Marty Duda's artist of the week: Robyn Hitchcock

English songwriter and eccentric Robyn Hitchcock began his musical career in the punk era as leader of the band The Soft Boys. Drawing comparisons to Syd Barrett, John Lennon and his hero, Bob Dylan, the literate Brit went solo in 1981 with 'Black Snake Diamond Role'. His songwriting mixes elements of British folk and sixties psychedelia with clever wordplay and jangly guitars. By the mid-80s he had formed The Egyptians and, signed to A&M records, achieved a fair bit of popularity among the college raqdio crowd with albums like 'Globe Of Frogs'. In the 90s he reformed The Soft Boys and continued to record as a solo artist. He has remained as prolific as ever, forming another band, The Venus 3, with REM's Peter Buck and still recording solo. Robyn Hitchcock's latest album, 'The Man Upstairs', is a mix of covers and originals and was produced by legendary folk producer Joe Boyd.