Friday Photo #80

Robyn H at The Portland Arms

I sometimes feel that all I do is write about Robyn Hitchcock, though a quick look through my back pages shows that I have in fact been displaying admirable restraint and that he hasn't actually darkened the doors of this here blog since the Spring of 2023. Time for a catch-up then.

Last Wednesday I did a 136 mile round trip to The Portland Arms in Cambridge to see Robyn and his superb pick-up band tear through a swathe of songs from his catalogue (plus a few covers), many of which were written within walking distance of the venue in the 1970s & 80s. He took a moment before opening the show, '...I first played at the Portland Arms 52 years ago...and looking round the audience, I see some familiar faces...' I got home a little after midnight, managing around 3½ hours sleep before my 4am alarm roused me for work.

The following evening's jaunt was a mere 80 mile round trip to see Robyn again in Ipswich, this time without a full band. He kicked things off with a magnificent 'Ghost Ship', a long time favourite of your humble author, and was ten songs into the set before we got a repeat from the Cambridge show. The gig ran a little late and I arrived home around midnight once again, zonking out until rudely awakened by that pesky 4am alarm. Needless to say, Friday at work was a bit of a struggle, but completely worth it. Emma Swift opened for Robyn on both nights and was absolutely stunning.

4 years ago, I was among the audience in Norwich for the debut public performance of 'I Am This Thing', the song that opens Robyn's latest LP 'The Confuser'. It's become a staple in his sets these days, whatever the onstage configuration, and contains the particularly lovely lines - '...I grew out of somebody else, she wore a wedding ring, and when I decompose I will be part of everything...'

I Am This Thing

And I Was Crying

Robyn at Alexandra Palace

I'd had the last week of February booked off for months and months and months, since Robyn Hitchcock announced a one-off electric show at the Alexandra Palace for the 25th. Some time later, he bracketed the London performance with the announcement of a handful of solo acoustic gigs, including one in Brighton on the 22nd, so I snapped up a ticket for that one as well. Brighton was intimate, the kind of presentation I've become accustomed to over the past couple of years worth of livestreams, while at the Ally Pally, just days short of his 70th birthday, he rocked out with a band comprising the surviving members of The Soft Boys, bolstered by Bedders from Madness on bass.

On both nights, Robyn was joined for a few numbers by his wife and muse Emma Swift, whose spellbinding harmonies have been a highlight of his music in recent years. They've sung 'Glass Hotel' together countless times and I never tire of it. In Brighton I was reaching for my hanky before they'd got out of the first verse. 

Here's an audience recording of 'Glass Hotel' (preceded by a snatch of typically amusing Swiftcock banter) from Chicago in April 2022, the natural echo of the hall only adding to the majesty of the song.

Come Here Little Ghost

Robyn pauses for a mid-show chat with Ringo

Getting on for three years in, Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift's life-affirming series of streamed concerts (Live From Tubby's House) continue. Every week they perform new songs, old songs, ridiculously obscure out-takes, covers, all interspersed with laughter and life updates. Robyn usually begins each show with a few minutes of instrumental acoustic noodling and concludes, 90 minutes later, with a slow building raga. Yesterday, a mere four months after the release of the magnificent 'Shufflemania', Robyn announced 'Life After Infinity', a brand new completely instrumental album, which is due out in April. Read all about it here.

There Is Only This One Moment & You've Got To Make It Last

Kimberley and Robyn on stage in Cambridge last week

I've just finished a lengthy uninterrupted run of holiday cover shifts. There have been a few long stretches of late, thanks largely to Covid sweeping through the store, though it's usually a mixture of earlies and lates. This time it was all earlies, meaning 5am alarm calls every day. It's not too much of a chore getting out of bed at this time of year though to be honest, the sun is already up and the loud birdsong eases me into my first coffee of the morning. My problems start at the other end of the day. I get home by 5.30pm and after a shower and a meal am struggling to keep my eyes open by 7.30. I'm usually in the land of nod by 8. What a lightweight I've become!

You can count the number of gigs I've been to since lockdown on the fingers of one hand, but, much like buses, two rolled up together right in the middle of this intense period of work - neither of them local. First I undertook an 80 mile round trip to catch Modern Nature in Ipswich. 'Island of Noise' was one of my favourite albums of 2021 and I was thrilled to learn that the band would be venturing out East during their tour. The Smokehouse is a standing venue and Modern Nature's music can be quite subtle, not an ideal combination when it's way past your bedtime! It was a terrifically engaging performance though, the sort of show one felt privileged to be in the audience for. Highlights included the epic, Spiritulized-esque 'Build', which concluded the set in magnificent fashion and the Sea and Cake meets Neu! bliss of 'Performance'.

Modern Nature - Performance

A couple of evenings later I took my weary bones over to Cambridge for the final date of Robyn Hitchcock's UK tour. As I've mentioned many times recently, Robyn has been elevated from mere musical hero to a somewhat mythical status in my affections, thanks to the ongoing series of streamed gigs he's performed with his wife Emma since the very start of the pandemic in March 2020 - now in excess of 200 shows! Emma has often spoken about how much these weekly shows have helped them cope over the past couple of years, but I only wish I could adequately express to her just how much they've helped me (and no doubt many others) cope too. In Cambridge Robyn played solo at first, then with assorted guests, including Emma and fellow former Soft Boy legend Kimberley Rew. For the 'Brenda's Iron Sledge' / 'Queen of Eyes' finale he fronted a unique three electric guitar/two basses line-up - and what a glorious racket they made! I drove the 70 miles home still buzzing and caught just four hours sleep before my alarm roused me for another early start, but I would've quite happily done it all over again the following day given the chance.

Robyn Hitchcock - Glass Hotel

Show Me Those Who Are Not There

The shingles has lingered much longer than I imagined it would. I felt so guilty about being off sick during the busiest period of the year that I foolishly went back too soon, working three long shifts from 22nd December until Christmas Eve and then on Boxing Day. I somehow made it in the day after that, but had to come home after three hours, barely able to hold myself upright. I've been off again ever since. I'm hopeful of a more cautious return to the fray next week, this time easing in with short shifts to start with.

With so much time to kill, I initially tried listening to music or reading a book with limited success, agitated by the pain and fuzzy-headed from the painkillers. I don't have a TV, but I do have my trusty laptop and eventually found distraction by revisiting several television programmes of my youth via YouTube. I passed the hours reconnecting with episodes of such shows as Callan, Z Cars, Softly Softly Task Force, Quiller, The Sweeney, along with a few others from the 1960s & 70s, that I remember watching with my parents. The sedately paced Softly Softly Task Force was Dad's favourite back then, whereas I preferred the rough and tumble (and smoking...the endless smoking!) of The Sweeney. The distant familiarity of Barlow, Watt, Carter and Regan's respective adventures was strangely comforting, but my how the world has changed since I last watched them.

Robyn Hitchcock - Television

Friday Photo #13

Robyn Hitchcock on stage at the Ipswich Transport Museum

Over the past 18 months I've tuned in to over half of Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift's twice weekly Sweet Home Quarantine live streamed shows - that's about 90 hours of music all told. Us regulars in the audience have become collectively known as The Groovers to Robyn, Emma and each other - a band of brothers, sisters, friends and strangers, spread around the four corners of the Earth, tuning in to forget about our problems for an hour or so, be they personal, political, local or global. While the outside world was steadily going to hell in an ongoing series of handcarts, on Sweet Home Quarantine nothing was off limits - Soft Boys classics, back catalogue gems, deep obscurities, newly penned songs and cover versions galore were joyfully delivered from their laptop to ours, all interspersed with warm conversation and regular appearances from adorable Scottish Folds, Ringo and Tubby. And apparently the show will go on. Even as we tentatively tiptoe back towards some form of 'normality', Robyn and Emma have expressed a desire to maintain the community and continue to broadcast Sweet Home Quarantine shows into the future, as and when real life commitments allow. 

The real life commitment currently causing a hiatus in Sweet Home Quarantine shows is Robyn's much delayed UK tour. Last Saturday I was at the Ipswich Transport Museum to witness him play a wonderful set on a stage laid out between a tram and a trolley-bus. One of Robyn's life long passions is ancient, redundant modes of  public transportation, as can be witnessed in the lyrics of several of his songs and he seemed genuinely overwhelmed by his surroundings, claiming it to be the most perfect venue he'd played in 45 years on the road. The setlist reflected the transportation vibe - 'Fifty Two Stations', 'I Often Dream of Trains' and a really beautiful 'Trams of Old London' were all given outings. Most poignant of the lot though was 'Raymond and the Wires', the story of a 1964 trolley-bus trip young Master Hitchcock took with his father (the author Raymond Hitchcock). Robyn sang the opening line '...my eyes have seen the trolley-bus...' and paused, gently strumming his guitar as he looked left and right at the ancient vehicles all around him - an emotional moment at the beginning of a particularly personal song.

Robyn Hitchcock - Raymond and the Wires 

I know You're Out There

I spent much of 2019 standing down at the deep end in the great swimming pool of life, with the water lapping just under my chin. I had hoped that 2020 would've seen me ease into a better place and gradually edge back towards the shallows - that didn't happen though. I was already struggling, even before world events took their many ominous turns and in recent weeks I've more than once found myself standing on tiptoes in even deeper waters, with my nose barely visible above the surface. But of course, in spite of my moans and groans, I know all too well that I'm one of the lucky ones - I have my health, an income and a roof over my head. There are a great many people who are not so fortunate. What I'm finding particularly distressing on a personal level is that the black cloud leaves me struggling to focus on anything requiring even a modicum of concentration -  listening to records, reading books, watching films or indeed fully engaging with the blogging community. Weeks and months have drifted by - so much time wasted.

The steady flow of streamed gigs over the past few months have provided welcome distractions, moments of comfort and genuine pleasure. Richard Thompson, Steve Wynn, Ed Kuepper, Alden Patterson & Dashwood, Rozi Plain, This is the Kit and Alasdair Roberts have all played online shows, most of them more than one. None of my musical heroes has been quite as busy as Robyn Hitchcock though. Robyn and his partner, singer-songwriter Emma Swift, are nudging towards their 30th Sweet Home Quarantine show since the pandemic crisis began. Together they've tackled nuggets from Hitchcock's vast back catalogue, fan requested rarities and a fascinating array of covers, including whole evenings devoted to the works of Bob Dylan, Syd Barrett, The Beatles and David Bowie. Friday at 8 is the absolute highlight of my week and at different points in every single show I sing along with gusto, I laugh out loud and I cry real tears - much as I would do at a Robyn Hitchcock gig in the real world. Each Sweet Home Quarantine concert lasts 45 minutes, costs around £4.50 and is not officially archived - if you miss it, it's gone, just like an actual live concert - you remember them don't you? I really can't recommend these shows highly enough. They're helping me to keep my head above water.

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Here's one home recorded performance Robyn and Emma have shared with the wider world, a brilliantly re-written version of a 1986 song, originally issued on the 'Element of Light' album. No prizes for guessing who this scathing new interpretation takes aim at. (The link takes you to a non-embeddable video of the performance, recorded in their East Nashville kitchen).

Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift - The President

You Decide

His ability to get down to the very crux of the problem is one of the many many reasons I love Robyn Hitchcock. 

Part Chimp - You Decide

And I Remember More Than I Can Tell

Kimberly, Robyn, Ruby and Morris onstage at the Union Chapel (Photo by yours truly)

Sometimes, we can take our favourite artists for granted and almost overlook what made us fall in love with them in the first place. Last week I was reminded in no uncertain terms why Robyn Hitchcock holds such a special place in my heart, when I caught two successive shows on his current UK tour. The first, in a modern, rather atmosphereless space in his old home town of Cambridge, a totally solo affair, kicked off with 'Tonight' and 'Queen of Eyes', Soft Boys classics written within a short distance of where we were sitting. The set then took a stroll through Robyn's vast back catalogue from the very old (and extremely obscure) 'Stranded in the Future' up to his current 7" single ('...not available in any record shop...') 'Sunday Never Comes', a song I'll admit took me a little while to get to grips with on initial release, but which I now recognise to be a thing of exquisite beauty. His interstitial meanderings were as entertaining as always. '...sorry about the slight roughness of my voice, I ate rather a lot of cheese before I came on stage which has left me with a dry throat...' I'm particularly indebted to the punter towards the front of the audience who shouted a request for 'The Speed of Things' during the encore. It's a personal favourite and one I'd not seen Robyn perform previously.

In contrast to the soulless Cambridge room, the Union Chapel in London is a beautiful 19th century building which hosted a truly memorable show on Tuesday evening, where Robyn was joined by fellow former fellow Soft Boys Kimberly Rew and Morris Windsor, along with Robyn's niece Ruby Wright on musical saw and backing vocals. The setlist, long and eclectic, featured a clutch of Soft Boys nuggets as you might imagine, though not necessarily the anticipated heavy hitters. '(I Want to be an) Anglepoise Lamp', 'The Face of Death' and 'Human Music' all got an airing, as well as solo rarities 'Uncorrected Personality Traits', 'Ye Sleeping Knights of Jesus' and 'Flavour of Night'. It was a fabulous night. Robyn was on fire, sculpting a setlist to die for and flooring us between songs with a series of unique stream of consciousness ramblings. A number of fans from the online Hitchcock community who've seen the great man in concert many more times than me, have lauded the gig as among the best they can remember.

Even if you're not already a fan, I'd recommend catching a Robyn Hitchcock concert if he pitches up in your part of the world anytime soon. I guarantee that you'll come away having been royally entertained and feeling totally besotted. (A sidebar to the Scottish contingent of our little corner of the internet: Robyn is back in the UK to play Glasgow's Celtic Connections on January 26th - put it in your diaries!) I'll leave you with the 1986 original of another highlight from the Union Chapel show.

Robyn Hitchcock - Winchester

Saturday Musings

I've had the week off - actually I'm still off and don't go back to work until Thursday. I've been hard at it for the past few months, taking every hour of overtime I've been offered, keeping mind and body occupied, so I was pretty knackered and ready for a break. Of course as soon as I stopped, I immediately became incredibly anxious and stressed, unhappy in my own skin and missing the person who is no longer sharing my life more than ever. So, each morning for the first half of the week, I took myself off to one of the many nature reserves in this part of the world, where I found myself able to embrace my solitude by simply walking, breathing and being - for hours at a time. It was some kind of wonderful I can tell you. Of course I had to return to the pain of my actual existence eventually, but those walks were encouragingly positive glimpses into a reality beyond the one I find myself trapped in at the moment.

Then on Wednesday evening I went to see Rozi Plain play in Norwich and on Thursday ventured down to my old hometown of Ipswich to catch her in concert again. Long suffering visitors to this place will already be all too aware of my immense adoration of Rozi's music. Today I'm off to Cambridge, to reconnect with my old buddy Robyn Hitchcock. Then, after a Sunday lunch in the company of a group of old friends, on Monday morning I'll be winding my way down to this nation's capitol to catch Robyn again for what is being touted as something of a career retrospective show at the Union Chapel, where he'll apparently be joined by guests aplenty, including more than one fellow former Soft Boy. It's all very exciting stuff for this old Fegmaniac.

I won't go on and on, but please allow me to reiterate once again how very humbled and grateful I am for every single message of moral support that has been sent in my direction following the recent posts regarding my personal circumstances. I appreciate every kind word more than you could possibly imagine. I'm appalling company at the moment, really dreadful, collapsing into a sobbing heap without warning at every turn, but one day, one day, I hope I'll be able to express my gratitude to at least some of you personally.

Rozi Plain - There Is No Sun

My Eyes Have Seen the Trolley Bus in 1964

Yer humble author hanging out with Robyn after the show

I know he's already had a lot of love from these pages in recent weeks, but the great Robyn Hitchcock is once again looming large in my mind following Friday night's concert at a tiny Ipswich venue, in front of a sold out audience of just 75 lucky punters.

 '... in 1966, when I was a 13 year old boy listening to Blonde on Blonde, I used to dream of one day wearing a polka-dot shirt, blowing a harmonica and playing a slightly out of tune guitar in front of a small audience somewhere in East Anglia...' (Perfectly timed pause, followed by a big smile) '...and tonight my dream has come true..!' 

In a setlist that delved deep into his vast catalogue, Robyn played a request for me (the frankly magnificent 'Be Still'), another for a mate of mine ('So You Think You're in Love') and concluded his encore with a superb cover of 'Visions of Johanna' - it really doesn't get much better for The Swede than that. Here's a 2017 live clip of the lovely 'Raymond and the Wires', also performed on Friday evening.

Version City #72 - Robyn Hitchcock sings Carl Douglas

JC, our mutual friend and Blogfather of this little corner of t'internet, has once again done me the great honour of featuring an Imaginary Compilation Album of my curation over at his place today. This time around, the subject of my attention is the one and only Robyn Hitchcock, a man whose music I've been digging for a frankly terrifying amount of time - 40 years! As I note in the post, the ten songs selected only scratch the surface of such a long, prolific ongoing career and I have every intention of following up with a Volume 2 in the fullness of time. I'm off to catch an intimate show on his UK tour in a few weeks, so expect more Robyn related gubbins soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the ICA here plus this bonus cover version from the 1990 Anti-Poll Tax compilation 'Alvin Lives (in Leeds)'. Thanks again JC.

Robyn Hitchcock - Kung Fu Fighting

Session News

I very rarely get to hear his programmes as they are broadcast these days, but in odd spare moments over the past week or so I've been desperately trying to catch up with a batch of recent Marc Riley radio shows on the BBC iPlayer before they disappear into the ether 30 days after transmission. His session guests have been of a exceptionally high calibre of late. They include marvellous sets from Joan As Policewoman, Peter Perrett, Yo La Tengo, Wreckless Eric and Robyn Hitchcock & the LA Squires. I've attached a handful of individual highlights, but you'll have to dig through Marc's episode guide to check out the rest. Don't delay though.

Hitchcock's full session and between song banter with Marc was a particular joy for this old Soft Boys fan and if anyone out there is able to magically preserve these moments in an MP3 format for me, I'd be eternally grateful. Robyn is in the middle of a UK tour at this very moment, but I'm unable to make it to any of the shows. Bugger.

Watch Out All You Space Cats

Funny felines, misbehaving moggies and cute quirky kittens, your social media platform of choice is probably crammed with images of 'em. Now I like cats, but it does get a little bit over the top at times. I'll never tire of these two Instagram pages though. Allow me to introduce you to Ringo (here) and his brother, the one-eyed Little Tubs (here), a pair of beautiful Scottish Folds owned by Robyn Hitchcock and his partner Emma Swift. A long-time cat lover, Robyn's fans shared his sorrow at the loss of previous little pal Tiny Montgomery, who is immortalised on the cover of his self-titled 2017 LP. Ringo and Little Tubs are clearly much loved, not to mention very photogenic, members of the family and the comments from Robyn & Emma are often an absolute hoot.

Robyn Hitchcock - Clean Steve (1990)

Scott McCaughey

Sending out good vibes to Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey, who suffered a stroke just before the weekend. Over the years Scott has also played with The Minus 5, REM and, here, as part of Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus Three.

Something Shakespeare Never Said Was 'You've Got To Be Kidding'

If you happen to own a bootleg recording of the Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians concert at the Cambridge Junction in January 1992, please allow me to offer my sincere apologies. Not for the show - it was fantastic. Neither for the quality of the amateur recording, which is excellent. Rather for the moment during the encore when Robyn surprises the audience by introducing erstwhile Soft Boys colleague Kimberley Rew to the stage to play a couple of their old band's tunes. While the majority of those assembled react with understandable enthusiasm, one individual, standing very close to the taper's microphone, loses his cool completely. 'F**k' he screams. 'It's f**king Kimberley Rew' he adds, approaching hysteria. 'It's a f**king Soft Boys reunion.....' Yes, I'm afraid that shrieking buffoon was me. Sorry.

23 years later, longer in tooth and calmer of disposition, when Robyn pulled the very same rabbit out of the hat for the encore of his solo concert in Norwich last Sunday, I managed to control my emotions somewhat more successfully. This time, his short set with Kimberley featured 'I Often Dream of Trains', 'Queen of Eyes', 'Tonight' and new composition 'My Eyes Have Seen the Trolley Bus', before they wrapped things up with a pair of covers that The Soft Boys used to play back in the mists of time, 'Mystery Train' and 'Cold Turkey'.

Prior to Kimberley's appearance, Robyn performed stunning solo arrangements of material drawn from all stages of his career, including 'My Wife and My Dead Wife', 'Listening to the Higsons' and 'Saturday Groovers'. Best of the lot for me though was 'Chinese Bones', a song originally released on the 1988 LP 'Globe of Frogs' (and covered in concert that same year by Suzanne Vega and the Grateful Dead!). The version he played last Sunday was a thing of utter beauty, not unlike this one, recorded in 2007.

Bob Bob Robyn Along

Following Charity Chic's recent post devoted to firm favourite of this parish Robyn Hitchcock (here), things have been even more Robyn-centric than usual here at Swede Towers. I had a little wobble a couple of days ago though, when Hitchcock announced a short UK tour in late October. My instant fear was that any local date might coincide with one of the pair of Bob Dylan Royal Albert Hall shows that I already have tickets for during the same period. To my huge relief, Robyn's gig in Norwich comes the night after my two consecutive Royal Albert Hall extravaganzas. Perfect.

In May 1996, I was fortunate to be in the audience at the Borderline in London when Hitchcock and a fine group of musical accomplaces lovingly recreated Bob Dylan's legendary Manchester Free Trade Hall concert that had taken place exactly 30 years earlier. A wag at the back of the room even shouted 'Judas', right on cue, just as the band were easing into 'Like a Rolling Stone'. Much of this gig was later included on the double album of Dylan covers, 'Robyn Sings', issued in 2002. Who knows, maybe Hitchcock will drop a Dylan nugget or two into his sets this Autumn, as a nod to Bob's concurrent UK visit.

I've featured two of my personal favourite Robyn Hitchcock songs in previous posts (here and here) and if he were to play either of those tunes in Norwich in October, I'd be happy as Larry. However his repertoire is vast and his set lists ever changing, so here are a couple more that are on my wish list. The latter, 'One Long Pair of Eyes' contains the quitessential Hitchcock couplet, "Doctor doctor, I'm on fire!', 'Oh I'm sad to hear that squire - we're closing". Genius.

Robyn Hitchcock

There is nothing to quite match the elation of feeling well again after a brief spell under the weather. It's a glorious sensation, enhanced still further by a new release from one of my all-time musical heroes, Robyn Hitchcock, with a tune right out of his top drawer.

'Rock and Roll is an old man’s game now, so I’m staying in it.'

The first glimpse of 'Be Still' came courtesy of an informal pub rehearsal video that appeared online towards the end of 2012 and featured Terry Edwards, Green Gartside from Scritti Politti and Bedders from Madness amongst others. Here though, is the finished article and the first taster of 'Love From London', Robyn's new album, due on March 3rd, which also happens to be his 60th birthday.

Version City #5 - Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock is a past master of the well chosen cover version, but not content with taking on individual songs by an artist, he has, on a number of a occasions, given live performances of entire albums by the likes of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, David Bowie and Syd-period Pink Floyd. His Dylan passion went a stage further on one memorable night in 1996 at London's Borderline, when he, and the band Homer, recreated Bob's legendary 1966 'Royal Albert Hall' (Manchester Free Trade Hall) concert note for note, word for word and off-the-cuff remark for off-the-cuff remark. 

Today, though, I'm featuring a couple of songs from a Robyn Hitchcock CD of dubious origin, entitled 'Invisible History', that I've had in my collection for nearly 20 years. The two tunes are Van Morrison compositions, from the beautiful 'Veedon Fleece' LP of 1974 and were both performed by Robyn on the same evening, in May 1991, at McCabe's Guitar Shop in California. 'Linden Arden Stole the Highlights' is given a faithful reading, while Robyn affectionately accentuates a few of Van the Man's vocal mannerisms during the performance of 'Fairplay'.

Version Galore!

Doppelgänger - A New York Moment

In New York on one of my occasional Stateside trips to visit relatives, I was walking on The Bowery one balmy evening in 2005, zigzagging across the street between the gridlocked traffic.

'Hey man...' a voice called out from an open car window, '..hey...Robyn Hitchcock...I love your music...' 

At the time my grey hair was fairly unkempt and I was wearing a black & white polka dot shirt. I'm also quite tall, so I guess it's a plausible mistake, not to mention a flattering one - I've been a fan of the great man since The Soft Boys' 'A Can of Bees' LP in 1979.

I half-smiled in the guy's direction as the traffic moved on and then noticed a small spring in my step. It was the first time I'd ever been mistaken for someone even slightly well-known - and it was someone I liked!

My second experience as a doppelgänger (this time of a different musician) was in the same city a few years later and in a slightly more public arena....but that's another story. 

For now here's Robyn in 2010, performing a pretty obscure 1988 b-side and a long-time favourite song, Ghost Ship.

(I met Robyn Hitchcock once in the late 1990s and neither of us - or anyone else in the room - remarked upon any physical similarities between us!)