rock'n'Roll Toilet (Mark2) (Bonus Track) 2:43
04. Old Pervert - Section 1 (Bonus Track) 1:38
Written-By – Rew, Seligman, Windsor, Hitchcock
05. Like A Real Smoothie (Bonus Track) 3:43
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
06. Alien (Bonus Track) 3:13
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
07. Bloat (Extract) (Bonus Track) 1:00
Written-By – Rew, Seligman, Windsor, Hitchcock
08. Underwater Moonlight (Early Version) 6:24
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
09. She Wears My Hair (Bonus Track) 5:22
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
10. Wang Dang Pig (Bonus Track) 3:56
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
11. Old Pervert - Section 2 (Bonus Track) 1:31
Written-By – Rew, Seligman, Windsor, Hitchcock
12. Insanely Jealous (Bonus Track) 5:03
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
13. Leave Me Alone (Bonus Track) 6:45
Written-By – Lou Reed
14. Goodbye Maurice Or Steve (Bonus Track) 3:14
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
15. Old Pervert - Section 3 (Bonus Track) 0:36
Written-By – Rew, Seligman, Windsor, Hitchcock
16. Cherries (Bonus Track) 2:54
Written-By – Rew, Seligman, Windsor, Hitchcock
17. Amputated (Bonus Track) 4:22
Written-By – Robyn Hitchcock
18. Over You (Bonus Track) 4:00
Written-By – Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera
19. I Wanna, Er... (Extract) (Bonus Track) 0:42
Written-By – Rew, Seligman, Windsor, Hitchcock
20. Old Pervert - Section 4 (Bonus Track) 1:24
Written-By – Rew, Seligman, Windsor, Hitchcock
LINE - UP
Guitar, Vocals – Robyn Hitchcock
Guitar, Vocals – Kimberley Rew
Bass – Matthew Seligman
Drums, Vocals – Morris Windsor
Flac Size: 461 MB
03. THE SOFT BOYS - NEXDOORLAND 2002
Are The Soft Boys still a strong and viable band in 2002? Yes, indeed -- Nextdoorland is a more than worthy addition to their catalog, and proves that two decades apart has not diluted their remarkable chemistry. If we're very lucky, The Soft Boys might even favor us with another album or two just as strong.
The Soft Boys – 2002 - Nextdoorland
Label: Matador – OLE 553-2, Matador – ole 553-2
Format: CD, Album
Country: Europe
Released :Sep 24, 2002
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock
TRACKS
01. I Love Lucy 3:00
02. Pulse Of My Heart 3:46
03. Mr. Kennedy 6:04
04. Unprotected Love 3:19
05. My Mind Is Connected... 4:05
06. Sudden Town 3:46
07. Strings 6:11
08. Japanese Captain 3:24
09. La Cherité 5:11
10. Lions And Tigers 2:29
LINE - UP
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Robyn Hitchcock
Bass, Synthesizer [Moog Synthesiser] – Matthew Seligman
Drums, Vocals – Morris Windsor
Guitar, Vocals, Synthesizer [Moog Synthesiser] – Kimberley Rew
Music By – Rew (tracks: 1, 2), Seligman (tracks: 1, 2), Windsor (tracks: 1, 2), Hitchcock (tracks: 1, 2)
Songwriter [All Songs Written By] – R.Hitchcock (tracks: 2 to 6, 8 to 10)
Vocals – Ruby Wright (tracks: 6, 10)
Words By – Hitchcock (tracks: 1, 2)
Flac Size: 285 MB
Robyn Hitchcock On Urban Aspirines HERE
Thanks for Nextdoorland !
ReplyDeleteNexdoorland is a very beautiful album.
DeleteEvery new post is better than the last. That's why Urban Aspirines is one of the best blogs.
ReplyDeleteJim.
Thank you Jim.
Delete