Robert Wyatt

Not only was Robert Wyatt among the key figures taking UK folk rock and psychedelia into bold new directions at the dawn of the ‘70s, he also persevered in the face of intense challenge to become one of British music’s most cherished mavericks. Born in Bristol in 1945, Wyatt learned to drum as a teenager and played and sang in various acts before helping found Soft Machine in 1966. The band’s whimsical spirit and adventurous blend of folk, jazz, and psychedelia made them forerunners of what became known as the Canterbury scene. After leaving Soft Machine in 1971, Wyatt made his solo debut with The End of an Ear and formed the band Matching Mole. His life took an unexpected turn when a fall from a window in 1973 left him paralyzed from the waist down. Shifting to keyboards as chief accompaniment for his yearning voice and often politically pointed lyrics, Wyatt went on to create a spellbinding body of work that includes idiosyncratic original efforts such as 1974’s beautifully placid Rock Bottom, covers like his haunting 1982 version of Elvis Costello’s “Shipbuilding,” and collaborations with Björk, Max Richter, and many other admirers.