2-4-6-8 Motorway

2-4-6-8 Motorway 2-4-6-8 Motorway - cover.jpg single Tom Robinson Band 2-4-6-8 Motorway I Shall Be Released 1977 10 07 y Berwick Street Studio 14 September 1977 Berwick street studio Rockalbum mw0001660635 Various Artists - Playlist: New Wave (2008) Review Monger James Christopher December 1, 2024 new wave 03 20 EMI Tom Robinson Vic Maile Rising Free 1978 Official audio _3eC35LoF4U "2-4-6-8 Motorway" "2-4-6-8 Motorway" is a song by Tom Robinson. It was released as a single in 1977 by British punk rock/new wave group the Tom Robinson Band, and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Song information The music and lyrics were written by Tom Robinson. The song was the first single released by the Tom Robinson Band, who had formed in January 1977 and was signed to EMI 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.http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/interviews/2-4-6-8-motorway/ 2-4-6-8 Motorway PRS for Music Online Magazine 29 July 2011 2014-08-05 August 2026 InternetArchiveBot Robinson came up with the tune 'trying to work out the chords to Climax Blues Band's "Couldn't Get It Right"' 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 chant: "2, 4, 6, 8, Gay is twice as good as straight... 3, 5, 7, 9, Lesbians are mighty fine".http://www.queermusicheritage.us/aug2004s.html August 2004 Script Queer Music Heritage August 2004 2014-08-05 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070705004226/http://www.queermusicheritage.us/aug2004s.html 2007-07-05 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 ("Glad to Be Gay") and civil disorder ("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.http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/tom%20robinson%20band/ Tom Robinson's chart history Official Charts Company 2014-08-05 This is Robinson's highest charting single; his later (solo) single "War Baby" reached No. 6. The band performed it on Top of the Pops on 27 October, and again on 10 November.http://www.45cat.com/record/2715 45 Cat entry for 2-4-6-8 45cat 2014-08-05 Robert Christgau described it as an "instant hit"http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Tom+Robinson+Band Artist profile of Tom Robinson Robert Christgau 2014-08-05 whilst David Quantick described the song as "somewhere between a terrace chant (or a demo marching song) and a Brucie Springsteen number".Sleeve notes to Tom Robinson Band The Anthology 1977–1979 The B-side is a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" which Robinson performed many times, including as part of the supergroup "The Secret Police" at The Secret Policeman's Ball in 1979. The track was part of the Free George Ince Campaignhttps://tomrobinson.com/assets/trbnewsletters.pdf The Summer of 77 news/information/propaganda bulletin from Tom Robinson Band July 1977... TRB 2025-09-02 and a photo of Ince captioned with the campaign name is featured on the record sleeve's reverse side. 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.http://www.vinyl45lp.com/record/tom_robinson_band-2468_motorway_.html Vinyl 45 listing of releases Vinyl45LP.com 2014-08-05 August 2026 InternetArchiveBot The song also reached No. 13 on the Australian Singles Chart in early 1978. "2-4-6-8 Motorway" was not issued on a UK studio album at the time of its release. The band omitted both "2-4-6-8 Motorway" and "Glad to Be Gay" from the UK pressing of their debut album Power in the Darkness, although both songs appeared on a 12-inch bonus record included with the US release. 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)http://www.tomrobinson.com/records/albums.htm Tom Robinson Albums 1975–2002 tomrobinson.com 2014-08-05 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140605203904/http://tomrobinson.com/records/albums.htm 2014-06-05 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.September 2026 Charts Chart (1978)Peak positionAustralia (Kent Music Report)Kent David David Kent (historian) Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 illustrated Australian Chart Book St Ives, N.S.W. 1993 0-646-11917-6 25413United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) David Roberts 2006 British Hit Singles & Albums 19th Guinness World Records Limited London 1-904994-10-55 Covers The song has been covered by several bands, including:- Showaddywaddy: I Love Rock 'n' Roll (2006)http://www.showaddywaddy.net/i_love_rock_n_roll.html I Love Rock 'n' Roll Showaddywaddy.net 30 December 2018 31 December 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181231043025/http://www.showaddywaddy.net/i_love_rock_n_roll.html dead Trucks: Juice (2003) Peter Stampfel: Peter Stampfel's 20th Century in 100 Songs (2021)https://www.popmatters.com/peter-stampfels-20th-century-review-2650024783.html Horowitz Steve 19 January 2021 Folkie Peter Stampfel Surveys the 20th Century in His Unique Style PopMatters PopMatters Media 5 May 2021 Personnel Tom Robinson – vocals, bass Danny Kustow – guitar Mark Ambler – organ, piano Dolphin Taylor – drums Vic Maile – producer References Category:1977 songs Category:1977 debut singles Category:Tom Robinson Band songs Category:Songs written by Tom Robinson Category:EMI Records singles Category:LGBTQ-related songs Category:Song recordings produced by Vic Maile