Tom Robinson Band – Up Against The Wall

High wire fencing on the playgroundHigh rise housing all aroundHigh rise prices on the high streetHigh time to pull it all down

I’ve heard of this band…Dave posted something before but I never listened to a lot of their songs. CB sent me a link and off I went. The Tom Robinson Band was a British rock band formed in 1976. The band was named after its frontman, Tom Robinson, a singer-songwriter and bassist. Their music was influenced by punk rock and new wave, and they were associated with the punk scene in London during the late 1970s.

Truth is…I could have picked MANY songs but this one talked to me. It’s fairly well known and since I always like to pick a song that would ring a bell for the first song of an artist I never posted before…I picked this one. He did have a top 10 hit in the UK in 1977 with 2-4-6-8 Motorway. More than punk or new wave…he reminds me a lot of Springsteen, Joplin, and Phil Lynott…spitting out words like his life depended on it. You can see, feel, and hear the intensity as he sings. These are the kind of artists that I like… the ones that give you everything they have. Robinson not only gave everything but is a hell of a writer on top of that.

He often addressed political and social issues, including themes of anti-racism, LGBT rights, and other causes. Tom Robinson himself was openly gay in the 1970s, and this was reflected in his music, making him an important figure in that community at the time.

This song was inspired by actual events, particularly the “Battle of Lewisham” in 1977, where anti-fascist protesters clashed with members of the National Front during a march. The song captures the tension and conflict between protesters and police.

TRB Power In the Darkness

This song was on his album Power in the Darkness album released in 1977. Robinson and Roy Butterfield wrote this song. The album peaked at #4 in the UK and #144 on the Billboard Album Charts. One note about the album which I think is brilliant. They included a stencil much like the album cover but with a warning…”This stencil is not meant for spraying on public property!!!”

The song peaked at #33 in the UK in 1978.

Up Against The Wall

Darkhaired dangerous schoolkidsVicious, suspicious sixteenJet-black blazers at the bus stopSullen, unhealthy and meanTeenage guerillas on the tarmacFighting in the middle of the roadSupercharged FS1Es on the asphaltThe kids are coming in from the cold

Look out, listen can you hear itPanic in the County HallLook out, listen can you hear itWhitehall, up against a wallUp against the wall…

High wire fencing on the playgroundHigh rise housing all aroundHigh rise prices on the high streetHigh time to pull it all downWhite boys kicking in a windowStraight girls watching where they goneNever trust a copper in a crime carJust whose side are you on?

Look out, listen can you hear itPanic in the County HallLook out, listen can you hear itWhitehall, up against a wallUp against the wall…Against the wall

Consternation in BrixtonRioting in Notting Hill GateFascists marching on the high streetCarving up the welfare stateOperator get me the hotlineFather can you hear me at all?Telephone kiosk out of orderSpraycan writing on the wall

Look out, listen can you hear itPanic in the County HallLook out, listen can you hear itWhitehall, up against a wallLook out, listen can you hear itPanic in the County HallLook out, listen can you hear itWhitehall, up against a wallUp against the wallUp against the wall

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

35 thoughts on “Tom Robinson Band – Up Against The Wall”

    2. Yes it is a good album…I listened to it a couple of times this week…this is the one that really got my attention…I do like 2-4-6-8 Motorway as well.

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  5. I only knew him from “Glad to be Gay”. (“Sing if you’re glad to be gay/Sing if you’re happy that way.”) The song is about police brutality toward the gay community and beatings in the street (what was known as “gay bashing” or “queer bashing” at the time.).

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    1. I knew of the 2-4-6-8 Motorway song because of another blogger. He was a huge influence over there…that live clip is incredible of this song.

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    1. Thanks CB…that live clip might be one of the best I’ve ever seen…you can still feel the electricity from almost 46 years ago.

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  7. Both song and band are new to me as well. Based on the album cover, I expected Tom Robinson to be a Black man (as an aside, Tom Robinson was also the name of the Black man who was wrongfully accused of rape in To Kill a Mockingbird). At any rate, “Up Against the Wall” is a pretty good banger! In the live video, Robinson’s moves on stage remind me a lot of Mick Jagger’s.

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  8. Nice choice, Max! TRB were very challenging of anything establishment when they broke through. Like a lot of new wave bands, their flame flickered and burned out after 2 albums, but they left an impressive legacy. I hope it is heartening news for you that Tom has a new TRB and is touring the UK playing both albums later this year. I bet you’d love to be there?

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  9. thanks for the mention, and link! This one I didn’t know, but ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’ I know well (actually was I think the favorite song of one buddy of mine in Ontario), and several others … I like pretty much everything I heard by him. This one reminds me a lot of The Jam, both had similar energy and fury in that day .

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    1. That live clip is absolutely insane…he would have been a great one to see. I’ve been listening to this album and it’s great.

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  10. One that had that very British vocal delivery, maybe that’s why the Jam and this didn’t translate into sales over there? Ray Davies and Tom had a tit-for-tat snarky spat with one another, the Kinks ‘Prince Of The Punks’ was a shot at Tom apparently.

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    1. I didn’t know that about Davies…I know that some of the songs that Tom wrote do sound Kinkish… I was totally blown away by that live video…. that is why I brought Bruce up…

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    2. Hey Obbverse…glad you liked it. I was joking with you yesterday with the “sour” becasue every weekend I try to post something that has good lyrics…I think…well if he doesn’t like it…he will at least enjoy the lyrics! Anyway…I do hope you know I was just picking at you.

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      1. Oh yeah, as I say, if I’m being the caustic one I can’t be thin-skinned if I weigh into something! And the lyrics you ‘high’lighted on this song are right down my street. Love me a good lyric, and it is not easy to write them without over-writing them.

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      2. Glad you like them…I didn’t think you took it that way but I wanted to be sure. I have some more good lyrics tomorrow on one post. I love posting on the weekends because I get out of the pop habit…it’s fun to do new things.

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    1. I’ve said this in a lot of comments…but that live clip…is just outstanding…the electricity you can still feel. I will post more of him.

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