The Soft Boys: Discography 1979 - 2002

 

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
                    

CD1. UNDERWATER MOONLIGHT 1989    

                     

        
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

                                  

Is Nextdoorland an instant classic like Underwater Moonlight? No. Is that comparison fair? Probably not.

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