10 Best Songs by The Soft Boys

Robyn Hitchcock started his recording career as the frontman for the Cambridge band The Soft Boys. Kimberley Rew joined on lead guitar. Rew wrote ‘Walking on Sunshine’ for his next band, Katrina and the Waves – one of the biggest hits of the 1980s. With Andy Metcalfe on bass, Matthew Seligman on bass, and Morris Windsor on drums, The Soft Boys played neo-psychedelia during the punk era, marking them as perpetually out of step.

Hitchcock emulated 1960s icons like Syd Barrett, The Byrds, and The Beatles. There was also a contemporary punk edge to The Soft Boys’ sound.

As we sharpened the guitar sound we started delving back into Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention, whilst picking up the odd droppings from Pere Ubu, whom we supported in autumn 1978. This further polarized listeners; most couldn’t stand it, but the occasional fellow (it was mostly fellows) would become apoplectic with joy and go into spasm. 

https://thequietus.com/interviews/robyn-hitchcock-the-soft-boys/

The band recorded two albums in their heyday. The rarities album Invisible Hits turned up in 1983, and then the band reunited for 2002’s Nextdoorland. With Seligman’s passing during the 2020 COVID pandemic, it seems likely that The Soft Boys’ discography is complete. Here are highlights from their four albums:

10 Best Soft Boys Songs

#10 Rock ‘n’ Roll Toilet

from Invisible Hits, 1983
The early Soft Boys released many tracks that weren’t on their two punk-era albums. The 1983 out-of-print compilation Invisible Hits collected these early songs. These songs are now bonus tracks on their first two albums, but some deserved the spotlight of a standalone release.

The bluesy ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Toilet’ isn’t Hitchcock’s most original song. But it’s fun and energetic, distinguished by the oddly contemplative middle section:

Look at the beautiful patterns that form on the wall
Stick out your finger to trace them just look at them all

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#9 Strings

from Nextdoorland, 2002
After a twenty-year absence, The Soft Boys reunited for 2002’s Nextdoorland. It’s not a predictable sequel to Underwater Moonlight. Instead, it emphasises Hitchcock and Rew’s guitar interplay, reminiscent of Television.

A rare group composition, ‘Strings’ was half-written during 9/11. George W. Bush’s speeches inspired the lines “Evil is the new enemy, evil is the new bad”.

Take your partner by the middle
Like a burger on a griddle
If you would retaliate
Just remember love is hate

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#8 Kingdom of Love

from Underwater Moonlight, 1980
The insect world is a constant source of inspiration for Hitchcock. His songs are laced with creepy images from nature. ‘Kingdom of Love’ features the typical couplet “You’ve been laying eggs under my skin/Now they’re hatching out under my chin.”

‘Kingdom of Love’ simmers along over an unsettling bass groove – it never quite resolves, creating tension.

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#7 Cold Turkey

from A Can of Bees, 1979
Hitchcock’s songwriting is undeveloped on The Soft Boys’ debut album. Most songs use his surreal lyrics as a platform for bluesy jamming. Therefore, the group’s cover of John Lennon’s ‘Cold Turkey’ is the standout track.

Hitchcock later told The Quietus that “we all loved the Beatles, which marked us out, irrevocably, from the permitted heroes of punk.”

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#6 Queen of Eyes

from Underwater Moonlight, 1980
Folk-rock was always part of The Soft Boys’ DNA. ‘Muriel’s Hoof/Rout of the Clones’ could have come from a 1970s Steeleye Span record.

The folk-rock sound is more gracefully integrated into their sound on ‘Queen of Eyes’. Musically it’s straight from The Byrds 1960s playbook, recalling their cover of ‘The Bells of Rhymney’. But there’s some unique Soft Boys flavour – some punk edge to the guitars, and insect-themed lyrics from Hitchcock. “With a carrot-based shell and her black lace thighs” is instantly identifiable as Hitchcock’s imagery.

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#5 Unprotected Love

from Nextdoorland, 2002
It’s usual for reunion albums to lack the drive of the band’s earlier work. But the energetic, smoothly harmonised ‘Unprotected Love’ would fit comfortably onto Underwater Moonlight – it’s similar in feel to the 1981 single ‘Only the Stones Remain’.

It’s fun hearing Hitchcock deliver twisted yet romantic lyrics like “You are as hard as a diamond/You could be used as a cutting tool/Right in the forefront of industry.”

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#4 Wey Wey Hep Uh Hole

from Invisible Hits, the original version was recorded in 1977
‘Wey Wey Hep Up Hole’ is one of The Soft Boys’ earliest songs, originally demoed in Hitchcock’s lounge in 1977. It was later recorded by the full band in 1979 and included on Invisible Hits. ‘Wey Wey Hep Up Hole’ is perhaps Hitchcock’s first great song, with a propulsive beat and a lyrical chorus phrase that rolls off the tongue.

She my baby, she all right
Keep me fairly warm at night

Goin’ wey wey hep uh hole ding dong

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#3 Only The Stones Remain

non-album single, 1981
The single ‘Only the Stones Remain’ was a last-gasp effort from The Soft Boys’ original tenure. They disbanded soon after recording it.

It’s an energetic, bluesy rocker that suggests new directions for the band—the thick rhythm guitar riff sounds delicious.

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#2 Underwater Moonlight

from Underwater Moonlight, 1980
The Soft Boys’ best album ends with the grandeur of the title track. It’s impressive for an album that only cost £600 to make, recorded on 4- and 8-track.

Underwater Moonlight influenced the next wave of bands. It’s cited by R.E.M., The Replacements, and The Stone Roses.

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#1 I Wanna Destroy You

from Underwater Moonlight, 1980
The Soft Boys’ three-part harmonies undermined their integrity in the punk era. But they’re expertly employed here – the title phrase serves as a great hook. There’s delicious tension between the warm harmonies and the spiky sound and lyrics.

What’s your favourite song by The Soft Boys?

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