Details

Author
Robyn Hitchcock
Performances
167

Releases

Title Artist Label Type Year
Element of Light Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians Glass Fish Records Album 1986
The Hooded One Robyn Hitchcock Feg You Records Bootleg 1988
Stand Back, Dennis! Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians Bootleg 1994
The Kershaw Sessions Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians Strange Roots Album 1994
Uncorrected Personality Traits Robyn Hitchcock Rhino Records Album 1997
Luminous Groove Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians Yep Roc Records Album 2008
Patreon 2023 Robyn Hitchcock Internet 2023

Gigs

Billed As Venue City State Country Date
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Ronnie Scott's London England UK 02/02/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians UCSD Gym Steps San Diego California US 03/13/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians I-Beam San Francisco California US 03/17/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Berkeley Square Berkeley California US 03/19/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Starry Night Portland Oregon US 03/21/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Moore Theatre Seattle Washington US 03/22/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Town Pump Vancouver British Columbia Canada 03/24/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians First Avenue Minneapolis Minnesota US 03/26/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians 9:30 Club Washington DC US 03/28/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Zentrum Zoo Tubingen Germany 04/13/1986
Robyn Hitchcock BBC Andy Kershaw Session London England UK 05/14/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians BBC London England UK 05/29/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Paradise Centre Reading England UK 06/02/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Norwich Arts Centre Norwich England UK 06/06/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Glastonbury Festival Pilton England UK 06/21/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians CND Festival Pilton England UK 06/22/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians [unknown venue] (Brighton, England UK) Brighton England UK 10/03/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians The Ritz New York New York US 11/01/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Paradise Rock Club Boston Massachusetts US 11/02/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Cabaret Metro Chicago Illinois US 11/07/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Nectarine Ballroom Ann Arbor Michigan US 11/10/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians 9:30 Club Washington DC US 11/13/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Haverford College, Founders Hall Haverford Pennsylvania US 11/15/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians I-Beam San Francisco California US 11/17/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians One Step Beyond Santa Clara California US 11/18/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Berkeley Square Berkeley California US 11/19/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians First Avenue Minneapolis Minnesota US 11/23/1986
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Tartan Bar Leeds England UK 01/24/1987
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Tenda Partenope Naples Italy 02/09/1987
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians MyWay Piacenza Italy 02/10/1987
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Stereodrome Bologna Italy 02/11/1987
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Stereodrome Bologna Italy 02/12/1987
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Hackney Empire London England UK 02/17/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Grove Arts Centre Dorchester England UK 02/19/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Uptown Lounge Athens Georgia US 03/25/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Centre Stage Atlanta Georgia US 03/26/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Rialto Theatre Raleigh North Carolina US 03/27/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Beacon Theatre New York New York US 03/31/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Paradise Rock Club Boston Massachusetts US 04/01/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Chestnut Cabaret Philadelphia Pennsylvania US 04/04/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Graffiti Club Pittsburgh Pennsylvania US 04/05/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians St. Andrew's Hall Detroit Michigan US 04/07/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Foellinger Auditorium Champaign-Urbana Illinois US 04/08/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Cabaret Metro Chicago Illinois US 04/09/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Union Theatre Madison Wisconsin US 04/10/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians First Avenue Minneapolis Minnesota US 04/11/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians The Fillmore San Francisco California US 04/13/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians John Anson Ford Theater Los Angeles California US 04/15/1988
Robyn Hitchcock Ronnie Scott's London England UK 06/05/1988
Robyn Hitchcock Maxwell's Hoboken New Jersey US 07/20/1988
Robyn Hitchcock Constitution Hall Washington DC US 07/21/1988
Robyn Hitchcock Pier 84 New York New York US 07/22/1988
Robyn Hitchcock 9:30 Club Washington DC US 07/24/1988
Robyn Hitchcock Great American Music Hall San Francisco California US 07/28/1988
Robyn Hitchcock McCabe's Santa Monica California US 07/29/1988
Robyn Hitchcock McCabe's Santa Monica California US 07/29/1988
Robyn Hitchcock McCabe's Santa Monica California US 07/30/1988
Robyn Hitchcock Paradise Lounge San Francisco California US 08/02/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Bumbershoot Festival - Seattle Center Coliseum Seattle Washington US 09/05/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians The Coach House San Juan Capistrano California US 09/10/1988
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Louisville Gardens Louisville Kentucky US 03/01/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Rosemont Horizon Chicago Illinois US 03/06/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena Oakland California US 03/14/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Great Western Forum Inglewood California US 03/15/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Frank C. Erwin Jr. Special Events Center, The University Of Texas At Austin Austin Texas US 03/21/1989
Robyn Hitchcock McCabe's Santa Monica California US 04/25/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Tate Center Athens Georgia US 06/08/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Centre Stage Atlanta Georgia US 06/09/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Lisner Auditorium George Washington University Washington DC US 06/14/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Diamond Club Toronto Ontario Canada 06/22/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Newport Music Hall Columbus Ohio US 06/27/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians St. Andrew's Hall Detroit Michigan US 06/28/1989
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Hultsfred Festival Hultsfred Sweden 11/08/1989
Robyn Hitchcock Flood Zone Richmond Virginia US 04/24/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Trax Charlottesville Virginia US 04/25/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Cat's Cradle (Chapel Hill NC) Carrboro North Carolina US 04/27/1990
Robyn Hitchcock The Point Atlanta Georgia US 04/30/1990
Robyn Hitchcock 40 Watt Club Athens Georgia US 05/04/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Einstein a-Go-Go Jacksonville Beach Florida US 05/06/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Old Nick's Birmingham Alabama US 05/08/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Tipitina's New Orleans Louisiana US 05/11/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Club Dada Dallas Texas US 05/16/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Blind Pig Ann Arbor Michigan US 05/19/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach California US 05/24/1990
Robyn Hitchcock McCabe's Santa Monica California US 05/26/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Crest Theatre Sacramento California US 07/06/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Backstage Seattle Washington US 07/10/1990
Robyn Hitchcock The Bottleneck Lawrence Kansas US 07/21/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Lounge Ax Chicago Illinois US 07/27/1990
Robyn Hitchcock SUNY, Binghamton Binghamton New York US 10/02/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Tramps New York New York US 10/04/1990
Robyn Hitchcock Jake's Bloomington Indiana US 10/19/1990
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST) Manchester England UK 11/16/1993
Robyn Hitchcock Tin Angel Philadelphia Pennsylvania US 03/25/1995
Robyn Hitchcock Newbury Comics Boston Massachusetts US 04/08/1995
Robyn Hitchcock The Ark Ann Arbor Michigan US 04/14/1995
Robyn Hitchcock Yarmouth Station Isle of Wight England UK 08/26/1995
Robyn Hitchcock 12 Bar Club London England UK 01/26/1996
Robyn Hitchcock Isle of Wight Bus Tour Isle of Wight England UK 08/10/1996
Robyn Hitchcock Knitting Factory New York New York US 03/13/1997
Robyn Hitchcock Knitting Factory New York New York US 03/15/1997
Robyn Hitchcock 12 Bar Club London England UK 07/23/1997
Robyn Hitchcock Robyn at Sea Isle of Wight England UK 08/16/1997
Robyn Hitchcock Largo Los Angeles California US 11/14/1997
Robyn Hitchcock Open Mind Music San Francisco California US 07/27/1999
Robyn Hitchcock The Attic Edinburgh Scotland UK 08/26/2000
Robyn Hitchcock The Dynamic Earth Edinburgh Scotland UK 08/27/2000
Robyn Hitchcock Assembly Rooms - The Supper Room Edinburgh Scotland UK 08/03/2001
Robyn Hitchcock Bottom Line New York New York US 04/12/2002
Robyn Hitchcock Bottom Line New York New York US 10/31/2003
Robyn Hitchcock Southpaw New York New York US 11/13/2004
Robyn Hitchcock Arts Center Norwich England UK 12/09/2004
Robyn Hitchcock Great American Music Hall San Francisco California US 03/03/2005
Robyn Hitchcock Largo Los Angeles California US 07/09/2005
An Evening with Robyn Hitchcock: Songs & Storytelling Studio On The Square Memphis Tennessee US 10/15/2009
Robyn Hitchcock Iron Horse Northampton Massachusetts US 06/09/2010
Robyn Hitchcock The Drake Hotel Toronto Ontario Canada 06/11/2010
Robyn Hitchcock Largo at the Coronet - Little Room Los Angeles California US 03/31/2011
Robyn Hitchcock OzenBar Tel Aviv-Jaffa Israel 09/09/2011
Robyn Hitchcock The Drake Hotel Toronto Ontario Canada 09/04/2013
Robyn Hitchcock Band on the Wall Manchester England UK 11/12/2013
Robyn Hitchcock The Drake Hotel Toronto Ontario Canada 09/11/2014
Robyn Hitchcock Club Cafe Pittsburgh Pennsylvania US 11/16/2014
Robyn Hitchcock Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant Minneapolis Minnesota US 11/21/2014
Robyn Hitchcock Workplay Theater Birmingham Alabama US 02/12/2015
Robyn Hitchcock Duck Room at Blueberry Hill St. Louis Missouri US 02/19/2015
Robyn Hitchcock SPACE Evanston Illinois US 02/22/2015
Robyn Hitchcock Band on the Wall Manchester England UK 06/02/2015
Robyn Hitchcock The Southgate House Revival-Sanctuary Newport Kentucky US 09/23/2015
Robyn Hitchcock Zambezi River Victoria Falls Zimbabwe 02/16/2016
Robyn Hitchcock & Eugene Mirman The Grey Eagle Asheville North Carolina US 04/16/2016
Robyn Hitchcock & Eugene Mirman Black Cat Washington DC US 04/22/2016
Robyn Hitchcock Fremont Abbey Arts Center Seattle Washington US 10/05/2016
Robyn Hitchcock Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room Liverpool England UK 10/22/2016
Robyn Hitchcock Rams Head on Stage Annapolis Maryland US 05/13/2017
Robyn Hitchcock The ArtsCenter Carrboro North Carolina US 05/14/2017
Robyn Hitchcock Harbor Town Amphitheater Memphis Tennessee US 05/28/2017
Robyn Hitchcock Hạ Long Bay Hạ Long Vietnam 12/03/2018
Robyn Hitchcock The State Room Salt Lake City Utah US 03/29/2019
Robyn Hitchcock Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant Minneapolis Minnesota US 04/06/2019
Robyn Hitchcock The Stone Church Brattleboro Vermont US 04/16/2019
Robyn Hitchcock The Wedgewood Rooms Southsea England UK 05/01/2019
Robyn Hitchcock Starline Social Club Oakland California US 05/16/2019
Robyn Hitchcock Monarch Tavern Toronto Ontario Canada 06/24/2019
Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Robyn & Emma's house Nashville Tennessee US 04/17/2020
Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Robyn & Emma's house Nashville Tennessee US 05/27/2020
Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Robyn & Emma's house Nashville Tennessee US 05/29/2020
Robyn Hitchcock Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 11/15/2020
Boothby Graffoe Songs and Stories Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 11/26/2020
Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 03/17/2021
Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 03/19/2021
Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 04/30/2021
Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift The Crypt Studio London England UK 05/26/2021
Robyn Hitchcock & Morris Windsor Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 06/11/2021
Robyn Hitchcock Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 09/12/2021
Robyn Hitchcock More Music Morecombe England UK 09/25/2021
Robyn Hitchcock Night & Day Café Manchester England UK 03/22/2022
Robyn Hitchcock Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 03/23/2022
Robyn Hitchcock Loppen Copenhagen Denmark 03/25/2022
Robyn Hitchcock Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 12/14/2022
Robyn Hitchcock Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 01/18/2023
Robyn Hitchcock Robyn and Emma's house London England UK 02/15/2023
Robyn Hitchcock The Court House Bangor Northern Ireland UK 03/05/2023
Robyn Hitchcock Claypath Delicatessen Durham England UK 08/19/2023
Robyn Hitchcock Mid Sussex Music Hall Hassocks England UK 09/03/2023
Robyn Hitchcock Ludlow Assembly Rooms Ludlow England UK 09/08/2023
Robyn Hitchcock 3TEN Austin City Limits Live Austin Texas US 01/18/2024

Comments

From Robyn on Patreon in 2023
In early autumn 1985 I found myself in the small seaside town of Lytham St Anne’s, on the West Coast of Northern England. It was still sunny and one afternoon I sat on the promenade, gazing out to sea with a cup of tea and a cheese sandwich. The seagulls ignored the cheese sandwich and flocked towards the horizon - what could be out there? I was 32, feeling ancient as usual - I was due to start touring the USA with my hot new band the Egyptians, although my first attempt had been scuppered by a post-operative illness. Roger Jackson from the Egyptians was with me, we’d come to advise in the editing of the Gotta Let This Hen Out footage, shot that spring at the Marquee in London by a company named Jettisoundz that was based up coastal Lancashire.

But I was staring out to sea by myself that afternoon. Antiquated shapes were forming on the horizon - sea-creatures, flying boats, the conning towers of a submarine. I fell into a reverie digesting my sandwich: the hot strong tea seemed to heighten my senses and put me into a trance simultaneously. Suddenly a host of fishes appeared before me, parading on the beach before me in semi-human form like creatures from Alice In Wonderland. The Tench, the Barbel, the Bream, the Chubb and more flippered their way over the sand and the debris of summer up onto the promenade.

The Barbel and the Tench wore striped blazers and straw hats, like a grotesque vaudeville duo from some Edwardian end-of-pier show. Ebony canes jutted incongruously from their fins. The Bream dodged around behind the other fishes, picking their pockets and then waving their wallets in the air, leering gleefully. The Mullet came right up close to my face - too close - and gurned at me. The Flounder and the Chubb came on like renegade security heavies, menacing where they should protect…

…and ruling over them all was the Bass, a dodgy British school-teacher with a penchant for the unspeakable. But they all made their moves so cheerfully - shameless cartoon characters who mocked what remained of my ancestral Victorian boundaries. These fishes were grooving, baby, and if I was too uptight to groove with them, that was my loss.

I came back to consciousness as the sun sank into the sea, my empty cup beside me. In my notebook were the words to “Bass” more or less as I’ve sung them ever since. All that remained was for me to go back down south again and put a jaunty tune to the lyrics I’d written. When I took it to the Egyptians they made it more percussive, even coming up with a sampled deep-voiced “BASS!” for Morris to trigger when we played that song opening for REM on their “Green” tour a few years later. And it all began in Lytham St. Anne’s…

Lyrics

We're overheating in a small town world
We're overeating in a small town world
I hear the sound of several different crimes
The distant eel and the silver chimes
Lieutenant Hodges often said to me
"I see a shoal of them far out to sea"

A distant cormorant above the grey
It wheels in dots and then it falls away
A feather biro in a knotted clump
Performs a vixen with a feline hump
I wanna hold you in a solar globe
The way your body is beneath a robe

Bass, bass

The juicy flounder and the tender chub
Will swim around you when you leave the pub
Their mouths are open and they will not shut
Unless you kiss them all behind the hut
But don't go messing with a guy like Reg
He'll leave you gurgling behind the hedge

Bass, I'm talking about bass
Let me tell you about bass
You wanna ooze with a bass

The looming mullet and the wily bream
Are at the window with a quiet scream
The feisty barbel and the gruesome tench
Are decomposing on a yellow bench
There's something fluttering upon the sand
And all I wanna do is hold your hand

Bass, talking about a bass
Let me tell you about a bass
I wanna function with a bass

Because
He'd never make love to a loaf of bread
Unless of course he found one in his bed
Now frogs are reproducing on your back
And bubbles keep emerging from a crack
It's not a cormorant it's not a shag
It's only something in a plastic bag

<alternates>
Are decomposing on a wooden/broken/empty bench  26a
I wanna fuck you with a bass                   31a
So don't go cycling around the town            31.1a
He'll interfere with you and hang around       31.2a
I know it's nasty what the papers said         31.3a
But information happens to be read             31.4a
Now things go in and out of him like eels      31.5a
A bass responds to you the way he feels        31.6