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The Soft Boys

From Alfawiki
The Soft Boys
Company typeBand
IndustryMusic
Founded1976 in Cambridge, England
Defunct1981 (initial breakup)
FateDisbanded; reunited several times (1994, 2001–2003)
Headquarters
Cambridge
,
England
ProductsMusic albums, singles, EPs

The Soft Boys were a British rock ensemble fronted by guitarist Robyn Hitchcock.

Originating in 1976 in Cambridge, England, the group produced two studio albums before their breakup in 1981. Their distinctive fusion of psychedelic sounds with vintage folk-rock played a pivotal role in shaping the development of jangle pop, indie rock, and neo-psychedelia from the 1980s onward.

Early band history

Originally called Dennis and the Experts, The Soft Boys' first formation featured Hitchcock on guitar, Rob Lamb also on guitar, Andy Metcalfe handling bass duties, and Morris Windsor on drums. After performing four shows in late 1976, Alan Davies took over Lamb’s position, followed by Kimberley Rew replacing Davies. This stable lineup—Hitchcock, Rew, Metcalfe, and Windsor—recorded their first album, A Can of Bees (1979).

In 1979, Matthew Seligman replaced Metcalfe as bassist. The band ceased activity in 1981 after releasing their sophomore album, Underwater Moonlight.

Post-Soft Boys and reunions

Following the band's dissolution, Rew went on to establish the more commercially oriented pop act Katrina and the Waves, while Hitchcock embarked on a successful solo path characterized by his whimsical and surreal songwriting. In 1984, Hitchcock formed Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians with former Soft Boys members Morris Windsor and Andy Metcalfe; this project toured and recorded extensively for ten years. The Soft Boys briefly came together again in 1994 for a UK tour and to issue a box set, joined by Rew, Jim Melton, and Seligman. Another reunion occurred in 2001 without Metcalfe to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Underwater Moonlight, followed by the release of Nextdoorland in 2002 before disbanding once more in 2003.

Bassist Matthew Seligman passed away in 2020 due to complications related to COVID-19.

Albums

Compilation and live albums

  • Two Halves for the Price of One (1981) (Collection of studio rarities and live recordings)
  • Live at the Portland Arms (cassette, 1983; LP, 1988)
  • Invisible Hits (1983)
  • Wading Through a Ventilator (EP) (1984) (Features Give It To The Soft Boys EP plus additional tracks)
  • Raw Cuts (EP) (1989) (Reissued version of Wading Through a Ventilator)
  • 1976-81 (2 CD) (1993) (Compilation including best-of selections, rarities, out-takes, and live material)
  • Where Are The Prawns (cassette, 1994)
  • Underwater Moonlight... And How It Got There (2 CD) (2001) (Complete Underwater Moonlight album plus demos, rehearsals, and out-takes)

Singles and EPs

  • Give It To The Soft Boys 7-inch EP: "Wading Through a Ventilator" b/w "The Face of Death" and "Hear My Brane" (1977)
  • "(I Want to Be An) Anglepoise Lamp" b/w "Fatman's Son" (1978)
  • Near the Soft Boys 7-inch EP: "Kingdom of Love" b/w "Vegetable Man" & "Strange" (1980)
  • "I Wanna Destroy You" b/w "Old Pervert" (1980)
  • "Only the Stones Remain" b/w "The Asking Tree" (1981)
  • "Love Poisoning" (1982)
  • "He's a Reptile" b/w "Song No. 4" (1983)
  • "The Face of Death" b/w "The Yodelling Hoover" (1989)
  • Side Three (CD EP) (2002)

An unreleased album funded by Radar Records was recorded at Rockfield Studios in 1978 concurrently with Rush's Hemispheres, though it never saw official release; several tracks later surfaced on compilation albums.

External links

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