Café Society were a British band who were active in the mid-1970s. Based on the trio of

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 ...

, Hereward Kaye and Raphael "Ray" Doyle, they recorded one self-titled album on the

Konk Konk or KONK may refer to: * KONK (AM), a community radio station (1630 AM) in Key West, Florida, United States * ''Konk'' (album), an album by The Kooks * Konk (band), a 1980s band * Konk (recording studio), the recording studio and record lab ...

record label, produced by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

History

The band came together in London in 1973, although the three original members had known each other for several years, first meeting in Kaye's home town of

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. They all sang, played guitar, and wrote songs. When living in London, they began performing together in a

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

style as "Hereward & Friends" at clubs including Bunjies, and were mentored by

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major i ...

. After adopting their new name of Café Society, they won a residency at the Troubadour Club where they were heard by Ray Davies. He signed them to his record label, Konk, and produced their self-titled 1975 album, together with fellow Kinks

Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies ( '; born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, led by his older brother (and principal writer and singer) ...

and John Gosling. Cafe Society, ''Discogs.com''
Retrieved 25 February 2016 However, the album reputedly only sold 600 copies, and the band were unhappy about the instrumentation added in its production. They released a single, "Whitby Two Step"/"Maybe It's Me", and undertook a nationwide tour supporting

Barclay James Harvest Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band, which following a split in 1998 now exists as two successor bands. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (born 1948), guitarist/vocalist John ...

before adding a bass player, Nick South (from Vinegar Joe), and drummer Nick Trevisick. They continued to perform in

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

in the London area. After seeing a gig by the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

, and becoming increasingly politicised following a raid on a

gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...

, Robinson wrote "

Glad to Be Gay "Glad to Be Gay" is a song by British punk rock/ new wave group Tom Robinson Band. It is one of their defining songs, and has been considered Britain's national gay anthem. Song information The song was originally written by Tom Robinson for a Lo ...

", which the band performed, but their musical differences soon led to Café Society splitting up before recording a second album. A feud developed between Robinson and Ray Davies, with Davies maintaining control over Robinson's song publishing for some time, and each writing songs critical of the other. Davies wrote "Prince of Punks", B-side of the late 1977 Kinks single "Father Christmas", whilst Robinson wrote "Don't Take No For An Answer", released in early 1978 on the ''Rising Free'' live EP. Robinson formed the successful

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 ...

in 1976, and later became a radio presenter. Hereward Kaye released a solo album, ''Golden Mile'', in 1980; he was later a member of the Flying Pickets, and the lyricist for the 1992 stage

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

''. In the mid-1980s, Nick South was in Time UK which also featured

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 ...

from the then-defunct Tom Robinson Band.

References

English folk rock groups English pub rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1973 {{UK-band-stub