Ray Davies of The Kinks gave Tom Robinson his first break, signing Cafe Society- a trio of Robinson, Hereward Kaye and Raphael Doyle- to his Konk label and producing their eponymous 1974 album. However,
Punk brought Robinson to prominence: with The Tom Robinson Band (guitarist Danny Kustow, keyboard player Mark Ambler and drummer Dolphin Taylor), he wrote songs laden with pointed, if sometimes clumsy, political commentary.
One of his few apolitical songs, the stomping '2-4-6-8 Motorway' reached the UK Top 5 in 1977. It was followed in the chart by their 1978 album Power In The Darkness and the 'Rising Free' EP, which contained the sardonic '(Sing If You're) Glad To Be Gay'. His next album, TRB 2 (1979) was poorly recieved, critics complainng the polemics overwhelmed the music, and TRB promptly split. Robinson had a new band, Section 27, before going solo.
He hit the chart in the UK again with 1983's romantic 'War Baby', from North By Northwest, and re-formed TRB for a tour and 1990's live Last Tango. Currently a radio presenter, Robinson continues to record (hence 1996's Having It Both Ways) and perform.