Robert Vickers (born 25 November 1958,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Australia) is an Australian bass guitarist, who is best known as a member of the Australian musical group
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout it ...
.
Vickers visited
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England in 1977, and returned to Brisbane to join his first band, Neon Steel. The group quickly changed their name to The Numbers and ultimately became best known as
The Riptides
The Riptides were an Australian power pop group which was formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1977 as The Grudge. Their founding mainstay was Mark Callaghan on lead vocals, bass guitar, rhythm guitar and as principal songwriter. Former member M ...
. In 1979, he left Brisbane to live in New York City where he joined The Colors. The Colors were managed by
Hilly Kristal
Hillel Kristal (September 23, 1931August 28, 2007) was an American club owner, manager and musician who was the owner of the iconic New York City club CBGB, which opened in 1973 and closed in 2006 over a rent dispute.
Early years
Kristal was bor ...
, owner of rock club
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
, and produced by
Blondie drummer
Clem Burke
Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...
. During this time he briefly returned to Brisbane to act in a film titled ''Heather’s Gloves,'' directed by Robin Gold and written by
Grant McLennan
Grant William McLennan (12 February 19586 May 2006) was an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist. He co-founded the Go-Betweens with Robert Forster in Brisbane in 1977. In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens (1977–89, ...
of The Go-Betweens.
In January 1983, Vickers left New York and The Colors to join The Go-Betweens in London where they were signed to
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...
. He recorded three albums with the band on
Sire Records
Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.
History Beginnings
The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...
and
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels.
History
In 1977, spurred by the prevailing DI ...
before returning to New York in 1988. In the 1990s he toured Japan with
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...
, and the US and Europe with
Lloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer and songwriter. He was lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo.
Early life
Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He grew up in ne ...
. He performed with
Amy Rigby
Amy Rigby (born Amelia McMahon, January 27, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter. After playing with several New York bands she began a solo career, recording several albums which had only modest sales despite enthusiastic reviews. She settled ...
and toured and recorded with
The Mad Scene, which included drummer Hamish Kilgour from
The Clean
The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound".Schmidt, Andr ...
. He also recorded with Malcolm Ross and Alice Texas. During a Go-Betweens US tour in 1999 he joined
Robert Forster
Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...
and Grant McLennan on stage at
Fez
Fez most often refers to:
* Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire
* Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco
Fez or FEZ may also refer to:
Media
* ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, to play some of the songs they had recorded together in that band.
In 1998, Vickers became the publicist for New York indie label
Jetset Records
Jetset Records was a New York-based indie rock record label. Founded by Shelley Maple in 1996, the label's first release was a reissue of German punk rock band The Golden Lemons' fourth album, ''Punkrock''. The label has released music by a vari ...
. He left to start his own PR company, Proxy Media, in 2005.
On 4 July 2010, Vickers joined the other surviving members of The Go-Betweens at the official opening of the
Go Between Bridge
The Go Between Bridge, formerly known as the Hale Street Link, is a toll bridge for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists over the Brisbane River in inner-city Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The bridge connects Merivale and Cordelia Streets in ...
in Brisbane.
In October 2019 his hometown of Oxley, a suburb of Brisbane, opened Robert Vickers Place Playground
in his honour.
Selected discography
* The Numbers – ''Sunset Strip'' Able Label (1978)
* The Colors – ''Rave It Up EP'' Infinite Records (1980)
* The Colors – ''The Colors'' Dirt Records (1982)
* The Go-Betweens – ''Spring Hill Fair'' Sire Records (1984)
* The Go-Betweens – ''Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express'' Beggars Banquet (1986)
* The Go-Betweens – ''Tallulah'' Beggars Banquet (1987)
* Malcolm Ross – ''Malcolm Ross'' Bus Stop (1995)
* The Mad Scene – ''Sealight'' Merge Records (1995)
* The Mad Scene – ''Chinese Honey'' Merge Records (1997)
* Alice Texas – ''Gold'' Cockaigne (2000)
Further reading
*David Nichols – ''The Go-Betweens'' Puncture Publications (2003)
*Clinton Walker – ''Inner City Sound'' (1981)
References
External links
go-betweensmyspace proxymediapr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Robert
Australian rock bass guitarists
Male bass guitarists
Australian bass guitarists
1958 births
Living people
Australian expatriates in the United States
Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom
The Go-Betweens members
Australian male guitarists