Andy Metcalfe

• Genres: Rock
• Instrument: Bass

Biography

Andy Metcalfe was a founding member of the Soft Boys and comprised half of the Egyptians, Robyn Hitchcock's popular college radio band from the '80s. Along with Morris Windsor, Metcalfe provided steady rhythm and accomplished backing vocals behind Hitchcock. Metcalfe's versatility was not limited to work with Hitchcock, as his post-Egyptian career was filled with cameo appearances and production credits. Metcalfe was born in 1956 in Bristol and attended college in Cambridge, where he formed Dennis & the Experts with Hitchcock. In 1976, the band changed its name to the Soft Boys and released an EP called Give It to the Soft Boys. After some aborted album sessions, the band released its first album, A Can of Bees, in 1979. Metcalfe lent bass and vocals to the decidedly Beefheart-ish affair, but left the band shortly after its release, and therefore was not involved with the band's breakthrough LP, 1980's landmark Underwater Moonlight. In late 1984, Metcalfe reunited with Hitchcock and former Soft Boys drummer Morris Windsor to form Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians. They released Fegmania! in 1985 and Element of Light the following year, joining XTC as one of alternative pop's most popular and durable groups. Metcalfe's fretless bass added a loopy twist to Hitchcock's surreal songs, especially on numbers like 1988's quasi-hit Balloon Man. That single was from the band's major-label debut, Globe of Frogs, by which time Metcalfe had expanded his repertoire to include keyboards and production. The band's final two releases, Queen Elvis and Respect, were both popular on the college charts, but Hitchcock yearned to pursue an exclusively solo career, so, despite its success, the group was disbanded in 1994. After the breakup of the Egyptians, Metcalfe remained a steady contributor to other artists' work, and even produced an album by the Autumns in 2000. ~ Brian Downing, All Music Guide