Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock first appeared as the leader of late-1970s UK psychedelic revivalists, the Soft Boys. After that band's disintegration at the turn of the decade, he became a solo artist, whose Bob Dylan-meets-Syd Barrett absurdist wordplay meshed perfectly with his post-Beatles pop melodicism. Hitchcock became a cult hero to the alternative/college-rock crowd in the '80s. Though some of his recordings were virtual one-man acoustic affairs and some featured full-blown pop production, Hitchcock never flagged in his devotion to his quirky muse, continuing to release great albums throughout '80s and '90s. In suitably surreal style, cult director Jonathan Demme filmed Hitchcock playing live in a New York department store window, the resulting film was given a limited cinema release--and compiled on album--under the self-explanatory title STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK, in 1998. Hitchcock later had a cameo role in Demme's 2004 remake of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.

• rock