The Soft Boys have turned out to be one of the most influential bands in shaping contemporary alternative music, though few are completely familiar with the quirky group's legacy. Formed in Cambridge, England in 1976 on the heels of the punk revolution,
the Soft Boys eschewed the three-chord nihilism of punk and opted for a crude version of psychedelic/folk-rock that was well on its way out of fashion, but oddly, just on the cusp of a resurgence.
Robyn Hitchcock recruited Cambridge musicians
Morris Windsor on drums,
Andy Metcalfe on bass, and guitarist
Alan Davies, and recorded Give It to the Soft Boys in
Hitchcock's living room in 1976.
Davies was soon replaced by guitarist
Kimberley Rew. The band released a single, "(I Want to Be An) Anglepoise Lamp," followed by the
Can of Bees album in 1979.
While recording the follow-up,
Metcalfe left the band and was replaced by
Matthew Seligman. The new lineup started fresh and recorded
Underwater Moonlight, the album that found them trading psychedelic jams for a more straight-ahead jangle pop-guitar rock sound. The LP has become extremely influential in the guitar rock canon;
the Replacements,
R.E.M., and the L.A. Paisley Underground scene all claimed it as a prime influence. The album launched a thousand bands, but it turned out to be
the Soft Boys' swan song. Two more recordings were released posthumously: the 2 Halfs for the Price of One EP in 1981, and some early sessions compiled on Invisible Hits in 1983. The first EP was re-released in 1984 as Wading Through a Ventilator.
Windsor and
Metcalfe began to collaborate with
Hitchcock again in 1984 as
the Egyptians, while
Seligman became an in-demand session musician and
Rew went on to form
Katrina & the Waves.
Hitchcock has had a prolific post-
Soft Boys recording career, sticking to the unusual style he's forged and finessed since 1976, with many albums to his credit.
Matthew Seligman died on April 17, 2020 due to complications from the COVID-19 virus; he was 64 years old. ~ Denise Sullivan