After finishing busking outside the Film Forum, Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Buck & Michael Stipe went across the road to Bar Cichetti with their guitars and played 'Electrolite' in front of patrons, then sat down for dinner. After finishing dinner, they all stood on top of an antique bureau and played a 4 song set, with Hitchcock sharing vocals with Stipe on 'Electrolite'.

Hey man this is a great site, you deserve a medal for your efforts. I was in the pub that night and I requested and they played the Johnny Kidd and the Pirates song "Shakin' All Over". Buck played Banjo, Stipe sang and Bobby strummed the guit. I also have some great photos of that wonderful night (both from the sidewalk and the bar) Take care
dobbs


From Robyn on social media in 2022 (caption to above picture)
Here I am way back in the Smoke Age with REM’s Michael Stipe and his guitarist Peter Buck. We are standing on tables in the Bar Cicchetti on West 24th Street in New York, though the tables didn’t find their way into the photo.

It was November 1998, and America was still a comparatively sane place, albeit with the 21st Century fermenting in the wings. On this glittering autumn night Jonathan Demme had organized a gala premiere for ‘Storefront Hitchcock’ at the Film Forum across the road which I had introduced with the help of Peter on his banjo. Having already seen the movie a couple of times before, he and I decided to slip away for a quiet moment in the cosy bar: on our way out we ran into Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed arriving fashionably late. Possibly because I had Peter as a broker (Lou was an admirer of REM, who had covered several of his songs), or maybe because this was ‘my’ event, Lou was nice and friendly. He didn’t always take to strangers, apparently, and had an arsenal of sub-personalities with which to protect himself from them. As this was the only time I ever met Lou, I’m very grateful for this.

After the screening, various of Jonathan’s Clinica Estetico troupe joined us in the bar, where a fountain of everything flowed. A handsome waitress served up champagne - she turned out to be Cameron Diaz, whom, true to life I didn’t recognize. Then Michael Stipe appeared and we felt ready to commence the aftershow rave-up. I have no memory of what we could have been playing with this line-up, but it was tremendous fun. I don’t know where this photo comes from either, but I’m very grateful for it…

With Lou Reed and Jonathan Demme both gone, shards of time like this are all the more precious. Thank you to everyone involved