Eric Robinson (13 December 1908 – 24 July 1974) was a conductor and presenter of music for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. During World War II, Robinson served in the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equi ...

: in 1943, he was with the depot band at Chilwell Central Ordnance Depot, and conducted "The Blue Rockets", a section of the band who provided light music. He was twice the musical director of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

when staged in London in 1960 and 1963 and on other occasions between 1957 and 1965, Robinson conducted the orchestra accompanying the United Kingdom's entry in the competition. In 1962, Robinson and musician George Clouston bought

IBC Studios The IBC Recording Studios were independent recording studios located at 35 Portland Place in London, England. In the 1960s and 1970s, the studios become internationally famous after being used by recording artists such ase Status Quo, the Kinks ...

from Leonard Plugge. Robinson also provided the financial support and backing for Mellotronics, a company formed to distribute and market the

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

tape-replay keyboard, and Robinson was heavily involved in the original marketing and promotion. He hoped the popularity of a new and novel instrument would revitalise his career. IBC Studios was used to record tapes for the instrument. Robinson co-owned the studios until 1978, when they were purchased by

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

. Robinson's elder brother Stanford Robinson (1904–84) was a popular conductor and composer. His daughter Vivienne Robinson married the magician David Nixon in 1961. He died 24 July 1974 aged 65.

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* 1908 births 1974 deaths BBC music people British male conductors (music) 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers {{UK-conductor-stub