Interview: Dr Robert of The Blow Monkeys looks forward to Cambridge gig
A string of memorable singles catapulted The Blow Monkeys to stardom at a time when flamboyant, well-dressed musicians and their ‘sophistipop’ was all the rage. This smooth, melodic sound, favoured also by The Style Council and Simply Red, incorporated elements of pop, soul and jazz.
For The Blow Monkeys, who celebrate their 40th anniversary this year, a taste of worldwide success first came in 1986 with the timeless hit Digging Your Scene. Central to the band’s success was the enticing magnetism and undeniable stage presence of lead singer Robert Howard, AKA Dr Robert.
Following its initial run (1981-1990), the original foursome – Robert, bowler hat-wearing bass player Mick Anker, saxophonist Neville Henry and drummer Tony Kiley – regrouped in 2007. This line-up remained in place until 2015, when Kiley was replaced by Crispin Taylor.
The band’s upcoming LP, Journey to You, is its 11th studio album – the last 10 years alone have seen the reinvigorated quartet put out six albums and play hundreds of live shows. Expect to hear tracks from the
new LP - including latest single Dust At Her Feet - along with all the classics when The Junction welcomes Robert and co to the J1 stage in October.
Robert, whose solo career has yielded an impressive 10 albums, has kept very busy this past year, not just with writing in the initial weeks of lockdown and then producing the band’s new record, but producing albums for other artists too.
“There’s not a lot else going on, to be honest, so better to keep busy,” he says, speaking to the Cambridge Independent from his home in Granada, Spain. “I’ve got a little studio here where I work on demos and things, but I’ve been going into a friend’s studio to do the work – I don’t have a professional set-up.”
Robert’s Blow Monkeys bandmates all live in London so he says that Journey to You was “done remotely” over the internet. “We’re still playing and we’re still recording – it’s just that we’re not in the same room,” he says. “I quite like it. You don’t have to stop and make cups of tea and feed people – it’s quite handy. It suits me really,
“I’ve always been a little bit of a hermit. I quite like solitude and I’ve enjoyed it. I’m missing being in a group and going out and playing but the actual making records part has been quite fun.” The new album is due to come out in September – “to celebrate, if that’s the right word, 40 years together.”
Robert has always written songs, saying: “I guess it’s my sort of therapy, like a diary really, the way I write.” So how does he write songs? “There is no one way, really,” he replies. “I sometimes tinker away on the piano, sometimes I play a guitar, sometimes the words just come first, or it may be a little melody that I’m humming. There’s no set plan, you just grab them when you can.”
Three original members of The Blow Monkeys are still on board after 40 years – quite an achievement. “I think it’s probably because we’re so different and we don’t mix outside the band,” says Robert, who in the past has worked with the likes of Paul Weller and Beth Orton, offering an explanation for this longevity.
“We’ve managed to keep it together. We have a shared history and a family ethic when we are together, but outside of that we’re very different people leading very different lives, so that gives each of us space. I guess we’re just lucky as well.”
Looking back on the heady days of the mid to late 80s, when The Blow Monkeys enjoyed huge success with memorable pop staples such as Digging Your Scene and It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way – their cover of Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me even found its way onto the Dirty Dancing soundtrack – Robert states: “It was just a great time...
“Obviously we were lucky; we were operating at a time when pop music was still a global phenomenon and it was still important, so we were part of that 80s thing but we’ve carried on and will carry on making records. It was great fun – we were having hit records – but I prefer to live in the present.
“We were lucky; it gave us notoriety and a certain amount of fame, but of course there were lots of ups and lots of downs, and in the end you really have to want to love making music to continue in this job. That’s what we have in common and maybe that’s one of the reasons why the band is still going strong.”
I put it to Robert, who recently turned 60, that the songs still sound amazing today. “You would have never thought that at the time,” he says, “because nobody told me they were going to invent the internet and that these videos would haunt me for the rest of my life!
"But there you go, I’m over that now... It’s quite fun really – it’s just a bit odd seeing yourself 30 years ago. You’re kind of frozen in that moment for some people. But the songs themselves, I still enjoy playing them – the good ones. There are some that don’t make it [into the set] but some do and that’s all you can ask for.”
Robert is looking forward to playing some of the new songs in Cambridge, but notes: “We’ve never been in the same room playing these songs, so we don’t know how they’re going to go.”
“I used to live near Cambridge for a while, actually, in Whittlesford,” he reveals. “I used to play cricket there, so I’ve got connections with Cambridge and I’m looking forward to doing The Junction. I love The Junction, it’s a great venue, and I just hope it goes ahead. I think it will, I think we’ll be OK in October but you just never know.
“If it does come off, then they’ll be a great kind of hunger for people to come to gigs and also for us to play them – I think they’ll be a renewed hunger and vigour for the whole experience.”
The Blow Monkeys are set to play The Junction (J1) on Thursday, October 7. Tickets are £22.50 in advance. Visit junction.co.uk. For more on The Blow Monkeys, go to theblowmonkeys.com.
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