As a teenager, he lived with his parents in a fourteen-room Georgian guest-house, Wellington House, in Lydden near Canterbury. Here he was taught the drums by visiting American jazz drummer George Niedorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Niedorf moved to Majorca where they stayed with the poet Robert Graves. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen and Hugh Hopper. Allen subsequently left for France, and Wyatt and Hopper formed the Wilde Flowers with Richard Sinclair, Kevin Ayers and Brian Hopper. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he became lead singer.
In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt and Mike Ratledge formed the Soft Machine with Ayers and Allen. 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, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.
A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and formed his own band Matching Mole (a pun on "machine molle", the 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 a drunken party, Wyatt fell from a third floor window. He was subsequently paralysed from the waist down (paraplegia) and confined to a wheelchair.
The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his drumming. He promptly embarked on a solo-career, and with a collective of session musicians (including Mike Oldfield, the poet Ivor Cutler and Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), he released his acclaimed solo album Rock Bottom. Later that same year he put out a single, a cover version of "I'm a Believer", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops surrounding his 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 be described as disgruntled.
Wyatt's next album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, was more jazz-led, with free jazz influences and nods to African music. These solo recordings were all produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.
Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Wyatt guested with various acts, working with the likes of Henry Cow (documented on their Henry Cow Concerts album), Hatfield and the North, Carla Bley and Michael Mantler. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became an outspoken member and supporter of the British Communist Party. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello's anti-Falklands War song "Shipbuilding", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart. In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other ex-Canterbury acts such as News from Babel, he and his wife Alfreda Benge spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan, considered by many to be his best work since Rock Bottom. His 1997 album Shleep was also highly acclaimed.
An uncredited 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. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais as being a big influence in his younger days.
In 2001, Wyatt was curator of the Meltdown festival, and in 2003 he put out his album Cuckooland.
In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Björk on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album Medúlla.
In October 2007 he released Comicopera, a 16-track album, his first for the Domino label.
It was produced by Wyatt himself, and recorded at his home in Louth as well as Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio.
Comicopera is divided into three acts - 'Lost in Noise', 'The Here and The Now', and 'Away with the Fairies'. Featured musicians include previous collaborators Brian Eno, Paul Weller and Phil Manzanera. Wyatt said he was keen to capture the sound of a group of musicians playing in the room together, but more importantly to have friends playing together.
"Music isn't just an abstract pleasure, it is a company, when you play a record. Why I like Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, the big bands - is because every character in the band is identifiable as that person - there's this group of humans in a room".
"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 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 octaves. 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', we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'." — Björk, XFM 25 August 2004
Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road
Robert Wyatt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The dead-end tunnels crumble in the rain underfoot
Innit a shame?
Can't you see them?
Can't you see them?
Roots can't hold them
Bugs console them
I fight with the handle of my little brown broom
I pull out the wires of the telephone
I hurt in the head and
I hurt in the acting bone
Now
I smash up the telly with remains of the broken phone
I fighting for the crust of the little brown loaf
I want it I want it I want it give it to me
(I give it you back when I finish the lunchtea)
I lie in the road try to trip up the passing cars
Yes me and the hedgehog
We bursting the tyres all day
As we roll down the highway towards the setting sun
I reflect on the life of the Highwayman yum yum
Now I smash up the telly and what's left of
The broken phone
The lyrics of "Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road" by Robert Wyatt are enigmatic and seem to deal with the various forms of destruction in the modern world. The opening lines "In the garden of England dead moles lie inside their holes, The dead-end tunnels crumble in the rain underfoot, Innit a shame?" provide a vivid picture of the decay and decline of nature that is happening all around us. The next few lines are equally oblique and suggest that the roots are unable to hold the dead moles, while bugs console them. This metaphorical language is characteristic of Wyatt's music and reflects his interest in surrealism and the unconscious mind.
The rest of the song presents a picture of someone who is frustrated and angry with the modern world. The imagery of the "little brown broom" and the "remains of the broken phone" suggests that the singer is working-class and struggling to make ends meet in a society that values material possessions over people. The line "I hurt in the head and I hurt in the acting bone" further reinforces these feelings of frustration and alienation. The final lines of the song, "Now I smash up the telly and what's left of the broken phone" suggest that this frustration has boiled over into outright rage and destruction.
Overall, "Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road" is a powerful and introspective song that speaks to the cruelty, decay, and destruction of modern society. Its vivid and poetic language reflects the complexity of these themes and the difficulty of navigating them in our daily lives.
Line by Line Meaning
In the garden of England dead moles lie inside their holes
The life in the garden of England has died, as evidenced by the unmoving moles in their tunnels.
Can't you see them?
Can you not witness the destruction and emptiness around us?
Roots can't hold them
The dead beings cannot stay in the ground, decayed and lifeless.
Bugs console them
Only insects are left to provide any form of interaction or care for the dead and the decay.
I fight with the handle of my little brown broom
I am struggling to keep order amidst the chaos around me, using any tool I can find, even a small broomstick.
I pull out the wires of the telephone
I erase any form of contact with the outside world, disconnecting myself from society.
I hurt in the head and I hurt in the acting bone
Mentally and physically, I am in pain, both aching from the destruction and the need to do something about it.
Now I smash up the telly with remains of the broken phone
I fully embrace the chaos, destroying any remaining communication or entertainment devices for a sense of control.
I fighting for the crust of the little brown loaf
All I have left to fight for is the very basic necessities to survive, like a small piece of bread.
I want it I want it I want it give it to me
The desperation for these bare essentials is overwhelming, as it becomes the only driving force of life.
(I give it you back when I finish the lunchtea)
I will only temporarily hold onto this small bit of sustenance, promising to repay it later.
I lie in the road try to trip up the passing
My destructive behavior has escalated as I now resort to disrupting the lives of others on the road.
Yes me and the hedgehog We bursting the tyres all day
Even other creatures are joining in on this wild and senseless behavior, causing destruction just for the sake of it.
As we roll down the highway towards the setting sun
We continue on this path of destruction, with no clear destination or end in sight.
I reflect on the life of the Highwayman yum yum
Even amidst the madness, I take a moment to ponder the life of a mythological figure known for his criminal and rebellious acts, perhaps wishing for a taste of that same freedom and chaos.
Now I smash up the telly and what's left of the broken phone
I am fully committed to this path of destruction, leaving nothing behind as a link to society or sanity.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: WYATT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kris Scanlon
Wyatt's music was literally at the halfway point between progressive rock and what became the new wave. It leans to either side quite well not dominating either side. That was an amazing feat just very natural and he survived the Punk backlash very well.
dog connoisseur
k
Sterling Cale
No producer/engineer/artist since has dared to craft such an insightful experience. Incredible musicians, powerful minds. This album is what many think they are doing for art
Marco Venieri
il culmine della musica, e la fine di un viaggio. La chitarra che, come un fulmine, spazza via tutto nella prima apocalittica parte; il canto di wyatt come in trance, quasi fosse una profezia quella che canta; gli archi che segnano la fine della tempesta e la rinascita del sole, del giorno; la voce distaccata e surreale, quasi bambinesca, di ivor cutler; la viola di Frith che riporta il brano e l'ascoltatore in un paesaggio marino, come fossimo sulle spiagge rocciose di qualche paese anglosassone. è tutto assoluto
Dr_Goggles_
I heard this song once, at my uncle's house, about 30 years ago. It stuck with me ever since, although I knew it was Ivor Cutler, I didn't know it was Wyatt till now, I've found it again. Brilliant.
MrStevestain
Such an incredible song - a beautiful piece of musical art - Oldfield's guitar is just astounding.
Soft Machine Gaming
Rock Bottom is the greatest album of all time
MattieCooper
A Golden Classic in Music History!
Rokudammela
Questa canzone rappresenta la catarsi, la purificazione dell'uomo dal male dell'esistenza(la prima parte della canzone). Non è una purificazione ideale, ma una rinascita, possibile soltanto scendendo a fondo, immergendosi completamente(il senso dell'immersione è pregnante dell'intero album Rock Bottom), smarrendosi.
DX7036
The unmistakable Oldfield touch. He even put a little snippet from Tubular Bells :D