Monster Bobby (born Robert William Barry, 1981) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the creator of and guitarist for the

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

girl group

The Pipettes The Pipettes were a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, ''We Are the Pipettes'', and ''Earth vs. The Pipettes'' and released numerous singles to support i ...

Overview

In 2001, when Monster Bobby was just Bobby Barry, he starred in '' Weirdsister College'', the spin-off series of ''

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'', in which he played the mysterious Nick Hobbes. Prior to that he starred in the film ''

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

'' as Stephen, written by Ralph Brown and directed by Suri Krushnamma and released in 2001. Monster Bobby is most well known as being guitarist for The Cassette(s), The Pipettes' all-male backing band. He is frequently credited by The Pipettes both with developing the idea of a modern girl group, and with introducing the members of The Pipettes to one another. He has been described as the group's "Svengali", but rejects any notion of "individual genius" in his role with The Pipettes, stating that "most of the most interesting music is made in such a collective fashion that it is very hard to assign individual responsibility". Monster Bobby's solo work is a conceptual mix of electronic samples, offbeat songwriting and avant-garde intellectual influences, significantly different from the upbeat girl group pop of The Pipettes. To date, many of Monster Bobby's recordings have appeared as limited edition singles and on compilations, though his debut album, "Gaps" released in 2007, was made up of original material and was widely available. Since the late 1990s, Monster Bobby has run an irregular series of club nights, concerts, events and a

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

called Totally Bored or "TB". It was in this milieu back in Brighton that the idea for the Pipettes was eventually conceived. Totally Bored eventually grew into a zine and a radio show. Monster Bobby claims his music to be as affected by

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Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

and

Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

as it is by

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

The Archies The Archies are an American fictional rock band featured in media produced by, and related to, Archie Comics. They are best remembered for their appearance in the animated TV series '' The Archie Show''. In the context of the series, the band ...

and S'Express. Monster Bobby also writes a blog at thebombparty and frequent online and printed articles principally on music and film in amongst others "the Quietus" "Electric Sheep" "the Wire" and "Frieze". He is also the author of Music of the Future, which was published by Repeater Books in 2017. He started the "Little Orchestra" to play original contemporary classical music and contemporary classics such as "Terry Riley's" "In C"

Filmography

New Year's Day (2000)

Television

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Monster Bobby
at

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Monster Bobby
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Monster Bobby
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Monster Bobby
at Tumblr {{DEFAULTSORT:Bobby, Monster Musicians from Brighton and Hove English pop guitarists English pop singers 1981 births Living people 21st-century English singers The Pipettes members People educated at Varndean College