War Baby - Tom Robinson 1983

[@TomRobinsonMusic]

How lovely to have my extraordinary genius recognised at last ! Seriously, thanks so much for your kind words - it's very much appreciated. The song came out of a hard emotional place at the time... T x

[@geoffreyjonathanwilson5826]

You were great Tom

[@claireduke250]

If only you knew..i plagued my local record shop in sligo eire the record room welly awaiting for War Baby..Hope and Glory.... for weeks on end ....

[@nickchapman5133]

Tom I feel every word and don’t know what u were being put through to write this but I am really there right now. This keeps me going thanks for that a beautiful reminder of pain of the heart

[@BritishRail60062]

Your music is great Tom and always will be. This song is one of my favourites and I will never get bored of hearing it because its timeless.

[@aevoguitars2576]

Forgot you did this one too..g8 song too.

[@catherinehalloran7616]

I loved this song when I was 18 in 83 and I still love it in 2024 at 59.Brilliant 80s sound.

[@markmoore2625]

One of my dads favourites. He would come into my room and ask me to play it again or turn it up. I can see him sitting next to me on the bed , his feet tapping in his slippers,(he passed away in 1989). Precious memories. This ones for you daddy.

[@0wen101]

v nice

[@jubai12345]

@@0wen101 yes

[@chrisChris6969]

Nice words Mark pal , your auld fella had great taste in music 👍

[@veronicanicholas2434]

He had taste

[@RobertMoloney]

What a beautiful picture you paint.

[@matthewharrison2307]

Was nice to see Tom perform with the SAS band earlier in the month, he performed this. I have never heard it before going to this gig. Was a pleasure to see Tom perform and his tribute to Steve Harley

[@DavidWilliams-bg5yk]

Here you are, 2023 and this jam just stands up beautifully. Brilliant, Tom.

[@thebearclawjones]

i honestly cannot even fucking believe how good this is. it just keeps hittin' and hittin' and hittin' ya.....it's just merciless.

[@vegraville]

Here in 2023. Great song! Cheers Tom.

[@STUWHO2006]

Still a classic Tom Robinson - a seriously under-rated musician of that era

[@purdueman2012]

For sure..this cat was a real talent...from his kick-ass All Right all Night to War Baby...love this dude..

[@geoffreyjonathanwilson5826]

I agree

[@robertleary8301]

Still sounds brilliant!!!

[@anitamason1325]

July 1983....15 years old, less than a year to go till leaving school......the world ahead of me......sheesh, where did the time go???? 😐

[@carolecochrane8173]

We are now 56yrs old, how did we fast forward that quickly.🤔

[@DarrenAllison-i9k]

56 year young too 😢

[@patrickcrowther9195]

This song just came into my head and I hadn’t heard it in years. It’s fantastic when a record is every bit as great as you remember it being. A classic.

[@terrymckenna3382]

Exact same...totally random

[@ItsMeJoshLee]

Same.🤣

[@charmawow]

November 2023....and for some bizarre reason this song popped into my head today. No idea why but obviously I had to `tube` it.......what a great frickin song it is!

[@michaelmcgloin522]

Tom Robinson what a fantastic song it is timeless and epic, what a song , man !!

[@ToddBrittain1963]

This is why I love KZbin. Had not heard this for forty years and up it pops...

[@mygamingroom1512]

U could probably buy it on a compilation cd youtubes nothing special

[@ToddBrittain1963]

@@mygamingroom1512 I don't need someone else to tell me whether or not youtube is special. I'll be the judge of that. Thanks.

[@TomRobinsonMusic]

haha - you can't imagine how tight. I think the whole thing was shot on film, edited and delivered for under a thousand quid, which for those days was pretty incredible. These days with HDV and a home computer you can shoot and edit a great vid for a couple of hundred or less.

[@stinkypete2722]

Excellent song and brings back a lot of memories for me.. Thanks Tom...

[@shirleyawan2026]

I loved this song as a teen and still do, happy memories xx

[@gordonpadua9515]

You were the sound track to my crazy mixed up teenage years, Tom , for some reason you just got through to me x

[@bigbarty8648]

One of the greatest popular records ever made in my humble opinion.

[@larrydunning3573]

Your humble opinion didn't go unnoticed

[@TomRobinsonMusic]

She was an actress called Emma who the director John Pearse hired for the day, l I think. I never knew her surname... She's good, isn't she

[@Daniel-f1m2e]

she was never as good as you tom

[@zrichred]

It's such a wonderful thing to see the musician chat in the comments box. I have never seen anyone do this as good and as often as Tom Robinson. Tom I praise you for taking the time to read and reply to the comments.

[@romanmazepa5525]

I didn't hear this song much back then. I got introduced to it by Big Wreck's cover of it. Different feel with some alternate lyrics but it got me to listen and like the original too.

[@rumpraisin]

I never get tired of listening to this song.

[@NevBe100]

Had the pleasure of meeting him after a gig a couple of times, amazing songs and a great guy.

[@abacussin]

Try it with the volume turned up 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

[@rjjcms1]

I would put the volume right up to the max - if it wasn't half past 3 on a Tuesday morning (night shifts last week messed my body clock up again).

[@rheahayes3149]

rolf bay “AMEN” to that❣️🇨🇦

[@trinadove2577]

This record is so damn smooth

[@cat_Connoisseur]

hey tom, idk if you still read these comments but you'll never know how much your music helped me through a really dark period of my life. love u dude

[@juliawh3744]

Just thought of this song from my youth. It’s been latent in my brain since the 80’s . Never forgotten!

[@Neussozialist67]

a haunting classic, timeless music, the kind that makes you shiver down your spine every time you listen to it :-)

[@rheahayes3149]

“AMEN”❣️❣️❣️Cheers from 🇨🇦

[@markhalpin4377]

Oh wow n0t heard this in 40 years

[@stevebeaufoy7549]

This is truly an underrated masterpiece,it gets under your skin,gets your feet tapping,let's you zone out and forget about how Life is continuously shitting on you .. Tom, thanks for writing this, I was singing the chorus at work today!

[@u2kjib4cjkqn]

Correct brilliant song

[@rheahayes3149]

ONE OF “THE VERY BEST SONGS FROM THE ‘80’s- I THOUGHT I’D DIED & WENT TO HEAVEN THE FIRST TIME I HEARD IT❣️❣️❣️THIS SONG IS IN MY TOP 1,000 SONGS OF ALL TIME-THANK YOU TOM ROBINSON & MUSICIANS💗CHEERS FROM 🇨🇦

[@edbenbow9475]

Top 1000 🤣🤣

[@annebrown3200]

Me too! A timeless classic by the brilliant Tom Robinson that would definitely be on my desert island discs list.

[@sallyhearn4305]

timeless bluesy jazz rock, can't believe i still love this - love peace and sunshine to all x x x

[@geraldhills41]

Great music !

[@neilobrien4152]

One of my all-time favourite songs. How cool to see Tom commenting on the earlier posts.

[@tomski120]

back from the days when we used to listen to songs and not just "hear" them. brilliant!

[@pzk12]

One of the best songs ever written by a British artist.

[@GariSullivan]

I had forgotten how great this song is. A fucking excellent timeless classic.

[@jayjanssen5992]

‘Only the very young and the very beautiful can be so aloof’...words to live by...

[@BML8384]

Probably the most under rated No.1 of the 80s..

[@gaskellr44]

no 1 in UK, are u sure?

[@mpdalyful1]

Tom Robinson is gay and like alot of gay artists, he was ignored by the industry. He came out eventually and he was very political active on the left. At time when England was ruled by Thatcher.

[@edbenbow9475]

Never number 1

[@gaskellr44]

@@edbenbow9475 no 6 in Uk, absolutely superb song and pisses on 99% of the higher charted songs from that last 20 years in the uk/us combined.

[@tobyruncorn2]

Just playing it Will. Agree. Timeless.

[@ohshems]

Tom Robinson - it's been 34 years - and I still love you!

[@RichardEllis-p7l]

Memories of a lovely hot summer in 83 when I was 9……so much simpler and carefree times or so it seemed. I miss being young.

[@SynthMagic]

I get those weird little shivers that happens sometimes when listening to music every time I hear this song, especially with the sax bit at the very end(reminds me of listening to the radio with dimmed lights at 3am or something). Still one of the best songs ever written in my humble opinion.

[@Kesbol]

Just watched Steve Hogarth (H of Marillion) perform this in a stripped back piano ballad .. and I thought I know that song! Well here I am spinning it on repeat for that last hour! Such memories.

[@flashtheoriginal]

Ah yeah. Still a CLASSIC

[@AndrewWilliams-ry6tb]

As a Gen X'er in his late 50's, I remember trying to be cool, cynical and sussed during the 80's. I wish I'd have embraced it more. It was an amazing time to be young. Some of the music was brilliant, and so were Everton.

[@robbiebonham]

God, Tom is great.

[@crazydogaudio]

An all-time favourite. I was a pirate radio d.j. when this came out and played it far more often than I was supposed to. The song also features one of the best saxophone solos ever.

[@ajs41]

Did you also play Tom's next hit, Atmospherics (Listen To The Radio)? I think that's perhaps even better than this. Co-written with Peter Gabriel, and the video is directed by Nicolas Roeg.

[@crazydogaudio]

@@ajs41 okay I must check it out!

[@cjudge6714]

I have listened to this song so much over the past year and I am mesmerised every time I hear it. Love it!

[@nicolamoran7548]

SUCH a great song, never ages..

[@MrMarcy76]

The video reminds me of that period. I was in primary school when this video was made in 1983. Drab looking, yet charming at the same time.

[@ajs41]

I'm so fascinated by 1983 music videos that i've put together a playlist with more than 1,000 of them if you're interested. kzbin.info/aero/PL6oCQqv2KW6WTjSBpavnnkILla2nhwwrV

[@Zephaniah3verse17]

It's now 38 years since I graduated from university, but this song takes me right back there, to leaving the soft bed of academia and launching out into a world largely indifferent to my knowledge and frighteningly short on jobs. This song is... atmospheric! Thanks for posting it.

[@colinprunty6136]

Class

[@marni2010]

Probably one of the finest songs ever written. A soundtrack for so many of us. Thank you Tom x

[@rickster12259]

class

[@michaelgreen2970]

Stunning track that still gives me goosebumps every time I hear it ... makes my all time top 10 for sure. Thanks Tom!

[@The_ATARI_King]

What is going on, when this came on I was 10 years old, nota yet in big school, not had my first kiss, first dance, first heart break or first....erm.... anyway I am suddenly in major love with this song, it stirs all manner of feelings and memories. I seem to have to watch it a few times a week and have recently bought BOTH 12 and 7 inch on eBay. Thank you for the music Tom

[@pharcyde4943]

Why has this masterpiece not had a million likes!

[@tuc-dh4df]

Flipping hell Tom 38 years! still brillant!!

[@stephenmacconnoran4724]

A classy song forever. Ahead of its time. Tom is a war-rior!

[@TJATJA1982]

Someone filling in for you (?) played this in your honour the other night on 6Music... I think it was Steve Lamacq. What an awesome tune! A newfound classic for me.

[@richardadkins6998]

Cracking song, rediscovered the track when Craig Charles played out on this show with this track on 20th March 2021, I think we can all relate to experiences the track captures. The video also captures the period very well.

[@UBZUKki]

Haven't heard this since its release

[@perfumeaddict1204]

Gosh, I've always loved this song. Best opening line of any song, ever.

[@herodotus63]

I've heard a just released jazz version of this timeless classic, released 2022. Blew me away. Shows how these '80's songs were of a time of excellence never bettered.

[@maximisersmith1802]

I love this track as it brings back many happy memories of the 80's

[@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music]

happy memories?

[@rayfinkle2805]

Only the very young and very beautiful can be so aloof 😊👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@skateboadingcrew4690]

I loved this song when it came out all those years ago and I still love it now

[@markturner5277]

I was 7 years old when this song came out now at 48 it all makes sense what a timeless classic.

[@peteandurnot]

I was 8 and it shows how hard it was at the time with the cold War an ever present threat until a few years later.

[@francish5401]

This song is brillant and I cant stop singing it.i wish that tom robinson should wrote more of this kind of music.more power to you tom.

[@stephenloughlin6968]

So good to hear these guys again. I've lost good friends along the way and have to walk the rest of the journey now on my own 😢 Great memories though!

[@terriwalshe9045]

Brilliant song ❤️

[@richardkick6708]

Brilliant Tom in the 80s this was my singing song walking home from my girlfriends gaff.

[@patrickstocks3986]

Only the very young and the very beautiful can be so aloof Hanging out with the boys, all swagger and poise I don't even care what other people are there I just stare and stare and stare I see your shadow in the swimming pool I see your face in the shaving mirror Time and time and time again I follow your footsteps so quietly up the backstairs And I hope and I pray you're never going to find me there Smooth skin and tenderness long ago on a dark night Wish I could see you once again just to remember it was true I want to be still beside you-quiet and still beside you Listening to your breathing and feeling your warmth again War baby-you were a War baby-this means War baby-I'm scared, so scared Of whatever it is you keep putting me through I don't think I could stand another 10 years of this fighting All this stabbing and wounding-only getting my own back I don't want to batter you to your feet and knees and elbows When I'm kneeling like a candle at the foot of my own bed Corresponding disasters every night on the TV Sickening reality keeps gripping me in its guts All my friends talk and joke and laugh about Armageddon But like a nightmare it's still waiting there at the end of every day War baby... Etc I don't think I could stand another 10 years of this fighting All this stabbing and wounding-only getting my own back But later that same evening we were out in the car talking When I suddenly wondered who the hell it was we were trying to fool Co you were the first one that I ever wanted And it's you I come home to at the end of every day Like a mother-sucking baby, demanding and so helpless A little old balding man, all wrinkles and bulging eyes War baby...etc

[@octaneartllc]

Big Wreck covers this song so well that its literally the best song ive ever heard...

[@flashdance5574]

Great song, takes me back to the best summer of my life, thankyou Tom.

[@JulesB-zv9dp]

I was in my second year of high school when I first heard this song, 1983. It's so catchy and remained one of my favourite songs. It has never aged over the years, and the video is excellent. Thanks Tom 😊

[@julieharrison7417]

I loved this in high school to

[@JulesB-zv9dp]

Showing our age Julie. Great music! Fond memories too. ​@julieharrison7417

[@johnnywindsor183]

Tom Robinson absolutely brilliant, along with squeeze and big country so so underrated

[@slithygimble]

Great song! And I always loved his voice. Once went to a concert when the electrics went so he did an acoustic session. Memorable!

[@jamiefoyers2800]

Haven't heard this track for a while...I chanced upon the Greatest Hits Cd and got it on my travels the other day. Too young to appreciate the songs growing up...time and heading into your middle age gives you the ear to play them back and go..."Now I get it!".

[@terinasargeant138]

35 years on and i never tire from this tune. Its still a fantastic song in 2018

[@PeteCswampy]

Thanks Tom, I love this song. I like the cadence and lyrics...heard this as a kid, 13 yrs old or so....just a great song...poetic lyrics and a sad jazz bitter sweet rolling song.....thanks so much.

[@jimbeam4140]

I lived in Australia and Canada in the early 80s and wasn't exposed to Robinson until this song came out. Truly one of my favourite songs of all time because it's so infused with emotion. This guy is cool on a number of different levels. More than an artist.

[@MrSteviebabe]

Jim Beam To be fair if you lived in those countries then I am surprised it reached you at all!! Having said that I lived in Australia in late 80s and Neighbours hadn't reached the Uk by the time I got back. How quickly times change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@jimbeam4140]

Stevie Babe Believe me, I'm very lucky that I found this song. War Baby was a cult video hit on Canada's music TV station in 84. The song simply didn't exist on the radio and I never found it in the record stores. This song hit me like a ton of bricks when I saw it on TV, so I sought it out and eventually taped it. It was only years later that I was able to find his greatest hits cassette and was exposed to his activist work in the gay community. The only reason he had a prescence in Canada was that a Canadian band called Pukka Orchestra had a hit with a cover version of Atmospherics (listen to the radio) in 84. If that hadn't happened, we would never have heard him. I left Australia in June 83 so I'm not sure if the song ever did anything there.

[@MrSteviebabe]

wow the power of gay tv lol!

[@MrSteviebabe]

I was 17/18 when this song was out and was going through a cycle of life of which I was /oblivious too at he time!! Youth I guess ? To immature to recognise the changes.....but each to there own.

[@jimbeam4140]

Stevie Babe I turned 17 in March of 84 so yeah, I was going through a lot too. I'm actually not gay but I can certainly identify with being an outsider because my family moved countries like other people change underwear. Six different countries by the time I was 16. I had just moved to Canada in 83 and it might has well have been another planet, it was so different than Australia.

[@jamesbarry7407]

Great song, great Sax player. 2023

[@JuganautTimelapse]

Such a great song...sounds so fresh all thes years later. Tom recently performed at the Green Man in Wales.....

[@janeiro436]

I love this track

[@logicalnetwork1611]

I can listen to this non stop every day. That video is priceless.

[@quinbenson]

Back in the 80s I didn't get this song. Back in the mid-2000s I found the live version and it was so rich in texture. I listened again and again. It's still a fantastic version: it taught me to love the 80s video and the imagery takes me to the faint warmths of my life then.

[@lostsoleful]

Glorious song always reminds me of that long glorious summer. Happy times. Makes me feel a tinge of sadness that you always get with nostalgia, and this became more poignant when I heard that Tom Robinson had passed. The memories are going nowhere.

[@JohnHonda101]

Hes not dead?

[@TomRobinsonMusic]

Rumours of my death are greatly exaggerated :-)

[@paulmanners8736]

This is one of my favourite tunes from the summer of 1983. I was only 13 when I first heard this song during my school lunchbreak. I love this song so much.

[@theghost12]

Absolutely love this tune, so underrated

[@peteriuliano5846]

TOM ROB is such a capable musical composer and lyricist. Saw him back in the day.

[@Sportinglives1]

Always evokes memories of the spring/summer of '83. Fantastic song. Great music. That whole year was my favourite for music and this was one of the high points. Still recall hearing it for the first time played on Radio 1 by Simon Bates (!!) and buying it soon after. Pretty much wore out the vinyl which had to be laid to rest, then for years could only seem to find a different version which I think I bought as a 12"... Thankfully now have original again on CD, for as long as that remains a playable format! Not heard it on radio for many years. Why is it that some ordinary old songs are played ad infinitum and gems such as this miss out?!

[@gordonpadua9515]

This song gets stuck in my bloody head when I'm trying to sleep, every word goes over and over, thanks Tom, I am a big fan but you are causing me insomnia !

[@timcockrean2199]

Just seen Tom Robinson at Towersey 2016. As always, he was amazing. He played War Baby, and the reaction from the crowd shows it is still a great favourite. Thanks Tom!

[@berwhaletheavenger]

I'd forgotten just how good this is.

[@rwestonb]

Brilliant tune, for me captures the spirit of the early 80's, great memories

[@tracymillsom4171]

Oh my god haven't heard this for years what a great song ❤❤

[@SebastiaanHolStadsgids]

Not only a great song, also a great videoclip...

[@elmomosshead]

strange the way some songs stick in the memory forever. i remember 83 was a real hot summer and i was 12. went bait digging on formby beach with my uncle and got the worst sunstroke ever, my mum was not happy with my uncle, lol. anyway this tune was on in his 1600 cortina on the way to the beach and loved it ever since. happy days. nice 1 for the post. 25 years ago seems like yeasterday every time i hear it.

[@GingerRogers]

One of the best songs ever, thanks Tom X

[@trinadove2577]

This guys voice is so awesome

[@JasonKing-kl3mo]

Tom Robinson, this is your BEST track!

[@JohnHonda101]

How fkn brilliant is this.

[@squidjum365]

I've always loved this song.

[@DarrenAllison-i9k]

Top tune tom takes me back way back am 56 now how fast time goes by.

[@babybodhi4]

SO AMAZING TO HEAR THIS AGAIN - JUST PERFECT X

[@johnnywilson4312]

One of the best record of 80,s brlliant vocals by Tom ,great timless clasics

[@veronicanicholas2434]

Class