Unreleased songs
UPDATE 2023...
I have decided to stop updating this page. There are so many unreleased songs out there on places like the Internet Archive and YouTube that it becomes impossible for me to stay on top of them. I decided not to remove this page, but please be aware that it is woefully incomplete!
The superbly detailed website, The Asking Tree is the place to go for info on these. They currently identify around 300 unreleased Hitchcock originals, a listing of which can be seen here. A few of the unreleased tracks on the Asking Tree database look like they might be songs which were subsequently recorded under different names, eg And Ghosts Walk, which could be Sometimes A Blonde by a different name. Others are improvised - and also appear in a separate list here.
We cannot compete with The Asking Tree in researching and documenting these - part of the reason we gave up trying! The info below is how we left things, very much incomplete...
I have decided to stop updating this page. There are so many unreleased songs out there on places like the Internet Archive and YouTube that it becomes impossible for me to stay on top of them. I decided not to remove this page, but please be aware that it is woefully incomplete!
The superbly detailed website, The Asking Tree is the place to go for info on these. They currently identify around 300 unreleased Hitchcock originals, a listing of which can be seen here. A few of the unreleased tracks on the Asking Tree database look like they might be songs which were subsequently recorded under different names, eg And Ghosts Walk, which could be Sometimes A Blonde by a different name. Others are improvised - and also appear in a separate list here.
We cannot compete with The Asking Tree in researching and documenting these - part of the reason we gave up trying! The info below is how we left things, very much incomplete...
Bootlegs
When it comes to officially unreleased songs, bootlegs are like gold. Elsewhere on this site we discuss the Soft Boys' Radar sessions, and a few of these tracks appear to have been bootlegged, including the otherwise unavailable "Look Into Your Mirror". (The recording shows up on the (fairly common) bootleg CD, Invisible History.)
"Which of Us is Me" is another studio outtake which showed up on a bootleg EP in 1986 on the (fictional) Black Snake label.
A Radar-era demo is known which contains "(I Wanna) Appreciate You" and "Vegetable Girl", although the concurrent "The Lonesome Death of Ian Penman" is a different outtake completely, and has since been officially released.
"Rock 'n' Roll Radio Queen" is another Soft Boys track known through bootlegs such as, Underwater Moonlight Rehearsals. Yet another is the track, "The Unpleasant Stain".
A particularly rich source of Hitchcock compositions is the four-part Unhatched Crablings, put together by fans and made available for download. Here, we find the following songs, in among a stack of rare cover versions: "The Angel Upstairs"; "Rabbit Train"; "The Vomiting Cross"; "A Most Peculiar Voice"; "Cherry-Red Daughter"; "Weasel Turned His Back"; "Chain Mary to the Bed"; "The Feelers Was Everywhere"; "Brain Death"; "Snow Strike"; "I Thought I Saw Julian Cope"; "Consider Me Gone"; "It All Adds Up"; "Retinal Damage"; "Moussaka Song" "Meat Home"; "Ten Fingers"; "(Sadly Not) My Dead Relations"; "The Fortunate Son"; "Send Him Some Dentures"; "Queers For Jesus"; "Beetle Train With Antlers"; "If We Had a Baby"; "If We Hear Music"; "Loop the Loop". One or two of these are improvised. (Note: "Chain Mary to the Bed" and "I Thought I Saw Julian Cope" are the same song.)
Another bootlegged track is "Lobsterman", which originates in the 1970s and was scheduled for the Soft Boys' never-released second album. It has since turned up in tapes of Perspex Island-era sessions.
Those same sessions for Perspex Island spawned a bootleg called The Perspex Island Demos which includes "Lobsterman" plus a few more never-released compositions including "Chain Mary to the Bed" and "If We Had a Baby" (see above) and "Don't Kill the Sweetness in your Heart"; "Baby, I Want You (That's About All)" and "Gracious Ladies Dine Awhile". (Beware of songs on this boot by the names "Whoa-Oh-Wah-Hoh" and "Physical Weather". They are "Toadboy" and "Lightplug" under assumed names.)
More to follow in due course...
"Which of Us is Me" is another studio outtake which showed up on a bootleg EP in 1986 on the (fictional) Black Snake label.
A Radar-era demo is known which contains "(I Wanna) Appreciate You" and "Vegetable Girl", although the concurrent "The Lonesome Death of Ian Penman" is a different outtake completely, and has since been officially released.
"Rock 'n' Roll Radio Queen" is another Soft Boys track known through bootlegs such as, Underwater Moonlight Rehearsals. Yet another is the track, "The Unpleasant Stain".
A particularly rich source of Hitchcock compositions is the four-part Unhatched Crablings, put together by fans and made available for download. Here, we find the following songs, in among a stack of rare cover versions: "The Angel Upstairs"; "Rabbit Train"; "The Vomiting Cross"; "A Most Peculiar Voice"; "Cherry-Red Daughter"; "Weasel Turned His Back"; "Chain Mary to the Bed"; "The Feelers Was Everywhere"; "Brain Death"; "Snow Strike"; "I Thought I Saw Julian Cope"; "Consider Me Gone"; "It All Adds Up"; "Retinal Damage"; "Moussaka Song" "Meat Home"; "Ten Fingers"; "(Sadly Not) My Dead Relations"; "The Fortunate Son"; "Send Him Some Dentures"; "Queers For Jesus"; "Beetle Train With Antlers"; "If We Had a Baby"; "If We Hear Music"; "Loop the Loop". One or two of these are improvised. (Note: "Chain Mary to the Bed" and "I Thought I Saw Julian Cope" are the same song.)
Another bootlegged track is "Lobsterman", which originates in the 1970s and was scheduled for the Soft Boys' never-released second album. It has since turned up in tapes of Perspex Island-era sessions.
Those same sessions for Perspex Island spawned a bootleg called The Perspex Island Demos which includes "Lobsterman" plus a few more never-released compositions including "Chain Mary to the Bed" and "If We Had a Baby" (see above) and "Don't Kill the Sweetness in your Heart"; "Baby, I Want You (That's About All)" and "Gracious Ladies Dine Awhile". (Beware of songs on this boot by the names "Whoa-Oh-Wah-Hoh" and "Physical Weather". They are "Toadboy" and "Lightplug" under assumed names.)
More to follow in due course...
YouTube
YouTube, and the internet generally has radically altered the bootleg situation. There is now far more illicit material available just by searching than had ever been supplied in physical format. YouTube alone hosts countless live recordings and rare outtakes - too much to go into here. There is an apparently official Youtube channel called robynhitchcockweb and at the time of writing, it has two unreleased Hitchcock songs available to hear: "Love in the Garden of Light" and "The Ballad of Old 604"...
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The Internet Archive
A vast resource of live music is the Internet Archive, which has more than a hundred Robyn Hitchcock gigs which can be heard and downloaded for free (see here). In among it all are several Hitchcock originals which crop up in his sets, but apparently nowhere else. From these recordings we know of the following songs which we believe are all his own.
"If We Had A Baby" (1990, Oct 27); "It's Just A Church" (2000, Feb 19); "You Want Me To Go" (2003, Oct 31); "Belinda Carlisle" (2003, Nov 25); "Once Upon A Star" (2005, Mar 8); "W Sucks" (2006, Nov 20 (and other gigs)); "Vegetable Something" (2008, Nov 15); "On Seeing" (2013, Nov 8).
Some are obviously improvised (eg "Belinda Carlisle") others fully written and worked out (eg "You Want Me To Go"). Of course, the song titles are all supposed - we use the same song titles as on the Internet Archive pages.
"If We Had A Baby" (1990, Oct 27); "It's Just A Church" (2000, Feb 19); "You Want Me To Go" (2003, Oct 31); "Belinda Carlisle" (2003, Nov 25); "Once Upon A Star" (2005, Mar 8); "W Sucks" (2006, Nov 20 (and other gigs)); "Vegetable Something" (2008, Nov 15); "On Seeing" (2013, Nov 8).
Some are obviously improvised (eg "Belinda Carlisle") others fully written and worked out (eg "You Want Me To Go"). Of course, the song titles are all supposed - we use the same song titles as on the Internet Archive pages.
INternet-only
One song has been released on an internet video only, and remains otherwise unavailable: "Dragonfly Me". The song was written and performed for Pestival, an arts event celebrating insects, staged at the Southbank Centre in London in 2009.
Recordings known but not available
A tape recording of the Soft Boys performing at the Porland Arms in 1979 is known to exist. Among the tracks is "Man In The Air", said to be a very early composition. The tape has not circulated.
A 1977 Spaceward Studio demo is known to contain the following: "Tonight I'm In The Mood For Love"; "Rer Der Der Der Der"; "I'm A Very Big House".
According to Hitchcock, "Tonight I'm In The Mood For Love" and "Rer Der Der Der Der" were co-writes with Martin Mayer, when the two were in The Beetles. "I'm a Very Big House" was a co-write with "Paul", with whom Robyn shared accommodation at the time.
A 1977 Spaceward Studio demo is known to contain the following: "Tonight I'm In The Mood For Love"; "Rer Der Der Der Der"; "I'm A Very Big House".
According to Hitchcock, "Tonight I'm In The Mood For Love" and "Rer Der Der Der Der" were co-writes with Martin Mayer, when the two were in The Beetles. "I'm a Very Big House" was a co-write with "Paul", with whom Robyn shared accommodation at the time.
Songs cited by Robyn
There are some additional songs mentioned by Robyn on occasion, which are otherwise obscure.
In 1987, Forced Exposure ran an interview with Robyn, conducted by former band-mate Nigel Cross. In the course of the conversation, Robyn is quoted (my emphasis): "There are also sporadic plans for them [former colleagues] to record 'Keith Lives In Austria' but I don't think they'll ever do it. And possibly 'Blacky Preston', which had James A. Smith in the posing pouch at the folk club, which was about this sixteen year old..."
These songs appear to date to the early period of Maureen & The Meatpackers, one of Hitchock's pre-Soft Boys groups.
In the same article, Robyn mentions early songs, "Moisture" and "I'm A Guy".
In an article in Bucketfull of Brains (issue 14, 1986), Jon Storey listed tracks pencilled in for the forthcoming Invisible Hitchcock album of 1980s leftovers, and he reported - presumably on information supplied by Hitchcock: "Currently proposed for inclusion ... 'The Chinese Insect Commercial', which was considered for release as a 45 some years ago."
In the book, Middle Class Hero (published in Italy in 2000), Robyn is quoted (p46), "I wrote a song called 'America in the Death of History', which was a good title but unfortunately the song was bad!"
The DVD, Sex, Food Death... and Insects has footage of Robyn citing a song called "Note to Self - Kill More Flies", which he says he has written, although this may be a joke.
In an interview for The Believer, Robyn stated, "I wrote a song called 'My Mind Wants To Die But My Body Wants To Live'. He said it was written 'years ago' and that these were the only lyrics.
We should also mention the dozen songs listed by Robyn as the Soft Boys' "missing second album". Eight of them are otherwise unknown, and all are believed to be original compositions. Details were printed in the notes to A Can of Bees (1990 CD edition). Tracks in question are: "God Of Beaks"; "Moan"; "Arabian Takeaway"; "Beautiful Scream"; "Jerry Scud, Hoof-Lips"; "Reasons For Parking"; "The Great Crustaceans"; "Bonde M’Teko Stomp".
In 1987, Forced Exposure ran an interview with Robyn, conducted by former band-mate Nigel Cross. In the course of the conversation, Robyn is quoted (my emphasis): "There are also sporadic plans for them [former colleagues] to record 'Keith Lives In Austria' but I don't think they'll ever do it. And possibly 'Blacky Preston', which had James A. Smith in the posing pouch at the folk club, which was about this sixteen year old..."
These songs appear to date to the early period of Maureen & The Meatpackers, one of Hitchock's pre-Soft Boys groups.
In the same article, Robyn mentions early songs, "Moisture" and "I'm A Guy".
In an article in Bucketfull of Brains (issue 14, 1986), Jon Storey listed tracks pencilled in for the forthcoming Invisible Hitchcock album of 1980s leftovers, and he reported - presumably on information supplied by Hitchcock: "Currently proposed for inclusion ... 'The Chinese Insect Commercial', which was considered for release as a 45 some years ago."
In the book, Middle Class Hero (published in Italy in 2000), Robyn is quoted (p46), "I wrote a song called 'America in the Death of History', which was a good title but unfortunately the song was bad!"
The DVD, Sex, Food Death... and Insects has footage of Robyn citing a song called "Note to Self - Kill More Flies", which he says he has written, although this may be a joke.
In an interview for The Believer, Robyn stated, "I wrote a song called 'My Mind Wants To Die But My Body Wants To Live'. He said it was written 'years ago' and that these were the only lyrics.
We should also mention the dozen songs listed by Robyn as the Soft Boys' "missing second album". Eight of them are otherwise unknown, and all are believed to be original compositions. Details were printed in the notes to A Can of Bees (1990 CD edition). Tracks in question are: "God Of Beaks"; "Moan"; "Arabian Takeaway"; "Beautiful Scream"; "Jerry Scud, Hoof-Lips"; "Reasons For Parking"; "The Great Crustaceans"; "Bonde M’Teko Stomp".
Incomplete listing
Of course it's incomplete. It just summarises the tracks noted above...
- America in the Death of History Source: Middle Class Hero interview
- Angel Upstairs Source: bootlegs
- Arabian Takeaway Source: A Can of Bees (fourth issue) sleevenotes
- Baby, I Want You (That's About All) Source: bootlegs
- Ballad of Old 604 Source: YouTube / Robynhitchcockweb
- Beautiful Scream Source: A Can of Bees (fourth issue) sleevenotes
- Beetle Train With Antlers Source: bootlegs
- Belinda Carlisle Internet Archive
- Blacky Preston Source: 1987 interview
- Bonde M'Teko Stomp Source: A Can of Bees (fourth issue) sleevenotes
- Brain Death Source: bootlegs
- Chain Mary to the Bed Source: bootlegs
- Cherry-Red Daughter Source: bootlegs
- Chinese Insect Commercial, The Source: Bucketfull of Brains article
- Consider Me Gone Source: bootlegs
- Don't Kill the Sweetness in your Heart Source: bootlegs
- Dragonfly Me Source: internet video
- Feelers Was Everywhere Source: bootlegs
- Fortunate Son Source: bootlegs
- God of Beaks Source: A Can of Bees (fourth issue) sleevenotes
- Gracious Ladies Dine Awhile Source: bootlegs
- Great Crustaceans, The Source: A Can of Bees (fourth issue) sleevenotes
- I Pray When I'm Drunk Source: Live concert footage on YouTube
- Thought I Saw Julian Cope See "Chain Mary to the Bed"
- I Wanna Appreciate You Source: Radar-era demo / bootlegs
- I'm A Guy Source: article in Forced Exposure
- I'm a Very Big House Source: 1977 Spaceward demo
- If We Had a Baby Source: bootlegs / Internet Archive
- If We Hear Music Source: bootlegs
- It All Adds Up Source: bootlegs
- It's Just A Church Internet Archive
- Jerry Scud, Hoof-Lips Source: A Can of Bees (fourth issue) sleevenotes
- Keith Lives In Austria Source: 1987 interview
- Lobsterman Source: bootlegs
- Look Into Your Mirror Source: bootlegs
- Loop the Loop Source: bootlegs
- Love in the Garden of Light Source: YouTube / Robynhitchcockweb
- Man In The Air Source: uncirculated recording
- Meat Home Source: bootlegs
- Moan Source: A Can of Bees (fourth issue) sleevenotes
- Moisture Source: article in Forced Exposure
- Most Peculiar Voice Source: bootlegs
- Moussaka Song Source: bootlegs
- My Mind Wants To Die But My Body Wants To Live Source: interview
- Note to Self - Kill More Flies Source: Sex, Food, Death... and Insects [DVD]
- Once Upon A Star Internet Archive
- Queers For Jesus Source: bootlegs
- Rabbit Train Source: bootlegs
- Reasons for Parking Source: A Can of Bees (fourth issue) sleevenotes
- Rer Der Der Der Der Source: 1977 Spaceward demo
- Retinal Damage Source: bootlegs
- Rock 'n' Roll Radio Queen Source: bootlegs
- Sadly Not My Dead Relations Source: bootlegs
- Send Him Some Dentures Source: bootlegs
- Snow Strike Source: bootlegs
- Ten Fingers Source: bootlegs
- Tonight I'm in the Mood for Love Source: 1977 Spaceward demo
- Unpleasant Stain, The Source: 1977 Spaceward demo / bootlegs
- Vegetable Girl Source: Radar-era demo / bootlegs
- Vegetable Something Internet Archive
- Vomiting Cross Source: bootlegs
- W Sucks Internet Archive
- Weasel Turned His Back Source: bootlegs
- Which of Us is Me Source: bootlegs
- You Want Me To Go Internet Archive