Café Society were a British band who were active in the mid-1970s. Based on the trio of

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

, Hereward Kaye and Raphael "Ray" Doyle, they recorded one self-titled album on the Konk record label, produced by Ray Davies of the Kinks.

History

The band came together in London in 1973, although the three original members had known each other for several years, first meeting in Kaye's home town of

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. They all sang, played guitar, and wrote songs. When living in London, they began performing together in a

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

style as "Hereward & Friends" at clubs including Bunjies, and were mentored by Alexis Korner. After adopting their new name of Café Society, they won a residency at the Troubadour Club where they were heard by Ray Davies. He signed them to his record label, Konk, and produced their self-titled 1975 album, together with fellow Kinks Dave Davies and John Gosling. Cafe Society, ''Discogs.com''
Retrieved 25 February 2016 However, the album reputedly only sold 600 copies, and the band were unhappy about the instrumentation added in its production. They released a single, "Whitby Two Step"/"Maybe It's Me", and undertook a nationwide tour supporting

Barclay James Harvest Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004), a ...

before adding a bass player, Nick South (from Vinegar Joe), and drummer Nick Trevisick. They continued to perform in

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in the London area. After seeing a gig by the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

, and becoming increasingly politicised following a raid on a gay bar, Robinson wrote " Glad to Be Gay", which the band performed, but their musical differences soon led to Café Society splitting up before recording a second album. A feud developed between Robinson and Ray Davies, with Davies maintaining control over Robinson's song publishing for some time, and each writing songs critical of the other. Davies wrote "Prince of Punks", B-side of the late 1977 Kinks single "Father Christmas", whilst Robinson wrote "Don't Take No For An Answer", released in early 1978 on the ''Rising Free'' live EP. Robinson formed the successful Tom Robinson Band in 1976, and later became a radio presenter. Hereward Kaye released a solo album, ''Golden Mile'', in 1980; he was later a member of the

Flying Pickets Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in ("Strikebreaker, cro ...

, and the lyricist for the 1992 stage

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' Moby Dick''. In the mid-1980s, Nick South was in Time UK which also featured

Danny Kustow Alexander Daniel Kustow (10 May 1955 – 11 March 2019) was an English rock guitarist, known for his dynamic performance style and work with the Tom Robinson Band in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Kustow was born at Queen Charlotte's and Chel ...

from the then-defunct Tom Robinson Band.

References

English rock music groups English folk rock groups British pub rock music groups Musical groups established in 1973 {{UK-band-stub