Frank Robson
Frank Robson (born 27 April 1946,
Robson had met some Finns in a London pub, and someone had given him their phone number. When Robson's band subsequently was on tour in Scandinavia, he found himself in Stockholm and got an idea to call the Finnish number. As a result of this, he found himself in Finland. At that time there was a demand for rock musicians in Finland who had English as their native language, especially for someone with experience from the music circles in London.[2] It is said that in London he had played with the Small Faces.[3]
In Finland, Robson was quickly employed by a band named Mosaic, as their lead singer
Robson had thought he had gone home for good, but soon he was called back to Finland, to join a new group, the Tasavallan Presidentti. He played and sang lead vocals on their first two albums, but before the third one he was fired. This was unfortunate, as the band would now go on to play some high profile gigs in Robson's native England. However, he later got another chance, when the band was reformed in 1999 and made one more album, Six Complete, in 2006. The songs on this album were penned by Robson and Jukka Tolonen.[2]
Robson has released five solo albums. He hopes to do at least one more, although in 2013 he was diagnosed with a cancer of the pharynx. After a number of operations, his voice is not what it used to be, but he sounds hopeful, saying that "it's somewhere between Joe Cocker and Louis Armstrong." Also his first two albums, Robson and Stay Awhile are about to be re-released by the Finnish record company Svart Records. The same company will also put out a collection of Robson's early singles, with a total of 14 songs.[2]
Robson has two daughters, of which one, Jenny Robson, is also a singer.
Solo albums
- Robson (1974)
- Stay Awhile (1976)
- I Painted a Picture (1986)
- Sings Mick Hanian (1987)
- Back in Business (1998)
References
- ^ Frank Robson in elonet
- ^ a b c d Uusitorppa, Harri (27 April 2016). "Poppari toi tuulahduksen Lontoosta" ['A pop musician brought a fresh wind from London’]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Sanoma. p. B 14. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ISBN 951-99372-4-2. [unreliable source?]
External links
- Frank Robson and Mosaic at YLE Elävä arkisto.