The song was the first single released by the Tom Robinson Band, who had formed in January 1977 and was signed to EMI in August 1977. When they started recording, Chris Thomas, who had produced their first album, was at the control deck. It was the way everyone played it on the record, and especially Danny Kustow’s guitar work, that finally persuaded EMI they had a future hit on their hands. The band's debut single " 2-4-6-8 Motorway" was a top five hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1977, and their third single, "Up Against the Wall", is seen by some as a classic punk rock single; [2] [3] while their debut album, Power in the Darkness (1978), is regarded as a definitive late-1970s punk album. A great amalgam of punk / pop, ethics and all, translated as an exciting, visceral album in a style much imitated, but rarely bettered for fury and genuine loathing.

2-4-6-8 Motorway - The Tom Robinson Band - Acoustic Guitar 2-4-6-8 Motorway - The Tom Robinson Band - Acoustic Guitar

Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. As each date came up, I would ring musician friends in other bands to see who was available to play on the night.

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot.

2 4 6 8 Motorway Chords by Tom Robinson Band - Songsterr 2 4 6 8 Motorway Chords by Tom Robinson Band - Songsterr

They gave away badges and made up T-shirts emblazoned with the band's logo and they appeared regularly at Rock Against Racism concerts. It was only after six months of playing everywhere from prisons to pubs to public schools that the band became ‘gig-fit’, ie tough enough and tight enough to put the song over with real conviction, so it would connect with listeners on first hearing. Robinson wrote the song between leaving Café Society in 1976 and forming the Tom Robinson Band the following year, at a time when he was performing with whichever friends were available on the night; thus, the song had to be simple enough to learn in a few minutes. With a career spanning 50 years and playing with two of my heroes (French and Cornwell) Thompson has produced a fascinating EP. It typified their heartfelt passion and political anger, which is so prevalent on their superb debut album.TRB made leaflets and fliers about their political views and sent them to everyone who attended their gigs. Motorway" was their first single, released in late 1977, which got into the top five of the UK singles charts and stayed there for over a month. Robinson came up with the tune 'trying to work out the chords to Climax Blues Band's " Couldn't Get It Right"' which he could not really remember. It got some help from her fellow Canadian Justin Bieber, who tweeted that it was "possibly the catchiest song I've ever heard.

2-4-6-8 MOTORWAY TAB by Tom Robinson Band - ULTIMATE GUITAR 2-4-6-8 MOTORWAY TAB by Tom Robinson Band - ULTIMATE GUITAR

After Sam Ryder’s Space Man turned the page on two decades of Eurovision misery for the UK in 2022, this year’s representative Mae Muller is bidding to go one better this time around with her electropop gem I Wrote A Song. There was no Tom Robinson Band at the time - just the name and a series of pub gigs I’d blagged for the coming weeks. The verse came from Robinson's memories of driving back to London through the night after gigs with Café Society: "By the time our van hit the last stretch of M1 into London the motorway sun really was coming up with the morning light.He's an award-winning presenter at BBC Radio 6 Music, and released Only The Now (his first album in 19 years) in October 2015. The B-side is a cover of Bob Dylan's " I Shall Be Released" which Robinson performed many times, including as part of the supergroup "The Secret Police" at The Secret Policeman's Ball in 1979. To support the album's release, the band went on tour, but by this point the TRB's infighting had taken its toll. John Drumbo French from Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band worked with Thompson on two albums along with Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser. Power in the Darkness reached number 4 in the UK album charts and won the band a gold record, and TRB were voted "Best New Band" and "Best London Band" for the year 1977 by listeners at the Capital Radio Music Awards.

Tom Robinson Band – 2-4-6-8 Motorway (1977, Vinyl) - Discogs Tom Robinson Band – 2-4-6-8 Motorway (1977, Vinyl) - Discogs

released 19 albums between 1975-2001 with various bands and has co-written songs with Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Dan Hartman and Manu Katché. Tom Robinson began gigging in London in 1976 with a constantly shuffling lineup of musician friends backing him and by the end of the year, he had decided to put together a permanent band. They played sold-out shows at the Marquee Club in London and went on for the best part of a year before splitting again.

Session pianist Nick Plytas was drafted in as a temporary replacement, and played with TRB at a major Anti-Nazi League rally in London's Victoria Park early that year.