Robb Jenner Johnson (born 25 December 1955) is a British musician and songwriter who has been called "one of the last genuinely political songwriters". He is known for his mix of political satire and wit. He has his own record label, Irregular Records, and has released more than 40 albums since 1985, either solo or in several collaborations.

Biography

Johnson began his musical career playing in folk clubs in the 1970s. He ran a folk club at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

, before forming a band called Grubstreet, which split up in 1983. Two years later, he made his first solo album, ''In Amongst the Rain'', setting up his own label on which to release it, before forming an

agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...

group, The Ministry of Humour, with Mark Shilcock and Graham Barnes. After the break-up of this act and a failed attempt at forming a new electric band, he returned to performing solo, and also formed a duo with female singer Pip Collings. In 1997, he composed the song cycle ''Gentle Men'', based on the experiences of his grandfathers in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The song cycle was recorded by Johnson in collaboration with Roy Bailey, and performed at the commemorative Passchendaele Peace Concert. In 2006 he was a special guest at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's "Folk Britannia" concert at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

, ending the night with a rendition of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

song " Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire". He remains active and has released at least one album annually for over 20 years, as well as playing regular gigs, including benefits and political events. In 2016, Johnson and a group billed as the Corbynistas released the single "JC 4 PM 4 Me" in support of Labour Party leader

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

, which was considered a contender for Christmas number one. However, it did not chart.

Discography

Albums

*''In Amongst The Rain'' (1985) *''Songs for the New Jerusalem'' (1987) *''Skewed, Slewed, Stewed & Awkward'' (1987) *''Small Town World'' (1989) *''Overnight'' (1991) ''(Robb Johnson and Pip Collings)'' *''Tourists and Casualties'' (1993) ''(The Johnson-Collings Band)'' *''Heart's Desire'' (1994) ''(Robb Johnson and Pip Collings)'' *''1-2-3'' (1994) ''(The Johnson-Collings Band)'' *''Lack of Jolly Ploughboy'' (1995) ''(Robb Johnson and Pip Collings)'' *''Lavender Blues'' (1995, six-track mini-album) *''Interesting Times'' (1995) ''(The Robb Johnson Band)'' *''The Night Café'' (1995) *''Hell's Kitchen'' (1996) ''(The Robb Johnson Roots Band)'' *''Ugly Town'' (1997) *''Invisible People'' (1997) *'' Gentle Men'' (1997) ''(Roy Bailey, Vera Coomans, Robb Johnson, & Koen De Cauter & The Golden Serenaders)'' *''The Big Wheel'' (1999) *''21st Century Blues'' (2001) ''(Robb Johnson, Miranda Sykes and Saskia Tomkins)'' *'' The Triumph of Hope Over Experience'' (2002) *''Clockwork Music'' (2003) *''Metro'' (2005) *''All That Way For This'' (2007) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)'' *''Love & Death & Politics'' (2008) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)'' *''The Liberty Tree'' (2009) ''(

Leon Rosselson Leon Rosselson (born 22 June 1934, Harrow, Middlesex, England) is an English songwriter and writer of children's books. After his early involvement in the folk music revival in Britain, he came to prominence, singing his own satirical songs, i ...

and Robb Johnson)'' *'' The Ghost of Love'' (2009) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)'' *''Man Walks into a Pub'' (2010) *''Some Recent Protest Songs'' (2011) *''Once Upon a Time'' (2011) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)'' *''Happily Ever After'' (2012) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)'' *''Bring Down the Moon'' (2013) *''Us and Them'' (2014) *''Here Goes Nothing'' (2015) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)'' *''My Best Regards'' (2016) *''Ordinary Giants'' (2018) *''Eurotopia'' (2019) *''Pandemic Songs'' (2020) *''Stay Cool, Keep Left, Shine Bright'' (2022) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)'' *''The Mystery Gets Your Number & The Poetry Makes The Call'' (2022) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)''

Compilations, re-issues and live

*''This Is the UK Talking'' (1994) ingles, benefits, demos: 1987–1994*''Overnight'' 996, solo re-recording of tracks from the 1991 album of the same name and ''Tourists and Casualties''*''Yeah Yeah Yeah: So Far So Good 1991–1998'' (1998) ''(The Robb Johnson Band)'' *''The Big Wheel – The Second XI and Alternative Versions'' (1999) ive recordings and tracks omitted from the album of the same name*''Margaret Thatcher: My Part in Her Downfall'' (2000) e-recordings, inc. unreleased songs*''Maximum Respect'' (2002) ompilation of animal-themed songs inc. new tracks*''Friday Night in Brentford'' (2003) ive*''Tony Blair: My Part in His Downfall'' (2004) CD; demos, website tracks & unreleased: 1997–2004*''A Beginner's Guide'' (2005) e-recordings plus new songs*''Saturday Night at The Fire Station'' (2006) ''(Robb Johnson & The Irregulars)'' ive*''Margaret Thatcher: My Part in Her Downfall – Deluxe'' (2009) ox set comprising 3rd & 4th albums plus other rare & unreleased material*''West Pier Serenade'' (2013) e-recordings plus 1 new song*'' Gentle Men'' (2013) e-recording of 1997 album plus new songs, by Johnson, Roy Bailey, Barb Jungr, Jude Abbott, Jenny Carr, John Forrester*''Gentle Men – A Live Performance'' (2015) olo recording*''A Reasonable History of Impossible Demands 1986–2013'' (2016) -CD box set*''Best Regards – Live'' (2016) *''Songs From The Past Seven Years'' (2017)

Singles and EPs

*"The Animals Song" 7" (1986) *"The Herald of Free Enterprise" 7" (1988) *"Wasted Years" 7" (1991) *''Living in the Rubbish'' 12" (1991) ''(Robb Johnson and Pip Collings)'' *''Saturday Afternoon Red Army'' CD EP (1995) *"Sweet Jane" / "Bay of Angels" 7" (2014) *"Cheap and Cheerful" / "The Top of This Wheel" 7" (2015) *"Don't Close the Bar" / "Even Steve McQueen" 7" (2016) *"JC 4 PM 4 Me" / "What Would You Like For Christmas?" (2016) *''The Beautiful Dark'' 10" EP (2017) *"Tony Skinner's Lad" (2020) –

UK Singles Downloads Chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart con ...

no. 19

Other appearances

*"Not A Bad Day" – track on compilation album ''Fear of a Red Planet'', 1999. *"Permanent Free Zone" – track on compilation album '' Return of the Read Menace'', 1999. *"When the People Rise Again" – track on the charity album ''That Eastern Wind – Songs and Poems of Geoff Parry, vol 8'' (2008) *"A Fine Career" – Johnson contributes lead vocals on this track from

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...

's 2008 album, ''

The Boy Bands Have Won ''The Boy Bands Have Won'' is the thirteenth studio album by British music group Chumbawamba, released in 2008. Its full title contains 156 words (865 characters), and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest album title, beating Soulw ...

''. *"The Future Starts Here" – track on compilation album ''Don't Be Left Without Us'', 2016.

Personal life

Johnson married Meeta Kanabar on 22 August 1992. The couple have two sons, Hari (born 1998) and Arvin (born 1999). Johnson worked as a teacher at various schools in London, but relocated to

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

in around 2006. He is a supporter of Brentford F.C. and has performed fund-raising concerts for the club.

References

External links

Official websiteRobb Johnson's Irregular Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Robb 1955 births Living people Alumni of the University of Sussex English folk singers English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English socialists People from Hounslow British political music artists