''Old Rottenhat'' is the fourth studio album by

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

. It was released in November 1985, and in 1993 it was reissued in its entirety as part of the CD ''

Mid-Eighties ''Mid-Eighties'' is a 1993 compilation album by Robert Wyatt that contains various tracks from that period, including the whole of his 1985 album ''Old Rottenhat'', and his 1984 EP ''Work in Progress''. It is issued by Gramavision and Rough Trade ...

''. The album was produced and performed solo by Wyatt, and is dedicated to Michael Bettaney, a UK MI5 intelligence officer who in 1984 was convicted for acting as an agent-in-place for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Track listing

:''All songs written by Robert Wyatt''

Side one

#"Alliance" – 4:24 #"The United States of Amnesia" – 5:50 #"East Timor" – 2:52 #"Speechless" – 3:37 #"The Age of Self" – 2:50 #"Vandalusia" – 2:44

Side two

#"The British Road" – 6:23 #"Mass Medium" – 4:43 #"Gharbzadegi" – 7:54 #"P.L.A." – 2:31

Personnel

* Robert Wyatt: vocals, piano, keyboards, bass, percussion

Recording details

*Recorded in 1984 at West 3 Studios,

Acton, London Acton () is a town and area in west London, England, within the London Borough of Ealing. It is west of Charing Cross. At the 2011 census, its four wards, East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 62,480, a ...

, by John McGowan. *Recorded in 1985 at Acre Lane Studios,

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, by Bill Gilonis. "Thanks to Charles Gray and

Vicky Aspinall Victoria "Vicky" Aspinall is a British musician. She was the violinist in the English post-punk band The Raincoats from 1978 to 1984. In 1992 she and Dave Morgan founded the independent dance label Fresh Records (not the post-punk label of the sam ...

for invaluable help and advice and thanks Duncan".

Album cover

The artwork for the album cover was created by Wyatt's wife

Alfreda Benge Alfreda Benge is a lyricist and illustrator. She was born in 1940 in Austria to a Polish mother, and came to England in 1947. Her stepfather, Ronald Benge, was a prominent librarian who established library schools in developing countries. She has b ...

References

External links

* 1985 albums Robert Wyatt albums Rough Trade Records albums {{progressive-rock-album-stub