Robyn Hitchcock is one of England's most enduring contemporary singer/songwriters and live performers.

 Hitchcock started his recording career with the Soft Boys, a punk-era band specializing in melodic pop merged with comedic lyrics. With a voice varying between John Lennon and Syd Barrett’s, Robyn’s true influences lie more in English folk-rock.

Hitchcock's solo debut, 1981's Black Snake Diamond Role was followed by the psychedelia of Groovy Decay in 1982 and the all-acoustic I Often Dream of Trains in 1984. However it wasn't until the 1996 release of Moss Elixir that Hitchcock returned to form and fully embraced his folk roots.  From 1998 to 2006 Robyn released the soundtrack to the Jonathan Demme directed concert film Storefront Hitchcock, Robyn Sings, Luxor, Spooked, a Japanese compilation called Obliteration Pie, and Olé! Tarantula with the Venus 3. Olé! Tarantula features Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, and Bill Rieflin from the Minus 5.

"What makes this record for me is the musicians I was able to gather," says Robyn Hitchcock of Ole Tarantula, a surreal vision and Technicolor celebration of life - from its inception and the whole catastrophe of it - till its groovy decay and inevitable last breath.

In March 2007, Robyn and the Venus 3 released a seven-song EP via Yep Roc Records titled Sex, Food, Death and Tarantulas, which features an array of live and unreleased tracks.

Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death and Insects, a documentary by John Edginton, debuted at the 2007 SXSW film festival. The documentary then made its television debut on the Sundance Channel in March 2007. Tracking Robyn's work with the Venus 3 from recording sessions at his West London home in July 2006 through live performances in December, the hour-long film also features appearances by musicians including Morris Windsor, Nick Lowe, John Paul Jones, Gillian Welch, and David Rawlings. The DVD version of Sex, Food, Death and Insects film released in March of 2008.

Robyn has recently been spending time celebrating his extensive back catalog with the release of I Wanna Go Backwards box set released Fall 2007 via Yep Roc Records, which contained his early solo albums. A second box set titled Luminous Groove and featuring the albums from the Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians time period was released August 2008, while a final installment celebrating the career of the Soft Boys is planned for 2009.  Never one to look only to the past, Robyn is also planning the release of another album with his band the Venus 3.

© 2008 - 3AM