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Robin Gibson

Rex Garvin is a pseudonym for Robin Gibson
Robin Gibson

Robin worked from 1982 until 1991 for Sounds, where he was deputy editor when the paper closed. That year he helped the late Rob Deacon found the Volume CD/magazine series, which he edited until 1997. In 1998 he joined the Racing Post, where horserace-loving journalists can age quite a lot with dignity, but still go to grime gigs.

29 articles

List of articles in the library

By date | By artist | Most recently added

Felt: Thames Polytechnic, London

Live Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 18 May 1985

FELT ALWAYS make music from a magic carpet. Tonight, though, they had to fight to stay aboard; their starry-eyed, uniquely shy pop constantly mauled by ...

Guadalcanal Diary: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 14 September 1985

I HAD thought Guadalcanal Diary might be slightly less prone to trad US rock-out procedures than the constant stream of imports who've preceded their arrival. ...

AR Kane: Bedlam Brothers

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 20 December 1986

ROBIN GIBSON discovers a musical marriage of bedlam and beauty in the noise of newcomers AR KANE. ...

Crime & The City Solution: Political Crimes

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 10 January 1987

At last free of Birthday Party comparisons, CRIME & THE CITY SOLUTION came into their own with their second LP at the end of last year. ROBIN ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: An April Shower

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 2 May 1987

Absent from view for almost a year, THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN are now back with a new single 'April Skies' which is likely their most commercial song ...

Happy Mondays: The Monday Club

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 9 May 1987

More Factory fodder as the label present HAPPY MONDAYS — a group who've festered in Manchester for five years and who are now about to outrage the nation's ...

The Shamen, Spacemen 3: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 11 July 1987

"ECSTASY IS good for you" asserts the slogan on The Shamen's bass guitar. But in the murk of Dingwalls, ecstasy is harder to catch than ...

Spacemen 3: Sonic's Boom Boys

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 18 July 1987

With the release of a new single(!), 'Transparent Radiation', which leaves the listener scant change from a 45-minute cassette, SPACEMEN 3 are prime purveyors of what ...

The Sugarcubes: Sweet Sensation

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 12 September 1987

Out of anarcho-punk stars Kukl come THE SUGARCUBES — the sweet taste of a bitter pop sound. ROBIN GIBSON is impressed by the Icelandic cool ...

AR Kane, Colourbox, M/A/R/R/S: M/A/R/R/S: Ain't Nothing But A Hip-House Party

Report and Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 19 September 1987

What happens when two cult acts on 4AD — AR KANE and COLOURBOX — meet on the dancefloor of the recording studio? They create M/A/R/R/S and a ...

Barry White: The Right Night And Barry White (A&M AMA5I54/CD)***¾

Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 24 October 1987

FROM THE bowels of the earth rises a huge profound rumble. It sends tremors through your ankles, fondles the underside of the floorboards, and finally ...

The Gun Club: Mother Juno (Red Rhino REDLP 84/CD) *****

Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 24 October 1987

SHOOTING TO THRILL ...

The Gun Club: Harlesden Mean Fiddler, London

Live Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 9 January 1988

SEX BEAT PISTOLS ...

All About Eve: Eve of Creation

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 30 January 1988

The music of ALL ABOUT EVE draws together strands as disparate as heavy metal and folk. Judging by their achievements in the Sounds poll, this ...

The Jazz Butcher: Beat to the Meat

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 30 January 1988

Were the music business a housing scheme, THE JAZZ BUTCHER would live in a street for people who are hard to integrate. ROBIN GIBSON supplies the beer and ...

The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu: Who Killed The JAMS? (KLF Communications JAMS LP 2)

Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 13 February 1988

A LAST STAND AT THE DISCO ...

The Shamen: Shamen Scandal: Angus At The Fungus

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 20 February 1988

The hip hop psychedelia of Aberdeen's THE SHAMEN probably has its roots in the mushrooms that grow in abundance along the North East coast. ROBIN GIBSON sips ...

Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians: Hackney Empire, London

Live Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 27 February 1988

THE ODD MAN OUT ...

The Gun Club: Battlezone Casualty

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 5 March 1988

Rifles reloaded THE GUN CLUB are back in the battlefield. Singer JEFFREY LEE PIERCE nurses his war wounds and talks tactics with a shellshocked ROBIN ...

The Pixies: Bone Idols

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 30 April 1988

This might be their first European tour, but PIXIES are already being hailed as a rock 'n' roll band without parallel. ROBIN GIBSON roots through ...

The Sugarcubes: First Love Last Rites

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 7 May 1988

The ink fresh on a US record deal, and their debut LP, Life's Too Good, just out, the big money beckons for resolute indie artists ...

Wire: A Stitch in Time… Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 4 June 1988

In the oddball world of unlikely pop stars WIRE — where vital organs are won playing bingo — social comment and absurdity walk hand in ...

Deacon Blue: Raintown/Riches (CBS 4505490/8/CD) **

Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 6 August 1988

I CAN'T BELIEVE it. CBS tell us Deacon Blue have a new album out. Whoop! And we thought they'd been busy all year designing the ...

Joe Strummer: Your Money Or Your Life!

Report and Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 6 August 1988

For over a month, JOE STRUMMER has blazed a trail of passionate, powerful, politico rock across the UK with his LATINO ROCKABILLY WAR. ROBIN GIBSON ...

Prince: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 6 August 1988

HIGH PRIEST OF GLAM ...

The Proclaimers: Devolution Will Not Be Televised

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 3 September 1988

What are THE PROCLAIMERS — Proddie libs, camp Stalinists or just a pair of swotty geeks? ROBIN GIBSON finds that ugly is only skin deep, and if ...

Dinosaur Jr: Yabba Dabba Doo! It's Dinosaur Jr

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 24 September 1988

Did too much TV make the dinosaurs extinct? Unconventional rock star J Mascis, one third of Dinosaur Jr and potential couch potato, keeps one eye ...

Danielle Dax: Danielle In The Lions' Den

Interview by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 6 May 1989

Though branded flippant and eccentric, Danielle Dax refuses to knuckle under to labels. Uncovering her music's mix of malice and humour, Robin Gibson hears why ...

Crazy Horse, Neil Young: Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Ragged Glory (Reprise)*****

Review by Robin Gibson, Sounds, 15 September 1990

Young, gifted and back ...

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