Biography
Dr Robert first came to international prominence as singer/songwriter with eighties pop band The Blow Monkeys. He was born Bruce Robert Howard on May 2nd 1961 in Haddington, Scotland, and misspent his teenage years in Australia. This was the late 1970’s, and Robert’s first musical experiences were as a busker at Sydney Harbour’s Circular Quay. From there, he escaped to Darwin, enlisting with local punk band “Exhibit A”.A return to Britain in 1981 saw the formation of The Blow Monkeys. The band made their recorded debut on the tiny independent imprint, Parasol, in January 1982 and supported its release with extensive gigging in London, eventually securing a residency at the dearly departed Moonlight Club in Hampstead. The band’s idiosyncratic pop songs secured a record deal with RCA,, inked in July 1983. The Blow Monkeys debut LP Limping For A Generation was released the following year, produced by Jam/Style Council sound manicurist Pete Wilson.
Animal Magic was the band’s second album, released in May 1986, and achieved the much sought after breakthrough. It contained the massive worldwide hit Digging Your Scene, which burst into the top ten singles listings both Europe and the USA. Amongst the album’s many gems was a duet with bizarre Jamaican toaster Eek-A-Mouse, entitled Sweet Murder. Such duets were a portent of things to come.
By January 1987, the band considerably consolidated their status with the irresistible single, It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way, which peaked at the number five position in the UK top ten. March of that year saw the release of the band’s third album, She Was Only A Grocer’s Daughter, and achieved silver sales status on release. Produced by American Michael Baker, it featured Celebrate (The Day After You), a glorious duet with Chicago soul/funk legend Curtis Mayfield. If the album title was a thinly veiled reference to the then British Leaderene, Margaret Hilda Thatcher, the duet made explicit what much of the UK would have felt had she been ousted from power in the 1987 election. However, the BBC banned the single from broadcast because of a perceived anti-Conservative lyrical theme. Undeterred, the band further underscored their political affiliations by joining the Red Wedge tour later that year.
The band’s next album, Whoops! There Goes The Neighbourhood, was a thematically linked collection written in response to the aforementioned prime minister’s notorious pronouncement “. . . there’s no such as society”. Contained within its grooves was another collaboration, this time with soul diva Kym Mazelle, entitled Wait. This earmarked the band’s status as pop innovators, not only by embracing political themes but also by seeing the potential in the dance/pop experimentation crossover at a time when the whole dance scene had yet to go “overground”. This experimentation would achieve its full fruition on the band’s last album, Springtime For The World. In the meantime, RCA released the band’s “greatest hits” collection, Choices, in 1989 – the album going “gold” on release.
Springtime was an eclectic and unusual album which, despite confusing both record company and music critics, has retrospectively become revered as an innovative record – perhaps some way ahead of its time. It contained the Balearic classic La Passionara, and Be Not Afraid, a duet with Algeria’s primo Rai exponent Cheb Khaled. The track gave the band a profile in such rarely-charted pop places as Pakistan and North Africa. The band split in late 1990 after nearly ten years together.
By 1992, Dr Robert had relocated his young family to a remote cottage in Oxfordshire, and set to work on a new project with percussionist Benny Staples, formerly of The Woodentops. He formed his own label, Artbus, and released a limited edition electro folk single under the name Starjuice. Staples returned to his native New Zealand in 1994.
Realms Of Gold, Robert’s first album was licensed to the Pony Canyon label in Japan in 1994. Two tracks were released as limited edition 7” singles on the Heavenly label in the UK, before the Permanent Records label picked up the UK licence on the album, releasing it in January 1996. The single taken from the album, The Coming of Grace, received heavy airplay. Realms of Gold featured contributions from the likes of Rhoda Dakar (formerly of The Specials), Marco Nelson (ex Young Disciples) and Paul Weller. Weller returned the favour after Robert had played bass on hits such as Changingman, and contributed to his breakthrough albums Wild Wood and Stanley Road, also accompanying him on bass for one tour.
Dr Robert’s second solo album was entitled Bethesda, named after the village in North Wales where it was recorded, and was released exclusively in Japan in October 1995. It was recorded in seven days with Oasis drummer Alan White. It has subsequently become a collector’s item. Other Folk, an album of cover versions and three original songs, was released in May 1997. Recorded and mixed in just four days, it includes material by the likes of Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, Bob Dylan and Marc Bolan. The album was released on his own Artbus label after the unfortunately named Permanent Records went bust.
Later that same year, Robert worked as producer on Beth Orton/Terry Callier duet Dolphins, and also the track Pass In Time for Beth’s Central Reservations album.
After moving back to his childhood home of East Anglia, he set about writing a collection of songs inspired by and based upon his experience of the Flatlands, the vast expanses of horizontal land reclaimed from the sea and marshes – a mythic landscape of fen tigers, marsh men and giant skies.
Flatlands was released in May 1999, Robert says of it: “It’s about a mood as well as a place. There are some things that can be depressing - the homogenised high streets, theme pubs, small town paranoia. But there is also rare beauty there; the magical light, the enormous sky, the bleak magnificence of it all and, of course, the people – the fen folk with their ancient tales and stoic resilience. To me, this land has a mythic quality – it’s our deep south, Mississippi, Louisiana, Spalding, Boston! Its got magic – and we all need our myths and magic.” The album was Robert’s most assured solo set thus far, and shows a richness. Although it was recorded at a relatively makeshift studio at his home, it lacks nothing in terms of production values, and the “home cooked” feel earmarks it as a heartfelt and personal project.
Birds Gotta Fly, Robert’s fifth solo album was released in the summer of 2001. Once again returning to the Raven’s legendary studio in Bethesda, Wales - this album offers an eclectic collection of largely upbeat songs blending many flavours, genres and styles and peppered with haunting, intelligent violin arrangements. Attracting, as ever, other fine musical talents to the cauldron, Robert created a unique and lively sound incorporating the soaring violins of Nell Catchpole (Brian Eno/Gogmagogs) and roping in local musicians from bands such as John Lawrence (Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci) and David Wrench (Bubblegun).
In 2002 Robert released Keep On Digging For The Gold, a collection of greatest hits that never were. Packed full of rarities and previously unreleased tracks and spanning his entire solo career to date, it offers a rare glimpse into the workings of an evolving artist..For the hard core fan ( and there are many!) this was the definitive Dr Robert album.
From 2002 through to the present day Robert ( and his family) have spent much of their time exploring the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia . Armed with his faithful acoustic guitar Robert has spent many an evening under the stars ..jamming with local musicians …swapping blues licks for flamenco flourishes.and writing …always writing.
The first album to come out of the Spanish Labyrinth is the yet to be released ‘Flutes and Bones”. Fans have been treated to the odd snippet on the web but this hidden gem has yet to see the light of day…all because of a chance meeting with a soul legend!
Five in the Afternoon…….
“I met PP Arnold at a party up here in the mountains . I was playing some acoustic guitar..a few old tunes ..some Curtis etc and then she jumped up on the tiny makeshift stage and blew the place apart. We sang some Hendrix..some soul and then “first cut is the deepest”. It was so good we knew we had to make a record.”
“Five in the Afternoon” is that record. A career highlight . Its timeless sound and soulful funkiness are held together by two voices at the top of their game. “I saw Something” , “What am I to Do” ..these songs jump out of the speakers with vigour and belief. “It was too hot to record during the day so we would start at five in the afternoon…hence the title.. Here in Spain everything starts at five in the afternoon. Bullfights start at five in the afternoon. That’s what the title track is about. It was inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca the poet laureate of Granada whose
poem“Lament For Ignacio Sanchez Mejias” directly infuenced the song .
Other highlights like the congregationally massive “Satellite” and folky funkiness of “Be My Judge” only re-enforce the notion that this is music made for all times. Music on its own terms .
Who could not be moved by PP Arnold on the beautiful “Stay Now” or deny Roberts sassy guitar on “Nothin’ But Love”. Simple songs of freedom.
Written and recorded in a very short period the album was recorded in a studio near the southern port town of Motril . They were days filled with sunshine…and just a little bit of rain.
In a career into its third decade, this is the sound of a musician at the height of his powers –
“To ignore Dr Robert is ignore a great talent, and while Birds Gotta Fly may not have anyone rapping on it or any tasty UK Garage remixes, it does have that rarest of things – songs.” MOJO
His almighty track record and great critical acclaim has certainly placed Dr Robert firmly in the league of great songwriters.
IN ADDITION:
Robert has written and performed soundtracks for two UK documentary series Dave’s World (2000) and Gangsters (2001).