"2-4-6-8 Motorway" is a song by

Tom Robinson Living people Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits " Glad to Be Gay", " 2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with hi ...

. It was released as a single in 1977 by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

/ new wave group the

Tom Robinson Band Tom Robinson Band (TRB) are a British Rock music, rock band, established in 1976 by singer, songwriter and bassist Tom Robinson. 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 sin ...

, and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart.

Song information

The music and lyrics were written by

. The song was the first single released by the

, who had formed in January 1977 and was signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in August 1977. 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. Robinson came up with the tune 'trying to work out the chords to

Climax Blues Band Climax Blues Band (originally known as The Climax Chicago Blues Band) are a British blues rock and pop band that has released 22 albums. " Couldn't Get It Right" reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

's "

Couldn't Get It Right "Couldn't Get It Right" is a 1976 song by the Climax Blues Band. The song was written after the band's label told them that their 1976 album '' Gold Plated'' lacked a standout track and asked them to "try and write a hit". They then wrote it, in ...

"' which he could not really remember. This led to the simple three-chord repeat of "2-4-6-8". 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." The numerical chants in the chorus were taken from a

Gay Liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoff ...

chant: "2, 4, 6, 8, Gay is twice as good as straight... 3, 5, 7, 9, Lesbians are mighty fine". EMI initially turned the song down. However, after touring the band became much tighter, and guitarist Danny Kustow expanded his riffs, which persuaded EMI to release the record. The song is about the joys of driving a lorry through a rainy night, until dawn. Although the chorus is based upon a gay liberation chant, this is not clear to the casual listener, so the song is in contrast to their far more blatantly political later songs, covering subjects such as

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

(" Glad to Be Gay") and

civil disorder Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to Public order policing, maintain public order or tranquility. Causes Any number of thin ...

("Long Hot Summer").

Release and reception

"2-4-6-8 Motorway" was originally released on 7 October 1977 and immediately attracted attention. It rose to No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart on 22 October 1977, and stayed on the chart for 9 weeks. This is Robinson's highest charting single; his later (solo) single "

War Baby War children are those born to a local parent and a parent belonging to a foreign military force (usually an military occupation, occupying force, but also military personnel stationed at military bases on foreign soil). Having a child by a memb ...

" reached No. 6. The band performed it on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' on 27 October, and again on 10 November.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

described it as an "instant hit" whilst

David Quantick David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine ''NME'', his writing credits have included '' On the Hour'', ' ...

described the song as "somewhere between a terrace chant (or a demo marching song) and a Brucie Springsteen number". The B-side is a cover of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's "

I Shall Be Released "I Shall Be Released" is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan. Dylan recorded two primary versions. The first recording was made in collaboration with the Band during the Basement Tapes sessions in 1967, and released on '' The Bootleg Series Volu ...

" which Robinson performed many times, including as part of the supergroup "The Secret Police" at

The Secret Policeman's Ball ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but lat ...

in 1979. It was released in Europe, reaching No. 1 in Sweden on 27 January 1978, and staying at the top for 4 weeks, while in the US (Harvest 4533) has "2-4-6-8" on both sides. It was re-released on Old Gold in 1983 and on EMI in 1987, including a 12" version. The song also reached No. 13 on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

in early 1978. "2-4-6-8 Motorway" was not issued on a UK album at the time, and Robinson still rues what he calls the "fatal mistake" of omitting the band's most famous songs "2-4-6-8 Motorway" and "Glad to Be Gay" from their debut album ''

Power in the Darkness ''Power in the Darkness'' is the debut studio album by English punk band Tom Robinson Band, released in early 1978. The UK LP had ten tracks. It included inside the album cover a stencil similar to the cover art, but with the album title replace ...

'', although both songs appeared on a 12" bonus record included with the US release of ''Power in the Darkness''. The song has subsequently appeared on numerous compilation albums, including ''Rising Free'' (1980), ''The Collection'' (1987), ''Last Tango, Midnight at the Fringe'' (1988), ''Winter of '89'' (1992), ''Home from Home'' (1999) and ''Tom Robinson Band The Anthology 1977–1979''. It also appeared on '' No Thanks! The '70s Punk Rebellion'' (2003), and is still a part of Robinson's live set.

Charts

Covers

The song has been covered by several bands, including:- *

Showaddywaddy Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. They have spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and have had 10 ...

: ''I Love Rock 'n' Roll'' (2006) *

Trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

: ''Juice'' (2003) *

Peter Stampfel Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American Violin, fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter. History Stampfel is best known as a member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a ...

: ''Peter Stampfel’s 20th Century in 100 Songs'' (2021)

Personnel

– vocals, bass *

Danny Kustow Alexander Daniel Kustow (10 May 1955 – 11 March 2019) was an English rock guitarist, known for his dynamic performance style and work with the Tom Robinson Band in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Kustow was born at Queen Charlotte's and Chel ...

– guitar * Mark Ambler – organ, piano *

Dolphin Taylor Brian "Dolph" Taylor (born 10 November 1958) is a British former drummer. Career Tom Robinson Band Taylor's first band was Dragon's Playground, which earlier had had Annie Lennox as a vocalist. In 1976 Dragon's Playground appeared on ATV' ...

– drums * Vic Maile – producer

References

{{authority control 1977 songs 1977 debut singles Tom Robinson Band songs Songs written by Tom Robinson EMI Records singles LGBTQ-related songs Song recordings produced by Vic Maile