I happened to listen to a long forgotten copy of the Tom Robinson Band's first album "Power in the Darkness" from the 70's. TRB was among the new wave bands that came out of London in the seventies along side The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Stranglers and The Jam. Tom Robinson (bass, vocals), Danny Kutsow (guitar), Dolphin Taylor (drums) were older and more experienced musicians than many of their contemporaries. Though Mark Ambler who played keyboards was still just a teenager, he also brought an old-school vibe to the band with his Hammond B3 organ.
Listening to the music again, I was floored. Most of the songs still work and they're just as good as they were 30 years ago. Songs like "Don't Take No For An Answer," "Long Hot Summer," "You Gotta Survive" and "Winter of '79" still hit with the same pop punch that they did originally. I don't think anyone would have the balls to do a song like "Power in the Darkness" these days; everyone's too afraid with political correctness to call it like it is or to use a little satire to make a point. In fact there's a remix version of that song from 2004 where Robinson himself does a much toned down (though perhaps more clever) version of his "radio voice" rant. Here's an excerpt from the original:
(spoken)
What we want is:Freedom from the reds and the blacks and the criminals
Prostitutes, pansies and punks
Football hooligans, juvenile delinquents
Lesbians and left wing scum
Freedom from the niggers and the Pakis and the unions
Freedom from the Gipsies and the Jews
Freedom from leftwing layabouts and liberals
Freedom from the likes of you...
I'm not sure today people would understand that it's tongue in cheek social commentary. Robinson was famously gay (known for his anthemic "Glad to be Gay," and unafraid to take a stand on issues that mattered. That's what led to so many great songs on the first album and why he helped organize the "Rock Against Racism" concert in '78 that featured TRB, The Clash, Steel Pulse and X-Ray Spex among others.
TRB's sound was in many ways more "classic rock" than punk. The steady drumming from Dolphin Taylor and powerful solos from Danny Kutsow give the songs an ageless quality. Unfortunately, TRB's success was shortlived. Their second album failed to reach the heights of their first --and really, how could it? The band dissolved some time later, Robinson carried on after a few false starts and now works in radio at the BBC where he's interviewed the likes of Billy Bragg, Bob Geldof, The Buzzcocks, Moby, Thom Yorke, The Dandy Warhols and dozens of others.
TRB's greatest hits album Rising Free includes 11 songs from the first album and 4 other songs from later on. But I recommend picking up the first album Power in the Darkness; it's got all the songs plus the bonus EP and the 2004 remix. The first album really is TRB's greatest hits. You can also download most of Tom's later work directly from his site free of charge.
- Amazon: Power in the Darkness, Greatest Hits
- Tom Robinson: Home page, Bio, Discography, TRB, Photos, Radio, Downloads
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