Tom Robinson Band

Tom Robinson Band

Tom Robinson Band, usually known as TRB, are a British rock group from Cambridge, United Kingdom. They are active from 1976 to 1979 and are led by singer, songwriter and bassist Tom Robinson, who begins gigging in London in 1976 with a changing backing line-up before forming a permanent band later that year.

Formation and early line-up

Robinson’s old friend Danny Kustow is the first permanent member to join on guitar. The band then recruits Brian “Dolphin” Taylor on drums and Mark Ambler on bass after auditions through small advertisements in the music press. Ambler also plays keyboards, and after hearing him on Hammond organ, Robinson takes over bass duties himself. The line-up later includes Jim Simmons, Nick Plytas, Ian Parker and Charlie Morgan at different points.

Sound, politics and live profile

TRB emerge during the London punk explosion and attract favourable live reviews. Their material includes openly political and social content, and they distribute leaflets, flyers, badges and T-shirts to audiences at gigs. They also appear regularly at Rock Against Racism concerts. Their song Glad To Be Gay becomes a notable obstacle for some record companies, while also helping define the band’s public identity.

Recordings and chart success

The band signs to EMI and scores its first major single with 2-4-6-8 Motorway, which reaches the UK top five and remains there for more than a month. This is followed by the live EP Rising Free, recorded at London’s Lyceum Theatre, which includes Glad To Be Gay, Right On Sister, Don’t Take No For An Answer and Martin. In 1978 they release Power in the Darkness, which reaches number 4 in the UK album chart and earns a gold record. The US edition, released on Harvest, combines the single and EP material into a longer package. The album includes The Winter Of ’79, a song written as a speculative look back at possible future events.

Later line-up changes and final years

After Power in the Darkness, Mark Ambler leaves. Nick Plytas joins as a temporary replacement and plays with the band at a major Anti Nazi League rally in Victoria Park, London, before Ian Parker becomes the permanent replacement on keyboards. Recording for the next album, TRB Two, is marked by tension and changes in personnel. Producer Chris Thomas works on the sessions at first, but Todd Rundgren is later brought in to choose the tracks for the finished record. Dolphin Taylor leaves, emergency stand-in Preston Heyman appears on the album cover, and Charlie Morgan is recruited as the eventual drummer. Morgan has previously played for Kate Bush and later drums for Elton John for fifteen years. When Danny Kustow leaves in 1979, the band ends.

Recognition and reunion

TRB are voted Best New Band and Best London Band for 1977 in the Capital Radio Music Awards. In 1989, Robinson, Kustow and Ambler regroup for a reunion tour, playing sold-out shows at London’s Marquee and continuing for much of the following year before splitting again.