The Face of Death Releases Gigs Lyrics Comments

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Author
Robyn Hitchcock
According to our records, Robyn has played this song 77 times, most recently at Storey's Field Centre on May 12, 2022. He first performed it at Alma on July 07, 1977, 44 years and 10 months earlier.
Title Artist Label Type Year
Give it to the Soft Boys The Soft Boys Raw Records Single 1977
Wading Through a Ventilator The Soft Boys Delorean Record Company Bootleg 1984
Gotta Let This Hen Out! Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians Midnight Music Album 1985
Raw Cuts The Soft Boys Overground Records EP 1989
The Face of Death The Soft Boys Overground Records Single 1989
The Soft Boys 1976-1981 The Soft Boys Rykodisc Album 1993
Where Are The Prawns? The Soft Boys Fan Club release 1994
Maxwell's, New York, 1980 The Soft Boys Handmade Productions Bootleg 1998
12 x 7: All the Soft Boys Certify Insane The Soft Boys Bootleg 2008
Luminous Groove Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians Yep Roc Records Album 2008
Patreon 2025 Robyn Hitchcock Internet 2025
Venue Billed As City State Country Date
Alma The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 07/07/1977
The Royal Hotel The Soft Boys Luton England UK 08/12/1977
Alma The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 09/02/1977
Icknields Hall The Soft Boys Letchworth England UK 09/09/1977
Corn Exchange The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 10/07/1977
Alma The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 10/22/1977
Alma The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 11/13/1977
Alex Wood Hall The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 11/15/1977
London School of Economics (LSE) The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 11/18/1977
Jesus College The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 11/29/1977
Alex Wood Hall The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 12/01/1977
Red Cow The Soft Boys London England UK 12/30/1977
Alex Wood Hall The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 01/07/1978
The Roundhouse The Soft Boys London England UK 01/20/1978
Pembroke College The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 01/28/1978
Alex Wood Hall The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 02/04/1978
Alma The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 02/05/1978
Mid-Herts College The Soft Boys Welwyn Garden City England UK 02/11/1978
Hope & Anchor The Soft Boys London England UK 02/13/1978
Nashville Rooms The Soft Boys London England UK 02/14/1978
Hope & Anchor The Soft Boys London England UK 02/20/1978
Nashville Rooms The Soft Boys London England UK 02/21/1978
Winchester Art School The Soft Boys Winchester England UK 02/24/1978
The Roundhouse The Soft Boys London England UK 02/26/1978
Hope & Anchor The Soft Boys London England UK 02/27/1978
Hope & Anchor The Soft Boys London England UK 03/29/1978
Elms Court (Oxford Elm Park Centre) The Soft Boys Botley England UK 04/01/1978
Nashville Rooms The Soft Boys London England UK 09/15/1978
Rock Garden The Soft Boys London England UK 12/22/1978
Hope & Anchor The Soft Boys London England UK 09/30/1979
Great Northern Hotel The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 01/19/1982
Hope & Anchor "Robyn Hitchcock & Chums" (First Egyptians gig) London England UK 09/29/1984
Dingwalls Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians London England UK 11/17/1984
The Bell Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians London England UK 12/17/1984
Dingwalls Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians London England UK 03/15/1985
Marquee Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians London England UK 04/27/1985
Irving Plaza Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians New York New York US 06/21/1985
Cabaret Metro Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Chicago Illinois US 06/22/1985
Maxwell's Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Hoboken New Jersey US 11/25/1986
Maxwell's Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians Hoboken New Jersey US 11/26/1986
Greenstreets Robyn Hitchcock Columbia South Carolina US 04/28/1990
Astoria The Soft Boys London England UK 01/13/1994
The Concorde The Soft Boys Brighton England UK 01/14/1994
Astoria The Soft Boys London England UK 01/15/1994
Corn Exchange The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 01/17/1994
Vic Theatre Robyn Hitchcock Chicago Illinois US 10/30/1996
Knitting Factory Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 03/15/1997
12 Bar Club Robyn Hitchcock London England UK 02/03/1998
Winchester Arts Centre Robyn Hitchcock Winchester England UK 09/24/1999
Ronnie Scott's Robyn Hitchcock London England UK 09/26/1999
G2 Robyn Hitchcock Glasgow Scotland UK 09/30/1999
Iron Horse Robyn Hitchcock's ROCK ARMADA Northampton Massachusetts US 10/31/1999
Theatre of Living Arts The Soft Boys Philadelphia Pennsylvania US 03/20/2001
Maxwell's The Soft Boys Hoboken New Jersey US 03/23/2001
Paradise Rock Club The Soft Boys Boston Massachusetts US 03/26/2001
The Horseshoe Tavern The Soft Boys Toronto Ontario Canada 03/28/2001
Metro The Soft Boys Chicago Illinois US 03/30/2001
First Avenue The Soft Boys Minneapolis Minnesota US 03/31/2001
Richard's on Richards The Soft Boys Vancouver British Columbia Canada 04/03/2001
Crocodile Café The Soft Boys Seattle Washington US 04/04/2001
Pine Street Theatre The Soft Boys Portland Oregon US 04/05/2001
The Fillmore The Soft Boys San Francisco California US 04/07/2001
KCRW The Soft Boys Santa Monica California US 04/09/2001
Knitting Factory The Soft Boys Los Angeles California US 04/10/2001
The Junction The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 04/18/2001
Pavilion Theatre The Soft Boys Brighton England UK 04/20/2001
The Waterfront The Soft Boys Norwich England UK 04/22/2001
The Basement The Soft Boys Nottingham England UK 04/23/2001
Electric Ballroom The Soft Boys London England UK 04/26/2001
Wedgewood Rooms The Soft Boys Portsmouth England UK 04/29/2001
The Square The Soft Boys Harlow England UK 10/18/2001
La Scuderia The Soft Boys Bologna Italy 01/15/2003
Boat Race The Soft Boys Cambridge England UK 01/29/2003
Union Chapel Robyn Hitchcock London England UK 10/29/2019
Robyn and Emma's house Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift London England UK 02/19/2021
Southbank Centre - Queen Elizabeth Hall Robyn Hitchcock London England UK 03/19/2022
Storey's Field Centre Robyn Hitchcock Cambridge England UK 05/12/2022

Comments

From Robyn on Patreon in 2025
Here are two more songs from the early Soft Boys repertoire fed through the meat grinder of 1978 and recorded for an unreleased Radar Records album.

1977 saw the UK colonised by punk: bell-bottom trousers were banished to the Welsh Borders and the furrows of Lincolnshire, while beards fell off young faces, mine included. But the following year saw the consolidation of the New Wave police: now a band could actually be penalized for using harmonies in their music, or attempting a proper guitar solo. The new rules were being nailed to the door by the fashionistas of the day, and woe betide those who didn’t comply.

We in the Soft Boys loved both harmonies and guitar solos. However, playing live we were so loud that we couldn’t hear ourselves harmonise, and the guitar solos became crazed sonic duels between Kimberley and myself. Being a far better guitarist than me he deserved to win, which he usually did.

These two tracks are retreads of songs on our 1977 EP Give It To The Soft Boys’infused with the manic angst of 1978. But at least we got the harmonies in tune…


Lyrics per those in 'Somewhere Apart - Selected Lyrics 1977-1997'. The book lists the title as simply "Face of Death" (without the definite article).

Lyrics

The face of death is my best friend
He lurks behind my favourite bend
And though we meet, we never speak
I've got a feeling he's unique

He looks so crushed, but he's alright
He eats his food, he sleeps at night
His leather jacket's quite like mine
I'm sure we two would get on fine

But some day I'll make him mine
I'll wear your face I'll come to tea
My place or yours? And then you'll see
It's like walking through a...

...mirror

He tried too hard, it never came
To anything - they burned his name
They threw him out 'cause he was wrong
And left him trapped inside this song

Face of death!