Frank Robinson (1932 – 4 July 2004) was an eccentric street entertainer in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. He was by far Nottingham's best known
busker and was regularly seen around
Nottingham City Centre for over fifteen years. His favourite busking place was outside of the
C&A store in the Lister Gate area of the city.
Little is known about Robinson's personal life or background. Robinson lived in
Cotgrave
Cotgrave () is a Town#United Kingdom, town and civil parish in the borough of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Nottingham. It perches on the South Nottinghamshire Wolds about 131 feet (40 metres) ...
, south of Nottingham, travelling to the city each day. His real name only became widely known following his death; to the people of Nottingham and beyond, he was simply and affectionately known as the 'Xylophone Man'.
Robinson played a small child's
metallophone
A metallophone is any musical instrument in which the sound-producing body is a piece of metal (other than a metal string), such as tuned metal bars, tubes, rods, bowls, or plates. Most frequently the metal body is struck to produce sound, usual ...
(despite his nickname) with a limited repertoire. His seemingly random hitting of bars was a familiar noise in the city centre and, despite his lack of musical ability, his excitable and enthusiastic approach to his instrument endeared him to the Nottingham public and also earned him something of a cult following.
The only interview he granted in his lifetime was with Nottingham media organisation
LeftLion. His death in July 2004 sparked genuine mourning from many of the city's people.
BBC Radio Nottingham placed a tributes page
on its website which within hours had hundreds of messages from city's residents as well as people much further afield.
On 10 November 2005, a simple memorial was unveiled outside of the store where he had been seen regularly for the past fifteen years. Paying tribute to the Xylophone Man, the plaque reads "''He played his Xylophone here for fifteen years, bringing a smile to the faces of the people of Nottingham''".
References
External links
City Council unveil Xylophone Man memorialInterview with RobinsonPoem about Robinson''Listed status bid for England's lost memorials''
BBC article with image of plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Frank
2004 deaths
English buskers
People from Nottingham
1932 births
People from Cotgrave