All Topics  
Robert Wyatt

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Robert Wyatt
 
 
  Topics Robert Wyatt Topic Home

Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945, in Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
) is an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene
Canterbury Scene

The Canterbury scene is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock, avant-garde and jazz musicians, many of whom were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s....
 band Soft Machine
Soft Machine

Soft Machine was an England Rock music band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the so-called "Canterbury scene," and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre....
. He is married to English painter and songwriter Alfreda Benge
Alfreda Benge

Alfreda Benge is a lyricist and illustrator. She has been married to musician Robert Wyatt since 1974. She has contributed lyrics to many of his compositions, and has written lyrics for French musician/producer Bertrand Burgalat, and for Brazilian singer Monica Vasconcelos....
.

t's mother, Honor Wyatt was a journalist
Journalist

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren't biased....
 who worked for the BBC, and his father, George Ellidge was an industrial psychologist who joined the family only when Wyatt was about six. As a teenager, Wyatt lived with his parents in Lydden
Lydden

Lydden is also the name of a hamlet in the Manston, Kent civil parishLydden is a civil parish and small village in the Dover district of Kent, England....
 near Dover
Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel....
 where he was taught the drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
 by visiting American jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 drummer George Neidorf.

In 1962, Wyatt and Neidorf moved to Majorca where they stayed near the poet Robert Graves
Robert Graves

Robert Ranke Graves was an England poet, translator and novelist. During his long life, he produced more than 140 works. He was the son of the Anglo-Irish writer Alfred Perceval Graves and Amalie von Ranke, a niece of the famous German historian Leopold von Ranke....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Robert Wyatt'
Start a new discussion about 'Robert Wyatt'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945, in Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
) is an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene
Canterbury Scene

The Canterbury scene is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock, avant-garde and jazz musicians, many of whom were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s....
 band Soft Machine
Soft Machine

Soft Machine was an England Rock music band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the so-called "Canterbury scene," and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre....
. He is married to English painter and songwriter Alfreda Benge
Alfreda Benge

Alfreda Benge is a lyricist and illustrator. She has been married to musician Robert Wyatt since 1974. She has contributed lyrics to many of his compositions, and has written lyrics for French musician/producer Bertrand Burgalat, and for Brazilian singer Monica Vasconcelos....
.

Early life

Wyatt's mother, Honor Wyatt was a journalist
Journalist

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren't biased....
 who worked for the BBC, and his father, George Ellidge was an industrial psychologist who joined the family only when Wyatt was about six. As a teenager, Wyatt lived with his parents in Lydden
Lydden

Lydden is also the name of a hamlet in the Manston, Kent civil parishLydden is a civil parish and small village in the Dover district of Kent, England....
 near Dover
Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel....
 where he was taught the drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
 by visiting American jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 drummer George Neidorf.

In 1962, Wyatt and Neidorf moved to Majorca where they stayed near the poet Robert Graves
Robert Graves

Robert Ranke Graves was an England poet, translator and novelist. During his long life, he produced more than 140 works. He was the son of the Anglo-Irish writer Alfred Perceval Graves and Amalie von Ranke, a niece of the famous German historian Leopold von Ranke....
. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen
Daevid Allen

Daevid Allen is an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist best known as co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong ....
 and Hugh Hopper
Hugh Hopper

Hugh Colin Hopper is a progressive rock / jazz bass guitarist and composer. He has been a prominent member of the Canterbury scene....
. Allen subsequently left for France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 and Wyatt and Hopper formed The Wilde Flowers with Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers

Kevin Ayers is an English songwriter and major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. John Peel wrote in his autobiography that "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it."...
, Richard Sinclair
Richard Sinclair

Richard S. Sinclair is a progressive rock bassist, guitarist and vocalist who has been a member of several bands of the Canterbury scene....
 and Brian Hopper
Brian Hopper

Brian Hopper is a UK guitarist and saxophonist, and brother of bassist Hugh Hopper. With Hugh, he was a member in the early Canterbury scene band Wilde Flowers....
. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he also became lead singer.

Soft Machine and Matching Mole

In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt and Mike Ratledge formed the Soft Machine
Soft Machine

Soft Machine was an England Rock music band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the so-called "Canterbury scene," and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre....
 with Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers

Kevin Ayers is an English songwriter and major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. John Peel wrote in his autobiography that "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it."...
 and Daevid Allen
Daevid Allen

Daevid Allen is an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist best known as co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong ....
. Here Wyatt both drummed and sang, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.

In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear
The End of an Ear

The End of an Ear is the debut solo album by Soft Machine's Robert Wyatt. It was recorded in August 1970, while on a leave of absence from the band ....
, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.

A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and, besides participating in the fusion
Jazz fusion

Fusion or, more specifically, jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a musical genre that merges jazz with elements of other styles of music, particularly funk, Rock and roll, R&B, electronic music, and world music, but also pop music, classical music, and folk music, or sometimes even Heavy metal music, reggae, ska, country music, hip hop...
 bigband Centipede
Centipede (band)

Centipede were a jazz/progressive rock/Canterbury scene big band with more than 50 members, organized and led by the United Kingdom free jazz pianist Keith Tippett, that brought together much of a generation of young British jazz and rock musicians, e.g. from the bands Soft Machine, King Crimson, Nucleus and Blossom Toes....
 and drumming at the JazzFest Berlin
JazzFest Berlin

JazzFest Berlin is a jazz festival based in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage," it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele....
's New Violin Summit, a live concert with violinists Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty

Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer....
, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Michal Urbaniak
Michal Urbaniak

Michal Urbaniak is a Poland Polish jazz musician and composer born in Warsaw, playing mainly the violin, lyricon and saxophone during concerts and recordings....
 and Nipso Brantner, guitarist Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal

Terje Rypdal is a Norway guitarist and composer. His music has been released on several albums of the German record label ECM .His compositions "Last Nite" and "Mystery Man" were featured in the Michael Mann film Heat , and included on the soundtrack of the same name....
, keyboardist Wolfgang Dauner
Wolfgang Dauner

Wolfgang Dauner is a Germany jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist born in Stuttgart, Germany, probably better known for his work in the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble and with musicians such as Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel or Ack van Rooyen....
 and bassist Neville Whitehead
Neville Whitehead (bassist)

Neville Whitehead is a New Zealand bassist and luthier who was an active member of the British Jazz fusion community in the 1970s.Whitehead played at times in Keith Tippett's sextet in the late 1960s, including alongside Elton Dean....
, formed his own band Matching Mole
Matching Mole

Matching Mole was a UK progressive rock musical band from the Canterbury scene best known for the song "O Caroline". Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album The End of an Ear....
 (a pun on "machine molle", French for 'Soft Machine'), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during an alcohol fueled party for Gong's
Gong (band)

Gong is a progressive rock/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett and Pierre Moerlen....
 Gilli Smyth
Gilli Smyth

Gilli Smyth a musician who performed with the bands Gong , Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as several solo albums and albums in collaborations other members of Gong....
 and June Campbell Cramer (also known as Lady June) at the latter's Maida Vale home, an inebriated Wyatt fell from a third floor window. He was paralysed from the waist down
Paraplegia

Paraplegia is an impairment in motor and/or sensory function of the lower extremities. It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida which affects the neural elements of the spinal canal....
 and subsequently confined to a wheelchair
Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a wheeled mobility device in which the user sits. The device is propelled either manually or via various automated systems. Wheelchairs are used by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible due to illness , injury, or disability....
. On 4 November that year, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd are an English Rock music band who initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock and space rock music, and later, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music....
 performed two benefit concerts, in one day, at London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
's Rainbow Theatre
Rainbow (London)

The Rainbow Theatre was a live rock music venue in north London that opened in September 1971 with a concert by The Who, supported by Quiver and closed for the last time in January 1982....
, supported by Soft Machine, and compered by John Peel
John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, Order of the British Empire , known professionally as John Peel, was an England disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist....
. The concerts raised a reported £10,000 for Wyatt.

Solo career

The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his drumming. He promptly embarked on a solo-career, and with musician friends (including Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield is an England multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk music, ethnic or world music, European classical music, electronic music, New Age music and more recently dance music....
, the poet Ivor Cutler
Ivor Cutler

Ivor Cutler was a Scotland poet, songwriter and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw's programme....
 and Henry Cow
Henry Cow

Henry Cow were an England avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble, founded at University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson....
 guitarist Fred Frith
Fred Frith

Fred Frith is an England multi-instrumentalist, composer and Improvisation.Probably best-known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble Henry Cow....
), he released his acclaimed solo-album Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom (album)

Rock Bottom is the second solo album by Robert Wyatt.Although Rock Bottom is technically Wyatt's second solo LP, he has stated in several interviews that he considers its predecessor The End of an Ear as juvenilia and not part of the recognised "canon" of Wyatt solo records....
. Later that same year he put out a single, a cover version
Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
 of "I'm a Believer
I'm a Believer

"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by the band The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S....
", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. Both were produced by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason
Nick Mason

Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is the drummer for Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1964. He also competes in auto racing events, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans....
 and Wyatt would subsequently sing lead vocals on Mason's 1981, and first, solo album Fictitious Sports
Fictitious Sports

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason fronted the group who made the one-off self-titled album Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports in May 1981 in the UK and US, this being Mason's first major work outside of Pink Floyd....
 (with songwriting credits going to Carla Bley
Carla Bley

Carla Bley, n?e Borg, is an United States jazz composer, jazz piano, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Ji...
). There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a long-running United Kingdom UK Singles Chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006....
 surrounding Wyatt's performance of "I'm a Believer," on the grounds that his wheelchair-bound appearance 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair', but gave a performance that could best be described as disgruntled.

His follow-up single, a reggae ballad remake of Chris Andrews's
Chris Andrews (singer)

Chris Andrews is a singer-songwriter, whose musical career started in the 1960s....
 hit "Yesterday Man
Yesterday Man

Yesterday Man is a song written by Chris Andrews and also his debut single as solo singer, released in 1965. It went up to position 3 in the UK charts and #1 in Ireland and Germany....
" was nearly released by Virgin, but at the last minute it was shelved, "the boss at Virgin claiming that single was 'lugubrious', robbing Wyatt of a possible follow-up hit".

Wyatt's next solo-album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard

Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is the third solo album by Robert Wyatt.The follow-up to Rock Bottom , for which Wyatt had written all of the music and lyrics, Ruth... consisted of Wyatt's adaptations and arrangements of other people's music with Wyatt adding his own lyrics in much the same way as he'd done on Matching Mole's Lit...
, was more jazz-led, with free jazz
Free jazz

Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s.Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and '50s....
 influences and nods to African music. Guest musicians included Brian Eno
Brian Eno

Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno , is an England musician, composer, record producer, music theory and singer, who, as a solo artist, is best known as the People known as the father or mother of something of ambient music....
 on guitar, synthesizer and "direct inject anti-jazz ray gun".

Throughout the rest of the 1970s Wyatt guested with various acts, including Henry Cow
Henry Cow

Henry Cow were an England avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble, founded at University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson....
 (documented on their Henry Cow Concerts
Henry Cow Concerts

Henry Cow Concerts is a live double album by United Kingdom avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble Henry Cow, recorded at concerts in London, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway between September 1974 and October 1975....
 album), Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North

Hatfield and the North was an experimental music Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter....
, Carla Bley
Carla Bley

Carla Bley, n?e Borg, is an United States jazz composer, jazz piano, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Ji...
, Eno, Michael Mantler
Michael Mantler

Michael Mantler is an Austrian trumpeter and composer in new jazz and contemporary music....
, and Roxy Music
Roxy Music

Roxy Music are an English art rock group founded in the early 1970s by art school graduate Bryan Ferry . The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson ....
 guitarist Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera

Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He was the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America....
, contributing lead vocals to lead track "Frontera", from Manzanera's 1975 solo debut Diamond Head. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain

The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in the United Kingdom, though it never became a mass party like the Communist parties of France and Italy....
. In 1982, his interpretation of Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello is an England musician and singer-songwriter. Costello came to prominence as an early participant in London's Pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres, before establishing his own unique voice in the 1980s....
's Falklands War
Falklands War

The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands....
-inspired song "Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding (song)

"Shipbuilding" is a song written by singer/songwriter Elvis Costello and producer Clive Langer. Written during the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of Merseyside , Tyneside and Belfast to build new ships to replace those being sunk in th...
", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us
Nothing Can Stop Us

Nothing Can Stop Us is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt released in 1982.Consisting of tracks released as singles and B-sides during the late 1970s and early 80s, it is often considered as part of the run of Wyatt solo albums, although it only contains one Wyatt composition ....
), reached number 36 in the UK singles chart.

In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other acts such as News from Babel
News from Babel

News from Babel were an England avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble founded in 1983 by Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins and Dagmar Krause....
 as well as Japanese recording artist Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto is an Academy Awards-winning, Grammy-winning, Golden Globe-winning Japanese musician, composer, record producer and actor, based in New York and Tokyo....
, he and his wife Alfreda Benge
Alfreda Benge

Alfreda Benge is a lyricist and illustrator. She has been married to musician Robert Wyatt since 1974. She has contributed lyrics to many of his compositions, and has written lyrics for French musician/producer Bertrand Burgalat, and for Brazilian singer Monica Vasconcelos....
 spent a sabbatical in Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan, considered by many to be his best work since Rock Bottom. His 1997 album Shleep
Shleep

Shleep is the eighth album released, in 1997, by Canterbury Scene survivor and progressive rock legend Robert Wyatt....
 was also highly acclaimed.

In 1999 he collaborated with the Italian singer Cristina Donà
Cristina Donà

Cristina Don? is an Italy singer and songwriter.She developed a passion for music since she was a teenager, her favorites singers being, among others, Bruce Springsteen, Sin?ad O'Connor, Joni Mitchell, Michelle Shocked, Tom Waits, Lucio Battisti, and Beatles....
 on her second album Nido
Nido

NIDO is a powdered milk Dietary supplement manufactured by Nestl?. Although there is no age recommendation, marketing is featured around children over three years of age with the tagline "Nutritious Milk for Growing Kids"....
. In the summer of 2000 her first EP Goccia was released and Wyatt made an appearance in the video of the title track.

Wyatt contributed the haunting "Masters of the Field", as well as "The Highest Gander", "La Forêt Rouge" and "Hors Champ" to the soundtrack of the acclaimed 2001 film Winged Migration
Le Peuple Migrateur

Le Peuple Migrateur , is a 2001 in film documentary film directed by Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin showcasing the immense journeys routinely made by birds during their migrations....
. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais
Bruno Coulais

Bruno Coulais is a France composer, most widely known for his music on film soundtracks. Coulais was born in Paris; his father is from Vend?e and his mother is an Iraqi Jew....
 as being a big influence in his younger days.

Influence on other artists

The Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears are an England pop rock band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the Mod -influenced Graduate , they were initially associated with the New Wave music synthesizer bands of the early 1980s, but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop which led to...
 song "I Believe
I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)

"I Believe " is a single by the United Kingdom band Tears for Fears. It was the band's eleventh single release and ninth UK Top 40 hit. The song also reached the Top 10 in Ireland....
" from Songs from the Big Chair
Songs from the Big Chair

Songs from the Big Chair is the second album by the United Kingdom pop music band Tears for Fears. It was released in 1985, and remains their highest selling album to date....
 (1985) is dedicated to Wyatt; the video features Roland Orzabal
Roland Orzabal

Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He is known mainly as a co-founding member of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and predominant vocalist, but he has also achieved success as a producer of other artists....
 sitting shirtless in an arm chair for most of the video to mimic Wyatt's paralysis. As a further tribute to Wyatt, on the b-side of the single, Orzabal performs a cover version of "Sea Song
Sea song

Sea song may refer to:*another name for a sea shanty, shipboard working songs which flourished from the fifteenth century to the first half of the 20th century....
", one of his most loved songs from the Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom (album)

Rock Bottom is the second solo album by Robert Wyatt.Although Rock Bottom is technically Wyatt's second solo LP, he has stated in several interviews that he considers its predecessor The End of an Ear as juvenilia and not part of the recognised "canon" of Wyatt solo records....
 album. This recording can also be found on the Tears For Fears
Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears are an England pop rock band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the Mod -influenced Graduate , they were initially associated with the New Wave music synthesizer bands of the early 1980s, but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop which led to...
 compilation CD Saturnine Martial & Lunatic
Saturnine Martial & Lunatic

Saturnine Martial & Lunatic is the second official compilation album released by Tears for Fears. It is a collection of B-sides and rare tracks, spanning some ten years of recording from the band's Mercury/Phonogram era....
 as well as later remastered versions of Songs from the Big Chair.

Recent years

In June 2001, Wyatt was curator of the Meltdown
Meltdown (festival)

Meltdown is an annual, England festival, held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held over nine days in an area covering including the Southbank Centre, the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall....
 festival, and sang "Comfortably Numb
Comfortably Numb

"Comfortably Numb" is a song by the England progressive rock band Pink Floyd, which was released on the 1979 in music double album The Wall....
" during David Gilmour's performance at the festival, recorded on Gilmour's DVD David Gilmour in Concert
David Gilmour in Concert

David Gilmour in Concert is a DVD of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London in June 2001, as part of the Robert Wyatt-curated Meltdown festival....
.

In January 2003 BBC Four
BBC Four

BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television viewers in the UK. The part successor to BBC Knowledge, it launched on 2 March 2002....
 broadcast a programme entitled "Free Will and Testament" which featured performance footage of Wyatt with other musicians including Ian Maidman and Liam Genocky, together with interviews with John Peel, Brian Eno, Annie Whitehead
Annie Whitehead

Annie Whitehead is an English jazz trombone player....
, Alfie and Robert Wyatt himself.

In late 2003, Wyatt put out his album Cuckooland
Cuckooland

Cuckooland is an album by Robert Wyatt. The artwork is by Alfreda Benge....
 which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Björk
Björk

Bj?rk Gu?mundsd?ttir is an Icelandic singer-songwriter, composer, actor and record producer, whose work includes seven solo albums and two film soundtracks....
 on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album Medúlla.

"He lives in Louth, Lincolnshire and he has equipment in his bedroom where he records himself and his albums. We brought a G4 and Pro Tools
Pro Tools

Pro Tools is a Digital Audio Workstation platformfor Mac OS and Microsoft Windows operating systems, developed and manufactured by Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology....
 and recorded it in like one afternoon. He's such an extraordinary singer. Before he left, he insisted to give us a scale of his voice, where he sings all the tones – and he has the most amazing range, like 5 or 6 octave
Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
s. What's really interesting about his range is that each octave is of a totally different character. We actually ended up using that later for "Oceania
Oceania (song)

"Oceania" is a song by Icelandic singer Bj?rk. It was formerly planned to be the first single release from Bj?rk's Med?lla album. Later it was just released as a promo....
", we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'." — Björk, XFM
Xfm

Xfm is a brand of commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie , and owned by Global Radio in the United Kingdom. Xfm was created in 1997 in London, but has since expanded to several stations....
 25 August 2004


In 2006, Wyatt played with David Gilmour
David Gilmour

David Jon Gilmour Order of the British Empire , is an England musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer, and one of the main songwriters in the band Pink Floyd....
 on Gilmour's new release On An Island
On an Island

On an Island is the third solo album by David Gilmour, best known as a lead vocalist and guitarist for Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the U.S....
, singing and playing cornet and percussion on "Then I Close My Eyes." Wyatt performed as a guest at Gilmour's series of Royal Albert Hall concerts, playing his cornet solo for this song. This is documented on the Remember That Night
Remember That Night

Remember That Night is a live concert recording of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concerts at the Royal Albert Hall on May 29, 30 & 31, 2006 as part of his On an Island tour....
 DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
 and Blu-ray, released in 2007. Wyatt also read passages from the novels of Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami

is a popular contemporary Japanese writer and translator. His work has been described by the Virginia Quarterly Review as "easily accessible, yet profoundly complex"....
 for Max Richter
Max Richter (Composer)

Max Richter is a Germany-born composer, now living in the United Kingdom....
's album Songs from Before.

In 2006, Wyatt collaborated with Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve

Steve Nieve is a keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello....
 and Muriel Teodori on an opera "Welcome to the Voice". Wyatt interprets the character 'the Friend', both singing and playing pocket trumpet. "Welcome to the Voice" is an opera in one unique scene, on the street in front of an opera house. Robert's contribution to the recording was recorded at Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera

Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He was the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America....
's home studio in North London. "Welcome to the Voice" is released in May on Deutsche Grammophon, and the recording features Robert Wyatt, Barbara Bonney
Barbara Bonney

Barbara Bonney is an United States soprano.Bonney was born in Montclair, New Jersey, New Jersey. As a child she studied piano and cello. When Bonney was 13 her family moved to Maine, where she became part of the Portland Youth Orchestra as a cellist....
, Sting, Amanda Roocroft, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello is an England musician and singer-songwriter. Costello came to prominence as an early participant in London's Pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres, before establishing his own unique voice in the 1980s....
, Nathalie Manfrino, Brodsky Quartet
Brodsky Quartet

The Brodsky Quartet is a United Kingdom string quartet, in existence since 1972, though only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members....
, Sara Fulgoni
Sara Fulgoni

Sara Fulgoni is a British mezzo-soprano.She graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music. She made her Royal Opera House debut in Verdi's Luisa Miller debut in 2003 and has sung at the Salzburg Festival, La Scala and other important houses....
, Ned Rothenberg
Ned Rothenberg

Ned Rothenberg is an United States multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and shakuhachi ....
, Antoine Quessada, Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot

Marc Ribot is an United States guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music....
, Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve

Steve Nieve is a keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello....
 and Muriel Teodori.

In March 2007, it was announced that Wyatt was working on a new solo album entitled Comicopera
Comicopera

Comicopera is an album by Robert Wyatt released on 8 October 2007, available on both CD and double vinyl formats . It is Wyatt's first release on the Domino Records label....
. It was released in October 2007 on the Domino Records label, a large independent label housing such big indie stars as Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys are an England indie rock band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. Formed in 2002, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders ....
, Pavement
Pavement (band)

Pavement was an United States indie rock musical band in the 1990s. Although they experienced only moderate commercial success, they achieved a significant cult following and were one of the more popular and influential Lo-fi music rock bands of the 1990s....
, Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel was an United States Independent music rock music Band noted for its experimental sound and eclectic instrumentation. The band originally consisted primarily of principle songwriter Jeff Mangum , later adding members Jeremy Barnes , Scott Spillane , and Julian Koster after the release of studio album On Avery Island....
 and Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith

Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, Oregon, where he first gained popularity....
.

In September 2008, it was announced that Domino Records will re-release Wyatt's Drury Lane, Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom (album)

Rock Bottom is the second solo album by Robert Wyatt.Although Rock Bottom is technically Wyatt's second solo LP, he has stated in several interviews that he considers its predecessor The End of an Ear as juvenilia and not part of the recognised "canon" of Wyatt solo records....
, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard

Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is the third solo album by Robert Wyatt.The follow-up to Rock Bottom , for which Wyatt had written all of the music and lyrics, Ruth... consisted of Wyatt's adaptations and arrangements of other people's music with Wyatt adding his own lyrics in much the same way as he'd done on Matching Mole's Lit...
 and Nothing Can Stop Us
Nothing Can Stop Us

Nothing Can Stop Us is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt released in 1982.Consisting of tracks released as singles and B-sides during the late 1970s and early 80s, it is often considered as part of the run of Wyatt solo albums, although it only contains one Wyatt composition ....
 on October 27. The label will re-release Old Rottenhat
Old Rottenhat

Old Rottenhat is the fifth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in 1985....
, Dondestan, Shleep
Shleep

Shleep is the eighth album released, in 1997, by Canterbury Scene survivor and progressive rock legend Robert Wyatt....
, Cuckooland
Cuckooland

Cuckooland is an album by Robert Wyatt. The artwork is by Alfreda Benge....
 and a collection of EPs on November 17. The re-releases will be available on CD and vinyl.

"Wyatting"

Recently the verb "Wyatting", named obviously after Robert Wyatt, appeared in some blogs and music magazines to describe the practice of playing weird tracks on a pub jukebox to annoy the other pub goers. The name was coined by Carl Neville, a 36-year-old English teacher from London, because one of the favourite LPs for this effect is Dondestan.

Robert Wyatt was quoted in The Guardian
The Guardian

Sorry, no overview for this topic
: as saying "I think it's really funny," and "I'm very honoured at the idea of becoming a verb." However, when asked if he would ever try it himself, he said "Oh no. I don't really like disconcerting people. Although often when I try to be normal I disconcert anyway."

Discography


Albums

  • The End of an Ear
    The End of an Ear

    The End of an Ear is the debut solo album by Soft Machine's Robert Wyatt. It was recorded in August 1970, while on a leave of absence from the band ....
     (1970)
  • Rock Bottom
    Rock Bottom (album)

    Rock Bottom is the second solo album by Robert Wyatt.Although Rock Bottom is technically Wyatt's second solo LP, he has stated in several interviews that he considers its predecessor The End of an Ear as juvenilia and not part of the recognised "canon" of Wyatt solo records....
     (1974)
  • Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard
    Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard

    Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is the third solo album by Robert Wyatt.The follow-up to Rock Bottom , for which Wyatt had written all of the music and lyrics, Ruth... consisted of Wyatt's adaptations and arrangements of other people's music with Wyatt adding his own lyrics in much the same way as he'd done on Matching Mole's Lit...
     (1975)
  • Nothing Can Stop Us
    Nothing Can Stop Us

    Nothing Can Stop Us is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt released in 1982.Consisting of tracks released as singles and B-sides during the late 1970s and early 80s, it is often considered as part of the run of Wyatt solo albums, although it only contains one Wyatt composition ....
     (1982, Singles compilation; 1983 Australia
    Australia

    Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
    n edition includes "Shipbuilding")
  • The Animals Film (1982, Soundtrack)
  • Old Rottenhat
    Old Rottenhat

    Old Rottenhat is the fifth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in 1985....
     (1985)
  • Dondestan (1991)
  • Flotsam Jetsam (1994)
  • A Short Break (1996, EP)
  • Shleep
    Shleep

    Shleep is the eighth album released, in 1997, by Canterbury Scene survivor and progressive rock legend Robert Wyatt....
     (1997)
  • Dondestan (Revisited) (1998)
  • eps (5CD box set) (1999)
  • Solar Flares Burn for You (2003)
  • Cuckooland
    Cuckooland

    Cuckooland is an album by Robert Wyatt. The artwork is by Alfreda Benge....
     (2003)
  • His Greatest Misses (2004, compilation)
  • Theatre Royal Drury Lane 8 September 1974 (2005)
  • Comicopera
    Comicopera

    Comicopera is an album by Robert Wyatt released on 8 October 2007, available on both CD and double vinyl formats . It is Wyatt's first release on the Domino Records label....
     (2007)


EPs

  • The Peel Sessions (1974, "Alifib"/"Soup Song"/"Sea Song"/"I'm a Believer")
  • Work In Progress (1984, "Biko
    Biko (song)

    "Biko" is a protest song by British rock musician Peter Gabriel. The song was included on Gabriel's third album, Peter Gabriel . It is about Steve Biko, a noted black South African anti-apartheid activist....
    "/"Amber and the Amberines"/"Yolanda"/"Te Recuerdo Amanda")
  • 4 Tracks EP (1984, "I'm a Believer"/"Yesterday Man"/"Team Spirit"/"Memories")
  • Airplay (2002, "Fridge"/"When Access Was a Noun "/"Salt-Ivy"/"Signed Curtain")


Singles

  • "I'm a Believer
    I'm a Believer

    "I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by the band The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S....
    "/"Memories (song)" (1974)
  • "Yesterday Man
    Yesterday Man

    Yesterday Man is a song written by Chris Andrews and also his debut single as solo singer, released in 1965. It went up to position 3 in the UK charts and #1 in Ireland and Germany....
    "/"I'm a Believer
    I'm a Believer

    "I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by the band The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S....
    " (1974)
  • "Yesterday Man"/"Sonia" (1977)
  • "Arauco"/"Caimanera" (1980)
  • "At Last I'm Free"/"Strange Fruit
    Strange Fruit

    "Strange Fruit" is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday. It condemned American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans that had occurred chiefly in the Southern United States but also in all regions of the United States....
    " (1980)
  • "Stalin Wasn't Stallin'
    Stalin Wasn't Stallin'

    "Stalin Wasn't Stallin' " was an United States Patriotism song written in 1943 by Willie Johnson and originally recorded by the a cappella Gospel music group Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet in 1943....
    "/"Stalingrad" (1981)
  • "Grass"/"Trade Union" (1981)
  • "Shipbuilding
    Shipbuilding (song)

    "Shipbuilding" is a song written by singer/songwriter Elvis Costello and producer Clive Langer. Written during the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of Merseyside , Tyneside and Belfast to build new ships to replace those being sunk in th...
    "/"Memories of You"/"'Round Midnight
    'Round Midnight (song)

    "Round Midnight" is a 1944 jazz standard by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. Jazz artists Cootie Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis have further embellished the song, with songwriter Bernie Hanighen adding lyrics....
    " (1982)
  • "The Wind of Change"/"Namibia"(1984) (as "Robert Wyatt with the SWAPO Singers")
  • "The Age of Self"/"Raise Your Banners High" (1984)
  • "Chairman Mao" (1987)
  • "Free Will and Testament"/"The Sight of the Wind" (1997)
  • "Heaps of Sheeps"/"A Sunday in Madrid" (1997)


Other contributions

  • Drums on most of Kevin Ayers
    Kevin Ayers

    Kevin Ayers is an English songwriter and major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. John Peel wrote in his autobiography that "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it."...
    's Joy of a Toy
    Joy of a Toy

    Joy of a Toy is the debut solo album of Kevin Ayers, a founding member of Soft Machine. Its whimsical and unique vision is a clear indication of how Soft Machine might have progressed under Ayers' tenure....
     (1969)
  • Harmony vocals on "Whatevershebringswesing" on Kevin Ayers
    Kevin Ayers

    Kevin Ayers is an English songwriter and major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. John Peel wrote in his autobiography that "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it."...
    's Whatevershebringswesing
    Whatevershebringswesing

    Whatevershebringswesing is the third solo album by Kevin Ayers. In 1971, Kevin Ayers started recording what would become his magnum opus, Whatevershebringswesing accompanied by members of Gong and his previous backing band The Whole World....
     (1971)
  • Drums and vocals on Daevid Allen
    Daevid Allen

    Daevid Allen is an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist best known as co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong ....
    's Banana Moon
    Banana Moon

    Banana Moon is a 1971 studio album by Daevid Allen. The album is sometimes refered to as Bananamoon and initial copies were pressed as a Gong album....
     (1971)
  • Harmony vocals on "Hymn" on Kevin Ayers
    Kevin Ayers

    Kevin Ayers is an English songwriter and major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. John Peel wrote in his autobiography that "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it."...
    's Bananamour
    Bananamour

    Bananamour is the fourth studio album by Kevin Ayers and it featured some of his most accessible recordings, including "Shouting in a Bucket Blues" and his whimsical tribute to Syd Barrett, "Oh! Wot A Dream"....
     (1973)
  • Percussion on Kevin Ayers
    Kevin Ayers

    Kevin Ayers is an English songwriter and major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. John Peel wrote in his autobiography that "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it."...
    's June 1, 1974 (1974)
  • Percussion and backing vocals on Brian Eno
    Brian Eno

    Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno , is an England musician, composer, record producer, music theory and singer, who, as a solo artist, is best known as the People known as the father or mother of something of ambient music....
    's Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
    Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

    Taking Tiger Mountain is the second solo album by Brian Eno. Produced by Eno, it was originally released by Island Records in November 1974 in a gatefold sleeve....
     (1974)
  • 2nd lead vocals on "Calyx" on Hatfield and the North
    Hatfield and the North

    Hatfield and the North was an experimental music Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter....
    's Hatfield and the North
    Hatfield and the North (album)

    Hatfield and the North is the first album by Experimental music Canterbury scene rock band Hatfield and the North....
     (1974)
  • Vocals on Michael Mantler
    Michael Mantler

    Michael Mantler is an Austrian trumpeter and composer in new jazz and contemporary music....
    's The Hapless Child (1975/76)
  • Vocals on two tracks on Henry Cow
    Henry Cow

    Henry Cow were an England avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble, founded at University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson....
    's Concerts
    Henry Cow Concerts

    Henry Cow Concerts is a live double album by United Kingdom avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble Henry Cow, recorded at concerts in London, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway between September 1974 and October 1975....
     (1976)
  • Drums on Kevin Coyne
    Kevin Coyne

    Kevin Coyne was a musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The former "anti-star " was born on 27 January 1944 in Derby, UK, and died in his adopted home of Nuremberg, Germany, on 2 December 2004....
    's Sanity Stomp
    Sanity Stomp

    Sanity Stomp is a double studio Gramophone record by the rock music artist Kevin Coyne which was released in 1980....
     (1980)
  • Piano on Scritti Politti
    Scritti Politti

    Scritti Politti are a United Kingdom band , originally formed in 1978 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Scritti Politti is now primarily a musical vehicle for singer-songwriter Green Gartside , who is the founding member and only member of the band to have remained throughout the group's history....
    's The Sweetest Girl
    The Sweetest Girl

    "The ?Sweetest Girl?" is a song by British band Scritti Politti, released in 1981 as a single. The single peaked at #64 in the UK Singles Chart....
     (1981)
  • Vocals on Nick Mason
    Nick Mason

    Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is the drummer for Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1964. He also competes in auto racing events, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans....
    's Fictitious Sports
    Fictitious Sports

    Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason fronted the group who made the one-off self-titled album Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports in May 1981 in the UK and US, this being Mason's first major work outside of Pink Floyd....
     (1981)
  • Wyatt released an EP entitled Summer Into Winter in collaboration with Ben Watt
    Ben Watt

    Ben Watt is a United Kingdom musician, Disc jockey, and record producer, best known as one half of the duet , Everything but the Girl. Watt is the son of British bandleader Tommy Watt....
     (1982)
  • Vocals on four tracks on News from Babel
    News from Babel

    News from Babel were an England avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble founded in 1983 by Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins and Dagmar Krause....
    's Letters Home
    Letters Home (album)

    Letters Home is a 1986 studio album by England avant-garde Rock music Musical ensemble News from Babel. It was recorded at Tim Hodgkinson's Cold Storage Recording Studios in Brixton, London, in 1985 and 1986, and was released in 1986....
     (1986)
  • Vocals on three tracks on John Greaves
    John Greaves (musician)

    John Greaves is a United Kingdom bass guitarist and composer, best known as a member of Henry Cow and his collaborative albums with Peter Blegvad....
    's Songs (1996)
  • Vocals on two tracks on Bruno Coulais
    Bruno Coulais

    Bruno Coulais is a France composer, most widely known for his music on film soundtracks. Coulais was born in Paris; his father is from Vend?e and his mother is an Iraqi Jew....
    's motion picture soundtrack Travelling Birds (2001)
  • Vocals on "Submarine" on Björk
    Björk

    Bj?rk Gu?mundsd?ttir is an Icelandic singer-songwriter, composer, actor and record producer, whose work includes seven solo albums and two film soundtracks....
    's Medúlla
    Medulla

    Medulla refers to the middle of something, and derives from the Latin word for 'marrow' .In medicine it refers to either bone marrow, the spinal cord, or more generally, the middle part of a structure ....
     (2004)
  • Trumpet on one song on David Gilmour
    David Gilmour

    David Jon Gilmour Order of the British Empire , is an England musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer, and one of the main songwriters in the band Pink Floyd....
    's On an Island
    On an Island

    On an Island is the third solo album by David Gilmour, best known as a lead vocalist and guitarist for Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the U.S....
     (2006)
  • Wyattron on "Cold Shoulder" on Kevin Ayers
    Kevin Ayers

    Kevin Ayers is an English songwriter and major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. John Peel wrote in his autobiography that "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it."...
    's The Unfairground
    The Unfairground

    The Unfairground is an acclaimed 2007 album by Kevin Ayers, recorded with members of Ladybug Transistor, Teenage Fanclub, Neutral Milk Hotel, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Roxy Music....
     (2007)
  • Vocals on "This Summer Night" on Bertrand Burgalat
    Bertrand Burgalat

    Bertrand Burgalat is a French musician, composer and producer....
    's Chéri B.B (2007) - released in 2008 as a limited edition 12" vinyl single (500 copies only)
  • Backing vocals on "I Keep Faith" on Billy Bragg
    Billy Bragg

    Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an England musician who blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs....
    's Mr. Love & Justice (2008)
  • Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
    Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

    Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is the second album made in collaboration between David Byrne and Brian Eno, released on August 18, 2008....
     by David Byrne
    David Byrne

    David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish and European official...
     and Brian Eno
    Brian Eno

    Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno , is an England musician, composer, record producer, music theory and singer, who, as a solo artist, is best known as the People known as the father or mother of something of ambient music....
     (2008)
  • "Camouflage" in collaboration with Barbara Morgenstern
    Barbara Morgenstern

    Barbara Morgenstern is an electronic music artist....
     on her album BM (2008)


Bibliography


Text by Robert Wyatt and illustrations by Jean-Michel Marchetti :
  • 1997 MW, Æncrages & Co publishing
  • 1998 M2W, Æncrages & Co publishing
  • 2000 MW3, Æncrages & Co publishing
  • 2003 M4W, Æncrages & Co publishing
  • 2008 MBW (with Alfreda Benge
    Alfreda Benge

    Alfreda Benge is a lyricist and illustrator. She has been married to musician Robert Wyatt since 1974. She has contributed lyrics to many of his compositions, and has written lyrics for French musician/producer Bertrand Burgalat, and for Brazilian singer Monica Vasconcelos....
    ), Æncrages & Co publishing


Books about Robert Wyatt
  • 1994 Robert Wyatt : Wrong Movements, by Michael King, SAF Publishing (Canada) ISBN-10: 0946719101 ISBN-13: 978-0946719105


External links

  • (National Portrait Gallery photograph)
  • New Statesman
    New Statesman

    The New Statesman is a United Kingdom left-wing politics magazine published weekly in London. The current editor is Jason Cowley, whose appointment was announced on 16 May 2008....
     interview with Robert Wyatt.