Robert Wyatt
Encyclopedia
Robert Wyatt is an English musician
, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene
band Soft Machine
, with a long and distinguished solo career. He is married to English painter and songwriter Alfreda Benge
.
with the BBC
; his father, George Ellidge, was an industrial psychologist who joined the family only when Wyatt was about six. This extended family also included his half brother, actor Julian Glover
, Honor Wyatt's son. Wyatt attended the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
, Canterbury and as a teenager lived with his parents in Lydden
near Dover
, where he was taught the drums
by visiting American jazz
drummer George Neidorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Neidorf moved to Majorca where they stayed near the poet Robert Graves
. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen
and Hugh Hopper
. Allen subsequently left for France and Wyatt and Hopper formed The Wilde Flowers with Kevin Ayers
, Richard Sinclair
and Brian Hopper
. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he also became lead singer.
by Kevin Ayers
and Daevid Allen
. Here Wyatt both drummed and shared vocals with Ayers, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.
In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear
, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.
A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and, besides participating in the fusion
bigband Centipede
and drumming at the JazzFest Berlin
's New Violin Summit, a live concert with violinists Jean-Luc Ponty
, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Michał Urbaniak and Nipso Brantner, guitarist Terje Rypdal
, keyboardist Wolfgang Dauner
and bassist Neville Whitehead
, formed his own band Matching Mole
(a pun on "machine molle", French for 'Soft Machine'), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during an alcohol-fueled party for Gong's
Gilli Smyth
and June Campbell Cramer (also known as Lady June) at the latter's Maida Vale home, an inebriated Wyatt fell from a fourth floor window. He was paralysed from the waist down
and consequently uses a wheelchair
. On 4 November that year, Pink Floyd
performed two benefit concerts, in one day, at London's Rainbow Theatre, supported by Soft Machine, and compered by John Peel
. The concerts raised a reported £10,000 for Wyatt.
, Ivor Cutler
and Henry Cow
guitarist Fred Frith
) released his solo album Rock Bottom
on July 26, 1974. Two months later Wyatt put out a single, a cover version
of "I'm a Believer
", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. Both were produced by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason
. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops
surrounding Wyatt's performance of "I'm a Believer," on the grounds that his use of a wheelchair 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair'. A contemporary issue of New Musical Express featured the band (a stand-in acting for Mason), all in wheelchairs, on its cover. Wyatt subsequently sang lead vocals on Mason's first solo album Fictitious Sports
in 1981 (with songwriting credits going to Carla Bley
).
His follow-up single, a reggae ballad remake of Chris Andrews's
hit "Yesterday Man
", again produced by Mason, was nearly released by Virgin, but at the last minute it was shelved, "the boss at Virgin claiming that single was 'lugubrious', robbing Wyatt of a possible follow-up hit."
Wyatt's next solo album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
, produced by Wyatt apart from one track produced by Mason, was more jazz-led, with free jazz
influences. Guest musicians included Brian Eno
on guitar, synthesizer and "direct inject anti-jazz ray gun".
Throughout the rest of the 1970s Wyatt guested with various acts, including Henry Cow
(documented on their Henry Cow Concerts
album), Hatfield and the North
, Carla Bley
, Eno, Michael Mantler
, and Roxy Music
guitarist Phil Manzanera
, contributing lead vocals to lead track "Frontera", from Manzanera's 1975 solo debut Diamond Head. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain
. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello
's Falklands War
-inspired song "Shipbuilding
", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us
), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in John Peel
's Festive Fifty
for tracks from that year.
In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other acts such as News from Babel
as well as Japanese recording artist Ryuichi Sakamoto
, he and his wife Alfreda Benge
spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan
. His 1997 album Shleep
was also praised.
In 1999 he collaborated with the Italian singer Cristina Donà
on her second album Nido
. In the summer of 2000 her first EP Goccia was released and Wyatt made an appearance in the video of the title track.
Wyatt contributed "Masters of the Field", as well as "The Highest Gander", "La Forêt Rouge" and "Hors Champ" to the soundtrack of the 2001 film Winged Migration
. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais
as being a big influence in his younger days.
song "I Believe
" from their 1985 album Songs from the Big Chair
was originally written by bandmember Roland Orzabal
for Wyatt, but in the end the band decided to record the song themselves and dedicated it to him. As a further tribute to Wyatt, on the B-side of the single, Orzabal performs a cover version of "Sea Song", from the Rock Bottom
album. This recording can also be found on the Tears For Fears compilation album Saturnine Martial & Lunatic
as well as later remastered versions of Songs from the Big Chair.
"Sea Song" was also covered by Rachel Unthank and the Winterset on their 2007 album The Bairns
, and The Guardian
David Peschek said of the cover: "That’s the best version of that I’ve ever heard". In November 2011, The Unthanks released a live album, The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons
, and Wyatt is quoted on the cover of the album as saying "I love the idea. It makes me happy just thinking about it."
festival, and sang "Comfortably Numb
" with David Gilmour at the festival. It was recorded on Gilmour's DVD David Gilmour in Concert
.
In January 2003, BBC Four
broadcast Free Will and Testament, a programme featuring performance footage of Wyatt with musicians Larry Stabbins
, Jennifer Maidman, Liam Genockey
, Annie Whitehead
and Janette Mason, and interviews with John Peel, Brian Eno, Annie Whitehead, Alfie and Wyatt himself. Later in 2003, the Mercury Music Prize nominated album Cuckooland
was released.
In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Björk
on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album Medúlla.
In 2006, Wyatt played with David Gilmour
on Gilmour's new release On an Island
, singing and playing cornet and percussion on "Then I Close My Eyes". Wyatt performed as a guest at Gilmour's series of Royal Albert Hall concerts, playing his cornet solo for this song. This is documented on the Remember That Night
DVD
and Blu-ray, released in 2007. Wyatt also read passages from the novels of Haruki Murakami
for Max Richter
's album Songs from Before.
In 2006, Wyatt collaborated with Steve Nieve
and Muriel Teodori on the opera Welcome to the Voice
. Wyatt interprets the character 'the Friend', both singing and playing pocket trumpet. Welcome to the Voice is an opera in one unique scene, on the street in front of an opera house. Wyatt's contribution to the recording was recorded at Phil Manzanera
's home studio in North London. Welcome to the Voice was released in May 2007 on Deutsche Grammophon, and the recording features Robert Wyatt, Barbara Bonney
, Sting, Amanda Roocroft, Elvis Costello
, Nathalie Manfrino, Brodsky Quartet
, Sara Fulgoni
, Ned Rothenberg
, Antoine Quessada, Marc Ribot
, Steve Nieve
and Muriel Teodori.
In March 2007, it was announced that Wyatt was working on a new solo album entitled Comicopera
. It was released in October 2007 on the Domino Records label, a large independent label housing such big indie stars as Arctic Monkeys
, Pavement
, Neutral Milk Hotel
and Elliott Smith
.
In 2008, Domino re-released Wyatt's Drury Lane, Rock Bottom
, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
, Nothing Can Stop Us
, Old Rottenhat
, Dondestan
, Shleep
, EPs and Cuckooland
on CD and vinyl.
In May 2009, Wyatt appeared on the album Around Robert Wyatt by the French Orchestre National de Jazz.
Wyatt was one of the guest editors of BBC Radio 4
's Today programme, working on the 1 January 2010 programme. Among other things he advocated greater prominence for amateur choirs, and admitted to a preference for them over professional choirs "because there's a greater sense of commitment and meaning in their singing."
In December 2010, Wyatt was asked by The Guardian
to choose his top ten favourite pop songs for its audio Advent calendar
.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene
Canterbury Scene
The Canterbury scene is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock, avant-garde and jazz musicians, many of whom were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
band Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, with a long and distinguished solo career. He is married to English painter and songwriter Alfreda Benge
Alfreda Benge
Alfreda Benge is a lyricist and illustrator. She has been married to musician Robert Wyatt since 1974. She has contributed lyrics to many of his compositions, and has written lyrics for French musician/producer Bertrand Burgalat, and for Brazilian singer Monica Vasconcelos.Benge studied and worked...
.
Early life
Wyatt's mother was Honor Wyatt, a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
; his father, George Ellidge, was an industrial psychologist who joined the family only when Wyatt was about six. This extended family also included his half brother, actor Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
, Honor Wyatt's son. Wyatt attended the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is a selective boys school of over 1000 pupils and staff, located in the outskirts of Canterbury, Kent. It holds both Foundation and Grammar school status and has 'specialist college' status in science....
, Canterbury and as a teenager lived with his parents in Lydden
Lydden
Lydden is also the name of a hamlet in the Manston, Kent civil parishLydden is a civil parish and small village in the Dover district of Kent, England...
near Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, where he was taught the drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
by visiting American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer George Neidorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Neidorf moved to Majorca where they stayed near the poet Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen
Daevid Allen
Daevid Allen , sometimes credited as Divided Alien, an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist is co-founder of psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong .-Biography:In 1960, inspired by the Beat Generation writers he had discovered...
and Hugh Hopper
Hugh Hopper
Hugh Colin Hopper was a progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and various other related bands.-Early career:...
. Allen subsequently left for France and Wyatt and Hopper formed The Wilde Flowers with Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
, Richard Sinclair
Richard Sinclair
Richard S. Sinclair is a progressive rock bassist, guitarist and vocalist who has been a member of several bands of the Canterbury scene.-Biography:...
and Brian Hopper
Brian Hopper
Brian Hopper is a British guitarist and saxophonist, and older brother of the late bassist Hugh Hopper. With Hugh, he was a member in the early Canterbury scene band Wilde Flowers. He also played saxophone on Soft Machine's album Volume Two...
. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he also became lead singer.
Soft Machine and Matching Mole
In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt along with Mike Ratledge was invited to join Soft MachineSoft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
by Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
and Daevid Allen
Daevid Allen
Daevid Allen , sometimes credited as Divided Alien, an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist is co-founder of psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong .-Biography:In 1960, inspired by the Beat Generation writers he had discovered...
. Here Wyatt both drummed and shared vocals with Ayers, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.
In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear
The End of an Ear
The End of an Ear is the debut solo album by Soft Machine's Robert Wyatt.-Background:It was recorded in August 1970, while on a leave of absence from Soft Machine . Containing mostly free jazz and experimental music, with no lyrics , it is an unusual album...
, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.
A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and, besides participating in the fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
bigband Centipede
Centipede (band)
Centipede were an English jazz/progressive rock/Canterbury sound big band with more than 50 members, organized and led by the British free jazz pianist Keith Tippett...
and drumming at the JazzFest Berlin
JazzFest Berlin
JazzFest Berlin is a jazz festival based in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" , it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. It is considered one of the world's premier jazz festivals...
's New Violin Summit, a live concert with violinists Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Michał Urbaniak and Nipso Brantner, guitarist Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on albums of the German record label ECM. Rypdal has collaborated both as a guitarist and as a composer with other ECM artists such as Ketil Bjørnstad and David Darling...
, keyboardist Wolfgang Dauner
Wolfgang Dauner
Wolfgang Dauner is a German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist born in Stuttgart, Germany, probably best known for his work in the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble and with musicians such as Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel or Ack van Rooyen...
and bassist Neville Whitehead
Neville Whitehead (bassist)
Neville Whitehead is a New Zealand bassist and luthier who was an active member of the British jazz fusion community in the 1970s.Whitehead played at times in Keith Tippett's sextet in the late 1960s, including alongside Elton Dean. He appears on The Keith Tippett Group's Dedicated To You, But You...
, formed his own band Matching Mole
Matching Mole
Matching Mole was a short-lived UK progressive rock band from the Canterbury scene best known for the song "O Caroline". Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album The End of an Ear...
(a pun on "machine molle", French for 'Soft Machine'), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during an alcohol-fueled party for Gong's
Gong (band)
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
Gilli Smyth
Gilli Smyth
Gilli Smyth is a musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as several solo albums and albums in collaborations other members of Gong...
and June Campbell Cramer (also known as Lady June) at the latter's Maida Vale home, an inebriated Wyatt fell from a fourth floor window. He was paralysed from the waist down
Paraplegia
Paraplegia is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek: παραπληγίη "half-striking". It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida that affects the neural elements of the spinal canal...
and consequently uses a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
. On 4 November that year, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
performed two benefit concerts, in one day, at London's Rainbow Theatre, supported by Soft Machine, and compered by John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. The concerts raised a reported £10,000 for Wyatt.
Solo career
The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his rock drumming (though he would continue to play drums and percussion in more of a "jazz" fashion, without the use of his feet). He promptly embarked on a solo career, and with musician friends (including Mike OldfieldMike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
, Ivor Cutler
Ivor Cutler
Ivor Cutler was a Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw's programme...
and Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
guitarist Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
) released his solo album Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom (album)
-Personnel:*Robert Wyatt - Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion, Slide Guitar *Mike Oldfield - Guitar *Gary Windo - Bass Clarinet, Tenor Sax *Ivor Cutler - Voice , Baritone Concertina *Alfreda Benge - Voice *Mongezi Feza - Trumpets...
on July 26, 1974. Two months later Wyatt put out a single, a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "I'm a Believer
I'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. Both were produced by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason
Nick Mason
Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is an English drummer and songwriter, best known for his work with Pink Floyd. He was the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1965...
. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
surrounding Wyatt's performance of "I'm a Believer," on the grounds that his use of a wheelchair 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair'. A contemporary issue of New Musical Express featured the band (a stand-in acting for Mason), all in wheelchairs, on its cover. Wyatt subsequently sang lead vocals on Mason's first solo album Fictitious Sports
Fictitious Sports
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason fronted the group who made the one-off self-titled album Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports in May 1981 in the UK and US, this being Mason's first major work outside of Pink Floyd. However, the album is considered by many a Carla Bley album in all but name, since she...
in 1981 (with songwriting credits going to Carla Bley
Carla Bley
Carla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
).
His follow-up single, a reggae ballad remake of Chris Andrews's
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
hit "Yesterday Man
Yesterday Man
"Yesterday Man" is a song written by Chris Andrews and his debut single as a solo singer, released in 1965. It went up to position three in the UK charts and number one in Ireland and Germany....
", again produced by Mason, was nearly released by Virgin, but at the last minute it was shelved, "the boss at Virgin claiming that single was 'lugubrious', robbing Wyatt of a possible follow-up hit."
Wyatt's next solo album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
-Background:The follow-up to Rock Bottom, for which Wyatt had written all of the music and lyrics, Ruth... consisted of Wyatt's adaptations and arrangements of other people's music with Wyatt adding his own lyrics in much the same way as he'd done on...
, produced by Wyatt apart from one track produced by Mason, was more jazz-led, with free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
influences. Guest musicians included Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
on guitar, synthesizer and "direct inject anti-jazz ray gun".
Throughout the rest of the 1970s Wyatt guested with various acts, including Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
(documented on their Henry Cow Concerts
Henry Cow Concerts
Henry Cow Concerts is a live double album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at concerts in London, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway between September 1974 and October 1975...
album), Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter.-Career:...
, Carla Bley
Carla Bley
Carla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
, Eno, Michael Mantler
Michael Mantler
Michael Mantler is a composer and trumpeter in new jazz and contemporary music.-Career: United States:Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria...
, and Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
guitarist Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
, contributing lead vocals to lead track "Frontera", from Manzanera's 1975 solo debut Diamond Head. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
's Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
-inspired song "Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding (song)
"Shipbuilding" is a song written by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer . Written during the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of Merseyside , North East England and Belfast to build new ships to...
", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us
Nothing Can Stop Us
Nothing Can Stop Us is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt released in 1982.-Concept:Consisting primarily of tracks released as singles and B-sides during the late 1970s and early '80s, it only contains one Wyatt composition...
), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's Festive Fifty
Festive Fifty
The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's fifty best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show...
for tracks from that year.
In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other acts such as News from Babel
News from Babel
News from Babel were an English avant-rock group founded in 1983 by Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins and Dagmar Krause. They made two studio albums with several guest musicians and disbanded in 1986.-History:...
as well as Japanese recording artist Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
, he and his wife Alfreda Benge
Alfreda Benge
Alfreda Benge is a lyricist and illustrator. She has been married to musician Robert Wyatt since 1974. She has contributed lyrics to many of his compositions, and has written lyrics for French musician/producer Bertrand Burgalat, and for Brazilian singer Monica Vasconcelos.Benge studied and worked...
spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan
Dondestan
Dondestan is the sixth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in 1991.-Track listing:#"Costa" - 4:39#"The Sight Of The Wind" – 4:58#"Catholic Architecture" – 5:10#"Worship" – 4:50#"Shrinkrap" – 3:52#"CP Jeebies" – 4:04...
. His 1997 album Shleep
Shleep
Shleep is the eighth album by Canterbury scene and progressive rock veteran and musician Robert Wyatt, released in 1997.The album brings together a diverse range of musicians from a range of genres.-Track listing:...
was also praised.
In 1999 he collaborated with the Italian singer Cristina Donà
Cristina Donà
Cristina Donà is an Italian singer and songwriter.She developed a passion for music since she was a teenager, her favorites singers being, among others, Bruce Springsteen, Sinéad O'Connor, Joni Mitchell, Michelle Shocked, Tom Waits, Lucio Battisti, and Beatles .She studied at Accademia di Belle...
on her second album Nido
Nido
NIDO is a powdered milk supplement manufactured by Nestlé. Although there is no age recommendation, marketing is featured around children over three years of age with the tagline "Nutritious Milk for Growing Kids"...
. In the summer of 2000 her first EP Goccia was released and Wyatt made an appearance in the video of the title track.
Wyatt contributed "Masters of the Field", as well as "The Highest Gander", "La Forêt Rouge" and "Hors Champ" to the soundtrack of the 2001 film Winged Migration
Le Peuple Migrateur
Winged Migration , is a 2001 documentary film directed by Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin, who was also one of the writers and narrators, showcasing the immense journeys routinely made by birds during their migrations....
. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais
Bruno Coulais
Bruno Coulais is a French composer, most widely known for his music on film soundtracks. He recently composed the score for the animated film, The Secret of Kells, released 12 March 2010.- Life and career :...
as being a big influence in his younger days.
Influence on other artists
The Tears for FearsTears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
song "I Believe
I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)
"I Believe " is a single by the British band Tears for Fears. It was the band's eleventh single release and ninth UK Top 40 hit...
" from their 1985 album Songs from the Big Chair
Songs from the Big Chair
Songs from the Big Chair is the second album by the British rock band Tears for Fears. It was released in 1985 on Phonogram Records, and remains their highest selling album to date. The album peaked at no.2 in the UK and reached no.1 in the US...
was originally written by bandmember Roland Orzabal
Roland Orzabal
Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is known mainly as a co-founding member of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint vocalist, but he has also achieved success as a producer of other artists.- Early career :Orzabal...
for Wyatt, but in the end the band decided to record the song themselves and dedicated it to him. As a further tribute to Wyatt, on the B-side of the single, Orzabal performs a cover version of "Sea Song", from the Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom (album)
-Personnel:*Robert Wyatt - Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion, Slide Guitar *Mike Oldfield - Guitar *Gary Windo - Bass Clarinet, Tenor Sax *Ivor Cutler - Voice , Baritone Concertina *Alfreda Benge - Voice *Mongezi Feza - Trumpets...
album. This recording can also be found on the Tears For Fears compilation album Saturnine Martial & Lunatic
Saturnine Martial & Lunatic
Saturnine Martial & Lunatic is the second official compilation album released by the British band Tears for Fears. It is a collection of B-sides and rare tracks, spanning some ten years of recording from the band's Mercury/Phonogram era.-Track listing:...
as well as later remastered versions of Songs from the Big Chair.
"Sea Song" was also covered by Rachel Unthank and the Winterset on their 2007 album The Bairns
The Bairns (album)
-Rachel Unthank and the Winterset:* Rachel Unthank – voice, cello, ukelele, feet* Becky Unthank – vocals, feet* Belinda O'Hooley – piano, voice* Niopha Keegan – fiddle, voice-Additional musicians:* Neil Harland – double bass...
, and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
David Peschek said of the cover: "That’s the best version of that I’ve ever heard". In November 2011, The Unthanks released a live album, The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons
The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons
The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons, the fifth album by English folk group The Unthanks, was released on 28 November 2011. Its extended title is: Diversions, Vol. 1: The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons - Live from the Union Chapel, London...
, and Wyatt is quoted on the cover of the album as saying "I love the idea. It makes me happy just thinking about it."
Recent years
In June 2001, Wyatt was curator of the MeltdownMeltdown (festival)
Meltdown is an annual, English festival, held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The Hayward...
festival, and sang "Comfortably Numb
Comfortably Numb
"Comfortably Numb" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, which first appears on the 1979 double album, The Wall. It was also released as a single in the same year with "Hey You" as the B-side. It is one of only three songs on the album for which writing credits are shared between Roger...
" with David Gilmour at the festival. It was recorded on Gilmour's DVD David Gilmour in Concert
David Gilmour in Concert
David Gilmour in Concert is a DVD of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London in June 2001, as part of the Robert Wyatt-curated Meltdown festival. It also features additional footage recorded during three concerts at the same venue in January 2002...
.
In January 2003, BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
broadcast Free Will and Testament, a programme featuring performance footage of Wyatt with musicians Larry Stabbins
Larry Stabbins
Larry Stabbins is a British jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer.-Biography:Larry Stabbons learned clarinet at school at the age of eight, when his musical idol was Acker Bilk. He started playing saxophone at the age of eleven...
, Jennifer Maidman, Liam Genockey
Liam Genockey
Liam Genockey is an Irish drummer.Liam Genockey was born in Dublin, Ireland. During the 1960s he lived in Plymouth, Devon, U.K, playing in local semi-pro groups, then in the early 70's playing with Torbay based rock band Adolphus Rebirth...
, Annie Whitehead
Annie Whitehead
Annie Whitehead is an English jazz trombone player.-Career:Annie learned trombone at school; at 14 she was already busy playing with brass bands, local dance groups and the Manchester Youth Jazz Orchestra and began her professional career at sixteen. Among her initial influences were Miles Davis,...
and Janette Mason, and interviews with John Peel, Brian Eno, Annie Whitehead, Alfie and Wyatt himself. Later in 2003, the Mercury Music Prize nominated album Cuckooland
Cuckooland
-Track listing:All tracks composed by Robert Wyatt; except where indicated#"Just a Bit" – 5:09#"Old Europe" – 4:15#"Tom Hay's Fox" – 3:33#"Forest" – 7:55#"Beware" – 5:09...
was released.
In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album Medúlla.
He lives in Louth, Lincolnshire and he has equipment in his bedroom where he records himself and his albums. We brought a G4 and Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
and recorded it in one afternoon. He's such an extraordinary singer. Before he left, he insisted to give us a scale of his voice, where he sings all the tones – and he has the most amazing range, like 5 or 6 octaveOctaveIn music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s. What's really interesting about his range is that each octave is of a totally different character. We actually ended up using that later for "OceaniaOceania (song)"Oceania" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk. It was formerly planned to be the first single release from Björk's Medúlla album. Later it was just released as a promo. It was written for the 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, where she performed immediately following the Parade of Nations...
", we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'. — Björk, XfmXfmXfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, 25 August 2004
In 2006, Wyatt played with David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
on Gilmour's new release On an Island
On an Island
On an Island is the third solo album by David Gilmour, best known as vocalist and lead guitarist for Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the United States the following day. It was Gilmour's first new solo album in 22 years...
, singing and playing cornet and percussion on "Then I Close My Eyes". Wyatt performed as a guest at Gilmour's series of Royal Albert Hall concerts, playing his cornet solo for this song. This is documented on the Remember That Night
Remember That Night
Remember That Night is a live concert recording of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concerts at the Royal Albert Hall on 29, 30 & 31 May 2006 as part of his On an Island tour. The title is taken from a line in the song "On an Island". It has been released on both DVD and Blu-ray formats...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray, released in 2007. Wyatt also read passages from the novels of Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami
is a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...
for Max Richter
Max Richter (Composer)
Max Richter is a German-born British composer.-Biography:Richter studied composition and piano at University of Edinburgh, the Royal Academy of Music and with Luciano Berio in Florence. After finishing his studies, Richter co-founded the contemporary classical ensemble Piano Circus...
's album Songs from Before.
In 2006, Wyatt collaborated with Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
and Muriel Teodori on the opera Welcome to the Voice
Welcome to the Voice
Welcome to the Voice is a bilingual opera based on an original story and libretto by Muriel Teodori with music composed by Steve Nieve. A first draft was given a workshop performance at the Atlantic Bell Jazz Festival in 2000. The performance cast was Elvis Costello, Ron Sexsmith, John Flansburgh...
. Wyatt interprets the character 'the Friend', both singing and playing pocket trumpet. Welcome to the Voice is an opera in one unique scene, on the street in front of an opera house. Wyatt's contribution to the recording was recorded at Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
's home studio in North London. Welcome to the Voice was released in May 2007 on Deutsche Grammophon, and the recording features Robert Wyatt, Barbara Bonney
Barbara Bonney
-Early life:Bonney was born in Montclair, New Jersey. As a child she studied piano and cello. When Bonney was 13 her family moved to Maine, where she became part of the Portland Youth Orchestra as a cellist...
, Sting, Amanda Roocroft, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Nathalie Manfrino, Brodsky Quartet
Brodsky Quartet
The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, in existence since 1972, though only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members.In addition to performing classical music, and in particular the classic string quartet repertoire of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók and Shostakovich,...
, Sara Fulgoni
Sara Fulgoni
Sara Fulgoni is a British mezzo-soprano.She graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music. She made her Royal Opera House debut in Verdi's Luisa Miller debut in 2003 and has sung at the Salzburg Festival, La Scala and other important houses. She sang the title role at the world premiere of ...
, Ned Rothenberg
Ned Rothenberg
Ned Rothenberg is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and shakuhachi...
, Antoine Quessada, Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
, Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
and Muriel Teodori.
In March 2007, it was announced that Wyatt was working on a new solo album entitled Comicopera
Comicopera
Comicopera is an album by Robert Wyatt released on 8 October 2007, available on both CD and double vinyl formats . It is Wyatt's first release on the Domino Records label...
. It was released in October 2007 on the Domino Records label, a large independent label housing such big indie stars as Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
, Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
, Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....
and Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
.
In 2008, Domino re-released Wyatt's Drury Lane, Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom (album)
-Personnel:*Robert Wyatt - Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion, Slide Guitar *Mike Oldfield - Guitar *Gary Windo - Bass Clarinet, Tenor Sax *Ivor Cutler - Voice , Baritone Concertina *Alfreda Benge - Voice *Mongezi Feza - Trumpets...
, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
-Background:The follow-up to Rock Bottom, for which Wyatt had written all of the music and lyrics, Ruth... consisted of Wyatt's adaptations and arrangements of other people's music with Wyatt adding his own lyrics in much the same way as he'd done on...
, Nothing Can Stop Us
Nothing Can Stop Us
Nothing Can Stop Us is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt released in 1982.-Concept:Consisting primarily of tracks released as singles and B-sides during the late 1970s and early '80s, it only contains one Wyatt composition...
, Old Rottenhat
Old Rottenhat
Old Rottenhat is the fifth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in 1985. In 1993 it was reissued in its entirety as part of the CD Mid-Eighties.All instruments and voices provided by Robert Wyatt...
, Dondestan
Dondestan
Dondestan is the sixth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in 1991.-Track listing:#"Costa" - 4:39#"The Sight Of The Wind" – 4:58#"Catholic Architecture" – 5:10#"Worship" – 4:50#"Shrinkrap" – 3:52#"CP Jeebies" – 4:04...
, Shleep
Shleep
Shleep is the eighth album by Canterbury scene and progressive rock veteran and musician Robert Wyatt, released in 1997.The album brings together a diverse range of musicians from a range of genres.-Track listing:...
, EPs and Cuckooland
Cuckooland
-Track listing:All tracks composed by Robert Wyatt; except where indicated#"Just a Bit" – 5:09#"Old Europe" – 4:15#"Tom Hay's Fox" – 3:33#"Forest" – 7:55#"Beware" – 5:09...
on CD and vinyl.
In May 2009, Wyatt appeared on the album Around Robert Wyatt by the French Orchestre National de Jazz.
Wyatt was one of the guest editors of BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Today programme, working on the 1 January 2010 programme. Among other things he advocated greater prominence for amateur choirs, and admitted to a preference for them over professional choirs "because there's a greater sense of commitment and meaning in their singing."
In December 2010, Wyatt was asked by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
to choose his top ten favourite pop songs for its audio Advent calendar
Advent calendar
An Advent calendar is a special calendar which is used to count or celebrate the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Some calendars are strictly religious, whereas others are secular in content...
.
"Wyatting"
The verb "Wyatting" appeared in some blogs and music magazines to describe the practice of playing weird tracks on a pub jukebox to annoy the other pub goers. Wyatt was quoted in The Guardian as saying "I think it's really funny" and "I'm very honoured at the idea of becoming a verb." However, when asked if he would ever try it himself, he said "Oh no. I don't really like disconcerting people. Although often when I try to be normal I disconcert anyway."Albums
- The End of an EarThe End of an EarThe End of an Ear is the debut solo album by Soft Machine's Robert Wyatt.-Background:It was recorded in August 1970, while on a leave of absence from Soft Machine . Containing mostly free jazz and experimental music, with no lyrics , it is an unusual album...
(1970) - Rock BottomRock Bottom (album)-Personnel:*Robert Wyatt - Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion, Slide Guitar *Mike Oldfield - Guitar *Gary Windo - Bass Clarinet, Tenor Sax *Ivor Cutler - Voice , Baritone Concertina *Alfreda Benge - Voice *Mongezi Feza - Trumpets...
(1974) - Ruth Is Stranger Than RichardRuth Is Stranger Than Richard-Background:The follow-up to Rock Bottom, for which Wyatt had written all of the music and lyrics, Ruth... consisted of Wyatt's adaptations and arrangements of other people's music with Wyatt adding his own lyrics in much the same way as he'd done on...
(1975) - The Animals FilmThe Animals FilmThe Animals Film is a feature documentary film about the use of animals by human beings, directed by Victor Schonfeld and Myriam Alaux, and narrated by actress Julie Christie. The film was first released in 1981.-Synopsis:...
(1982, Soundtrack) - Old RottenhatOld RottenhatOld Rottenhat is the fifth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in 1985. In 1993 it was reissued in its entirety as part of the CD Mid-Eighties.All instruments and voices provided by Robert Wyatt...
(1985) - DondestanDondestanDondestan is the sixth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in 1991.-Track listing:#"Costa" - 4:39#"The Sight Of The Wind" – 4:58#"Catholic Architecture" – 5:10#"Worship" – 4:50#"Shrinkrap" – 3:52#"CP Jeebies" – 4:04...
(1991) - ShleepShleepShleep is the eighth album by Canterbury scene and progressive rock veteran and musician Robert Wyatt, released in 1997.The album brings together a diverse range of musicians from a range of genres.-Track listing:...
(1997) - Dondestan (Revisited) (1998)
- CuckoolandCuckooland-Track listing:All tracks composed by Robert Wyatt; except where indicated#"Just a Bit" – 5:09#"Old Europe" – 4:15#"Tom Hay's Fox" – 3:33#"Forest" – 7:55#"Beware" – 5:09...
(2003) - Theatre Royal Drury Lane 8 September 1974 (2005)
- ComicoperaComicoperaComicopera is an album by Robert Wyatt released on 8 October 2007, available on both CD and double vinyl formats . It is Wyatt's first release on the Domino Records label...
(2007) - Radio Experiment Rome, February 1981 (2009)
- Orchestre National de Jazz Daniel Yvinec / Around Robert Wyatt (2009)
- For the Ghosts Within with Gilad AtzmonGilad AtzmonGilad Atzmon is an Israeli-born British jazz saxophonist, novelist, political activist and writer.Atzmon's album Exile was BBC jazz album of the year in 2003. Playing over 100 dates a year, he has been called "surely the hardest-gigging man in British jazz." His albums, of which he has recorded...
and Ros Stephen (2010)
Compilations
- Nothing Can Stop UsNothing Can Stop UsNothing Can Stop Us is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt released in 1982.-Concept:Consisting primarily of tracks released as singles and B-sides during the late 1970s and early '80s, it only contains one Wyatt composition...
(1982, singles compilation; 1983 Australian edition includes "Shipbuilding") - Mid-Eighties (1993; includes the whole of Old Rottenhat)
- Flotsam JetsamFlotsam JetsamFlotsam Jetsam is a compilation album of solo tracks and collaborations with other artists by Robert Wyatt. Some of the material had not been previously released.-Track listing:#ROBERT WYATT - Slow Walkin' Talk...
(1994) - Going Back a Bit: A Little History of Robert Wyatt (1994)
- Eps (1999)
- Solar Flares Burn for You (2003)
- His Greatest Misses (2004, compilation)
EPs
- The Peel Sessions (1974, "Alifib"/"Soup Song"/"Sea Song"/"I'm a Believer")
- Work In Progress (1984, "BikoBiko (song)"Biko" is a protest song by British rock musician Peter Gabriel. The song was included on Gabriel's third album, Peter Gabriel . It is about Steve Biko, a noted black South African anti-apartheid activist. Biko had been arrested by the South African police in late August 1977...
"/"Amber and the Amberines"/"Yolanda"/"Te Recuerdo Amanda") - 4 Tracks EP (1984, "I'm a Believer"/"Yesterday Man"/"Team Spirit"/"Memories")
- A Short Break (1996, EP)
- Airplay (2002, "Fridge"/"When Access Was a Noun "/"Salt-Ivy"/"Signed Curtain")
Singles
- "I'm a BelieverI'm a Believer"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
"/"Memories" (1974) - "Yesterday ManYesterday Man"Yesterday Man" is a song written by Chris Andrews and his debut single as a solo singer, released in 1965. It went up to position three in the UK charts and number one in Ireland and Germany....
"/"I'm a BelieverI'm a Believer"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
" (1974) - "Yesterday Man"/"Sonia" (1977)
- "Arauco"/"Caimanera" (1980)
- "At Last I'm Free"/"Strange FruitStrange Fruit"Strange Fruit" is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday, who released her first recording of it in 1939, the year she first sang it. Written by the teacher Abel Meeropol as a poem, it exposed American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans. Such lynchings had occurred...
" (1980) - "Stalin Wasn't Stallin'Stalin Wasn't Stallin'"Stalin Wasn't Stallin' " was an American patriotic song written in 1943 by Willie Johnson and originally recorded by the a cappella gospel group Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet in 1943...
/"Stalingrad" (1981) - "Grass"/"Trade Union" (1981)
- "ShipbuildingShipbuilding (song)"Shipbuilding" is a song written by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer . Written during the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of Merseyside , North East England and Belfast to build new ships to...
"/"Memories of YouMemories of You"Memories of You" is a popular song with lyrics written by Andy Razaf and music composed by Eubie Blake and published in 1930.-Song history:The song was introduced by singer Minto Cato in the Broadway show Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1930...
"/"'Round Midnight'Round Midnight (song)Round Midnight" is a 1944 jazz standard by pianist Thelonious Monk. Jazz artists Cootie Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Pepper, and Miles Davis have further embellished the song, with songwriter Bernie Hanighen adding lyrics...
" (1982) - "The Wind of Change"/"Namibia"(1984) (as "Robert Wyatt with the SWAPO Singers")
- "The Age of Self"/"Raise Your Banners High" (1984)
- "Chairman Mao" (1987)
- "Free Will and Testament"/"The Sight of the Wind" (1997)
- "Heaps of Sheeps"/"A Sunday in Madrid" (1997)
Other contributions
- Drums on most of Kevin AyersKevin AyersKevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
's Joy of a ToyJoy of a ToyJoy of a Toy is the debut solo album of Kevin Ayers, a founding member of Soft Machine. Its whimsical and unique vision is a clear indication of how Soft Machine might have progressed under Ayers' tenure...
(1969) - Drums on two tracks of Syd BarrettSyd BarrettSyd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
's The Madcap LaughsThe Madcap LaughsThe Madcap Laughs is an album by British singer/songwriter Syd Barrett, released on 3 January 1970. It was his first solo album after being replaced in the band Pink Floyd by his old school friend David Gilmour.- History :...
(1970) - Harmony vocals on "Whatevershebringswesing" on Kevin AyersKevin AyersKevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
's WhatevershebringswesingWhatevershebringswesingWhatevershebringswesing is the third solo album by Kevin Ayers.In 1971, Kevin Ayers started recording what would become his most acclaimed album, Whatevershebringswesing accompanied by members of Gong and his previous backing band The Whole World...
(1971) - Drums and vocals on Daevid AllenDaevid AllenDaevid Allen , sometimes credited as Divided Alien, an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist is co-founder of psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong .-Biography:In 1960, inspired by the Beat Generation writers he had discovered...
's Banana MoonBanana MoonBanana Moon is a 1971 studio album by Daevid Allen. The album is sometimes referred to as Bananamoon and it was also reissued as a Gong album....
(1971) - Drums on Keith TippettKeith TippettKeith Tippett is a British jazz pianist and composer.Tippett, the son of a local police officer, went to Greenway Boys Secondary Modern school in Southmead, Bristol. He formed his first jazz band called The KT7 whilst still at school and they performed numbers popular at the time by The Temperance...
's Septober EnergySeptober EnergySeptober Energy is the only album of the jazz/progressive rock big band Centipede. Produced by Robert Fripp, it was originally released 1971 in the UK as a double LP, and 1974 in the USA with a different cover...
(1971) - Harmony vocals on "Hymn" on Kevin AyersKevin AyersKevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
's BananamourBananamourBananamour is the fourth studio album by Kevin Ayers and it featured some of his most accessible recordings, including "Shouting in a Bucket Blues" and his whimsical tribute to Syd Barrett, "Oh! Wot A Dream". After Whatevershebringswesing, Ayers assembled a new band anchored by drummer Eddie...
(1973) - Percussion on Kevin AyersKevin AyersKevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
's June 1, 1974June 1, 1974June 1, 1974 is a live album of songs performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London on the titular date. The album is officially attributed to Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, although other well-known musicians, including Mike Oldfield and Robert Wyatt, also contributed to the concert. It...
(1974) - Percussion and backing vocals on Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
's Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)Taking Tiger Mountain is the second solo album by Brian Eno. Produced by Eno, it was originally released by Island Records in November 1974 in a gatefold sleeve. Unlike his previous album Here Come the Warm Jets, Eno used a core band of five instrumentalists and used fewer guest musicians...
(1974) - 2nd lead vocals on "Calyx" on Hatfield and the NorthHatfield and the NorthHatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter.-Career:...
's Hatfield and the NorthHatfield and the North (album)Hatfield and the North is the first album by experimental Canterbury scene rock band Hatfield and the North.In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #34 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums"....
(1974) - Vocals on Michael MantlerMichael MantlerMichael Mantler is a composer and trumpeter in new jazz and contemporary music.-Career: United States:Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria...
's The Hapless Child (1975/76) - Vocals on John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
's "Experiences No. 2" on Jan Steele/John Cage's Voices and Instruments (1976) - Vocals on Michael MantlerMichael MantlerMichael Mantler is a composer and trumpeter in new jazz and contemporary music.-Career: United States:Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria...
's Silence (1976) - Vocals on two tracks on Henry CowHenry CowHenry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
's ConcertsHenry Cow ConcertsHenry Cow Concerts is a live double album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at concerts in London, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway between September 1974 and October 1975...
(1976) - Piano on "1/1" on Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
's Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978) - Drums on Kevin CoyneKevin CoyneKevin Coyne was a musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The former "anti-star" was born on 27 January 1944 in Derby, UK, and died in his adopted home of Nuremberg, Germany, on 2 December 2004....
's Sanity StompSanity StompSanity Stomp is a double studio LP by the rock artist Kevin Coyne which was released in 1980.Of this album Coyne himself said:-Track listing:# "Fat Man”# “The Monkey Man”# “How Strange”# “Somewhere In My Mind”# “When ”...
(1980) - Vocals on Nick MasonNick MasonNicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is an English drummer and songwriter, best known for his work with Pink Floyd. He was the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1965...
's Fictitious SportsFictitious SportsPink Floyd drummer Nick Mason fronted the group who made the one-off self-titled album Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports in May 1981 in the UK and US, this being Mason's first major work outside of Pink Floyd. However, the album is considered by many a Carla Bley album in all but name, since she...
(1981) - Keyboards on Scritti PolittiScritti PolittiScritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Although there have been various changes to the line-up, Cardiff-born singer-songwriter Green Gartside was the founding member of the band and the only member to have remained throughout the group's...
's Songs to RememberSongs to RememberSongs to Remember is the debut album by the British new wave pop group Scritti Politti. Released in 1982, the album peaked at no.12 in the UK....
(1982) - Wyatt released an EP entitled Summer Into Winter in collaboration with Ben WattBen WattBenjamin Brian Thomas Watt is a British musician, DJ, and record producer, best known as one half of the duo, Everything but the Girl.-Family:...
(1982) - Vocals on two tracks on The Last NightingaleThe Last NightingaleThe Last Nightingale is an album by various artists recorded and released in 1984 to raise money for striking coal miners in the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike. It features Chris Cutler, Tim Hodgkinson and Lindsay Cooper from the English avant-rock group Henry Cow, singer and musician Robert Wyatt,...
(1984) - Vocals on four tracks on News from BabelNews from BabelNews from Babel were an English avant-rock group founded in 1983 by Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins and Dagmar Krause. They made two studio albums with several guest musicians and disbanded in 1986.-History:...
's Letters Home (1986) - Vocals on three tracks on Michael MantlerMichael MantlerMichael Mantler is a composer and trumpeter in new jazz and contemporary music.-Career: United States:Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria...
's Many Have No Speech (1987) - Vocals on UltramarineUltramarine (band)Ultramarine are a UK-based ambient / ambient house band, formed in the early 1990s by Paul Hammond and Ian Cooper.-Biography:Hammond and Cooper first worked together in the band A Primary Industry during the mid-1980s. Following the split of this band, they formed Ultramarine and released...
's United KingdomsUnited KingdomsUnited Kingdoms is an experimental album released in 1993 by the British electronic band Ultramarine on Blanco y Negro Records.The album fuses ambient music and electronica with elements of English folk music, and features guest vocals from Robert Wyatt....
(1993) - Vocals on one track on Michael MantlerMichael MantlerMichael Mantler is a composer and trumpeter in new jazz and contemporary music.-Career: United States:Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria...
's The School of Understanding (1996) - Vocals on three tracks on John GreavesJohn Greaves (musician)John Greaves is a British bass guitarist and composer, best known as a member of Henry Cow and his collaborative albums with Peter Blegvad...
's Songs (1996) - Vocals on Michael MantlerMichael MantlerMichael Mantler is a composer and trumpeter in new jazz and contemporary music.-Career: United States:Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria...
's Hide and Seek (2000) - Vocals on Pascal ComeladePascal ComeladePascal Paul Vincent Comelade , is a French Catalan musician.Comelade born was in Montpellier, France. After living for several years in Barcelona, he made his first album, Fluences, influenced by electronic music and by the group Heldon.Subsequently, his music has become more acoustic and is...
's September SongSeptember Song"September Song" is an American pop standard composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday. It has since been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists...
EP (2000) - Vocals on one track on Anja GarbarekAnja GarbarekAnja Garbarek is a Norwegian singer-songwriter of mixed Norwegian and Polish descent. She is the daughter of the Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek and grew up around Oslo. She received the Spellemannsprisen in 2001 for her album Smiling & Waving in the open class category. She is married to...
's Smiling & Waving (2001) - Vocals on two tracks on Bruno CoulaisBruno CoulaisBruno Coulais is a French composer, most widely known for his music on film soundtracks. He recently composed the score for the animated film, The Secret of Kells, released 12 March 2010.- Life and career :...
's motion picture soundtrack Travelling Birds (2001) - Cover version of "LoveLove (John Lennon song)"Love" is a song written and performed by John Lennon, originally released in 1970 on the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album.-Song:The song first came out on Lennon's 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. "Love" later appeared on the 1982 compilation The John Lennon Collection, and was released...
" on Uncut Presents: Instant Karma 2002; a Tribute to John Lennon (2002) - Vocals on "Submarine" on BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
's MedúllaMedúllaMedúlla is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on August 30, 2004 by Warner Bros. Records and One Little Indian. The title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals...
(2004) - Vocals on six tracks on Michael MantlerMichael MantlerMichael Mantler is a composer and trumpeter in new jazz and contemporary music.-Career: United States:Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria...
's Review (compilation - 2006) - Cornet on the song "Then I Close My Eyes" on David GilmourDavid GilmourDavid Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
's On an IslandOn an IslandOn an Island is the third solo album by David Gilmour, best known as vocalist and lead guitarist for Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the United States the following day. It was Gilmour's first new solo album in 22 years...
(2006) - Wyattron on "Cold Shoulder" on Kevin AyersKevin AyersKevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
's The UnfairgroundThe UnfairgroundThe Unfairground is an acclaimed 2007 album by Kevin Ayers, recorded with members of Ladybug Transistor, Teenage Fanclub, Neutral Milk Hotel, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Roxy Music. It is his sixteenth studio LP and his first new set of recordings in fifteen years. It was recorded in New York,...
(2007) - Vocals on "This Summer Night" on Bertrand BurgalatBertrand BurgalatBertrand Burgalat is a French musician, composer and producer.- Background :Bertrand Burgalat was born in the Corsican town of Bastia in 1963...
's Chéri B.B (2007) - released in 2008 as a limited edition 12" vinyl single (500 copies only) - Backing vocals on "I Keep Faith" on Billy BraggBilly BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
's Mr. Love & Justice (2008) - Drums on 2 songs on Everything That Happens Will Happen TodayEverything That Happens Will Happen TodayEverything That Happens Will Happen Today is the second album made in collaboration between David Byrne and Brian Eno, released on August 18, 2008, by Todo Mundo. The album explores themes of humanity versus technology and optimism in spite of bleak circumstance through the blending of electronic...
by David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
and Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
(2008) - "Camouflage" in collaboration with Barbara MorgensternBarbara MorgensternBarbara Morgenstern is a German electronic music artist who has released seven full-length albums and seven EPs.-Biography:...
on her album BM (2008) - Vocals on Hot ChipHot ChipHot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...
(featuring Geese) EP (not the LP of the same name) Made in the DarkMade in the DarkMade in the Dark is the third studio album from British electronic indie pop band Hot Chip. The album, of 13 songs, was released on 4 February 2008 on the EMI label. It peaked at number four on the UK Album Chart, number 25 on the Australian album charts, and entered at number 109 on the U.S....
(2009) - Vocals (partly lead, partly backing) and trumpet on some tracks on Jeanette LindströmJeanette LindströmJeanette Lindström is a Swedish singer, composer and lyricist. She grew up in Östersund and Ås in the Jämtland region of Sweden.Jeanette Lindström made her recording debut on Caprice Records with Another Country in 1995, the year she was awarded the "Jazz in Sweden" prize. Two more albums...
's Attitude and Orbit Control (2009)