 Robyn Coodle | |
|---|---|
| Origins | St. Ives, Cornwall, England |
| Genres | Pop, Folk |
| Years Active | 1978 – 1989 |
Robyn Coodle
Early Life
Robyn Coodle was born in 1962 to her parents Richard and Deborah in St. Ives, Cornwall. Her father Richard was a cobbler in the Cornish town, while her mother gave up her job as a waitress so she could look after her new baby. Her parents didn’t have any more children so she grew up as the only child the family. This didn’t make her spoilt or bratty, but more of a loner who liked her own company. Her early life was spent fostering her love of nature and the great outdoors. Most nights after school she would wonder off from her home on the outskirts of St. Ives to try and find a new adventure out in the countryside or on the beach. She would often reappear just before her tea much to her parent’s amusement. They never quite knew what she was doing, but were pleased that she was enjoying her beautiful surroundings.
Robyn’s mother was a keen musician. She was part of local folk music groups and enjoyed nothing more than playing her guitar whenever she had a spare hour or two. Her love of music obviously passed down to Robyn when her mother noticed that her guitar had gone missing. It turned out Robyn had taken it with her outside. This was her parent’s first sign of her shared love of music and they quickly bought her her own acoustic guitar for her very own. Robyn loved her gift and quickly name her new instrument, Morwenna.
This was the start of Robyn’s musical journey. She would often practise outside on hills and cliffs out of earshot of any prying listeners. This let her give things a go without any fear of embarrassing herself in front of others. It also allowed her to develop her own style before anyone could tell her otherwise. Every so often, she would give an impromptu performance to her parents much to their delight. They were amazed at her maturity and skill at such an early age. Robyn continued to enjoy playing her guitar whenever she could throughout her school days. It became a large part of her life and something she truly enjoyed doing as a hobby.
History
Slow Start
After leaving school, Robyn combined her love of Cornwall with her love of music and became a “singing tour guide.” It was a job title she came up with herself. She would invite small groups for tours of special places in her local area. Her knowledge was second to none as she had spent her whole childhood preparing for the job. She would lead the tour through old buildings, down back streets, and into beauty spots. What she didn’t know about local landmarks really wasn’t worth knowing. Visitors loved the tours, and her refreshing personality helped others appreciate the culture and history of Cornwall. At the end of each tour, knowing ahead of time where she was ending, she would bring out her guitar to sing a song about the places they had seen. Topics included local legends and myths, town characters and surrounding natural beauties. Her lilting voice helped people remember what they had heard on the tour as well as creating an ethereal atmosphere perfect for the old places she took them. The folky songs really painted the local area in a good light. She would then do a collection where those on the tour would pay as much as they thought her tour was worth. Visitors were often very generous, as by the end of each tour, they had really warmed to Robyn, and her music at the end was the cherry on top. She was able to live on these tips as her tours were always very popular with tourists.
Her tours were becoming well known around her local area of St. Ives, and bar and pub owners started to ask her to attend their open mic nights. Robyn filled up most nights a week appearing at these events. She loved performing her original songs and the locals lapped them up. This helped her become a face in the local music scene, and at that time it was almost impossible to miss seeing at least one of her evening gigs. It tired her out, but she couldn’t think of anything she would rather do than serenade a pub full of locals. She was hoping that she would get spotted by some talent scout or another, but in her head she was just happy the way things were. It wasn’t like a big music agent was going to come down to Cornwall looking for a new sound was it? Well it wasn’t at a pub gig that someone heard her, but while on one of her tours.
It was in 1982 that young musical agent, Derek Rodsby went on a quiet weekend break down to Cornwall from London. On one sunny day he decided to enjoy the local town and learn a bit more of it’s history. What better way to get to know about the place than a tour by a knowledgable guide? He joined Robyn’s town tour and was amazed at her breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm for a young woman. He was even more shocked when she brought out her guitar to sing a song to the group to let the facts sink in. Derek gave her a large tip and went back to his guesthouse and pondered what he had just witnessed. Not only was this young woman erudite and smart, she had a fantastic singing voice and lyrical mind. That night he decided to go to the pub down the road to think over what his next steps should be, and lo and behold Robyn was on stage singing some more poppy songs to all the patrons. Derek listened to her set and immediately left to go back to his guesthouse. He then used his industry contacts to phone around record companies there and then telling them about Robyn and her skills. He phoned any and everyone he could think of gushing about the Cornish singer. Thankfully for us, the first to take action on this new hot prospect were Dekaf Records. Dekaf immediately sent down a representative to see what all the excitement was about.
Our rep, James Spence, packed a quick suitcase and drove down to the Westcountry to see for himself. He joined Derek for the next day’s tour led by Robyn. She thought it was a bit odd seeing the same guy two days in a row, but she just thought he enjoyed the tour so much he wanted to go again. James was also impressed with her skill and amiability with the visitors, and took the opportunity to learn more about Cornish history. He was as surprised as Derek was when she brought out her guitar to sing for the group. They both left the tour back to their respective guesthouses. Derek then invited James to the pub that Robyn was performing at that night. They both were mesmerised with her voice and were taken aback with her fun and mature lyrics. James knew exactly what to do. Him and Derek both approached Robyn at the bar to offer her a record contract with Dekaf Records. Derek would be her agent and James would be her go between with Dekaf. She asked if she could have some time to think about and return the next day to hear her answer. That night Robyn went up to his favourite cliffside over looking the beach and thought long and hard about the offer she had been proposed. She loved her music, but if it became her job could she still enjoy it? The next night at the pub she gave the two men the answer they wanted. She was happy to sign on with both of them and became a professional recording artist.
Making a Splash
With the ink on her new contract not even dry, Robyn was given time at a Dekaf run recording studio in Exeter to create her debut album. It was a real experience for Robyn who had only even just sung with her guitar. She was now having to learn all the technical language and train herself to sing professionally. It was a steep learning curve, but one that she cherished to have a go at. She already had a small selection of songs she had been writing since a child that fit perfectly into the new album. She also wrote a couple of new ones to fill the record. Her experiences of life, young love, and the great outdoors were all themes she used on her debut album Have I Missed the Boat? launched in 1982. The title was a heartfelt feeling she had, that after four years of small gigs and very limited limelight that she might well have missed the boat for musical success. Thankfully she was wrong. Her debut album, with the mixture of pop and folk songs, became a small hit amongst music lovers of the southwest. Her references to life in Cornwall and the Westcountry really resonated with locals all across the region. They had never really had a local girl get into professional music like Robyn, so they supported her in her early days.
With this local love she was able to embark on her first small tour in 1983. It took her to small venues throughout Cornwall and Devon. The tour allowed her to show off her skills and bring more fans into the fold. One gig that really stood out to her was at the Dayflower Festival. The whole event is a celebration of Cornish heritage and had been going since 1958. She was invited to play there by the Cornish Regional Arts Board who loved her celebration of Cornwall in her songs as well as the small parts of the album actually sung in Cornish. Robyn had attended the festival as a child, so was delighted to be invited to play as an artist. It was the first time she felt she had really made it both as a singer but also as a Cornishwoman. With this gig still resonating within her, she went back to the recording studio to record her second album. As part of the contract she made with Dekaf she told them she would love to see one of their studios in the heart of Cornwall rather than her crossing the border to Devon. Dekaf obliged and purchased a small portion of a local arts centre to fill with their recording equipment. If Robyn was going to be big she wanted to take Cornwall with her. She recorded her second album, The Big Time in Small Places at the new studio in Cornwall.
Her second album’s title was a fun ribbing of her own career up to that point. She had been signed to a large record label already released an album and yet she was still frequenting small venues. She loved it though. Any chance to perform to anyone was more than she could have ever asked for since her days singing by herself on the hills of St. Ives. Ironically this album did even better than her first and led to her receiving offers for bigger and better gigs. Her agent Derek encouraged her to promote the album with a funny pr stunt. To live up to the album’s title, she invited three fans of hers, on three separate occasions, to an intimate gig in a phone box. She couldn’t fit her guitar in there, but gave the thrilled fan a close up, a cappella rendition of her songs. Local newspapers loved the story and soon photos and articles of the gigs were all over the region with some bigger national newspapers also picking up the story. Derek was right. The silly PR stunt brought in more interest to Robyn and her newest album.
It was around this time that Robyn and Derek started seeing each other more romantically than professional. In all honesty, Derek had fallen in love with her since he first met her on the tour two years previously, but Robyn took a bit longer to return the favour. They were spending so much time together on the road that they grew closer and closer with every gig. It was a whirlwind romance which led to them getting married in 1984. Although they had only known each other for two years, their friends and family were amazed at their love for each other. I suppose being together almost every day for two years is more than some couples get together within five years. They had a very low key wedding at a small chapel in St. Ives with a very lively reception in a local farmer’s field.
On the Map
Robyn was seeing more and more success outside of the Westcountry. So in 1985 she released her third album titled Cornish Songbird. She was pretty well known in Cornwall at this point, but wanted some more recognition across the UK. She put “Cornish” in the title front and centre so people who might listen to her for the first time knew exactly who she was and where she was coming from. The album was another hit in the south west. Cornish people couldn’t get enough of the local girl done good. It was a slower burn across the rest of the UK. Most people who saw the albums thought it was a very sappy and run of the mill acoustic album. This couldn’t have been further from the truth. With Robyn’s witty lyrics and clever riffs the album was far from boring. When the public actually listened to the music they fell in love with it. Word got out about the album and spread across regions like wildfire. Her celtic roots from Cornwall was a real draw for the other celts in Scotland and Ireland. This allowed her to tour the whole UK for the first time in her career stopping off at bigger and better venues along the way.
It was around this time that she was asked to submit a song for the Eurovision Song Contest. The UK jury would often create a shortlist of tracks before picking their favourite to represent the country. They loved her gorgeous voice as well as her rural charm, and felt it would deliver well on the European stage. Robyn took time out of her busy tour schedule to write a song especially for the occasion. She titled it Our Land, and it spoke about her home and her patriotism towards Cornwall and the UK. It was also slightly political towards wealthy people buying homes in an area only to never visit them and force locals out of their own towns and villages. The judging panel loved the music and it’s arrangement, but felt the song was too insular. They also felt the use of the Cornish language would confuse the viewers. The jury decided to go in a different direction but thanked Robyn for her contribution. Robyn was quite rightly gutted, but had the last laugh when the track still became a minor hit amongst countries in Europe. She had really put Cornwall on the map, not just in the UK again, but also across Europe too. Suddenly she was getting Dutch and German fans at her UK tour gigs. They loved the old world charm and allure of Cornwall as described by Robyn and visitors from all over Europe wanted to see for themselves.
For her services to Cornwall and it’s heritage, Robyn was awarded the freedom of the town of St. Ives. It was a special honour for her and she felt all of her hard work had paid off. The town was getting more and more tourists over this time thanks in no small part to her music crossing borders. Her music had brought a whole region together and brought some much needed recognition to the area and it’s culture and history. Robyn was incredibly proud of Cornwall and loved the fact that she was able to have a musical career while also promoting the place she loved. In response to all the plaudits she was getting she created her fourth album, Woke Me Up Dreaming in 1986. The whole album spoke about her amazement of how well her career was going and the love she was receiving from fans. It was also the first album that included Derek as a backing vocalist. This was the first time anyone other than Robyn had been on the recording. Derek was never destined for stardom himself, but loved being a part of his wife’s album with his dulcet tones complementing her own superb voice.
Shooting Star
1986 was taken up mostly by touring and promoting the new album. Robyn now had continental appeal and was able to play at a few gigs across the channel in France, Holland, and Germany. It was while at a gig in Hamburg, that Robyn’s world changed for ever. She discovered that she was pregnant. Her and Derek were both ecstatic as they had both talked about starting a family when Robyn’s career was over, but this child was going to be a bit earlier than expected. Thankfully, Robyn was able to complete the year’s tour before she started to feel ill and queasy like most pregnancies cause. Once her commitments were sorted out, her and Derek moved back to St. Ives to prepare for their new arrival.
Their daughter, Lamorna Talwyn Rodsby-Coodle was born in St. Ives in February, 1987. Robyn immediately stopped all performances for the next 2 years to look after her as a child. She would do the occasional gig in the pubs she learnt her trade, but her new daughter came first. Robyn had loved her musical career but was finding that all the touring was taking a lot out of her and her husband. Surprisingly, having Lamorna was the respite they both needed. Robyn contacted Dekaf Records to tell them that she would be hanging up her guitar for the foreseeable future. They suggested that she create one more album. Robyn wanted to leave on a high so took their suggestion and recorded her fifth and final album, So Long and So Far Gone in 1989. She was able to record it in the Dekaf Cornish studio that she helped set up so it was nice that everything had come full circle. Robyn knew it was her final album so went all out in it’s production. The couple brought Lamorna along to the recordings, so the whole family’s fingerprints were on the album. The album was Robyn’s final goodbye to her fans and was a nice way to finish her recording career. The title reiterated that this was a fond farewell and also spoke of the distances she had travelled playing her brand of music.
Her final album was a big deal amongst of her fans in Cornwall and further afield. They were glad that they had been experience the highs and lows of her career with her, but were very upset that their golden girl was calling it a day. Local papers also made a big deal of her retirement. One article described Robyn as a “shooting star.” Her career was short, but didn’t it shine! Her final album sold well in the UK and Europe allowing her to look after her daughter with relative financial freedom. She did one final gig at the pub where Derek had spotted all those years ago. She raised the roof and it was a lovely send off for the whole family into their new lives as parents.
Discography
Woke Me Up Dreaming (1986)
So Long and So Far Gone (1989)
What Happened Next?
Robyn and Derek were able to watch Lamorna grow up over the next decade or so. They didn’t have any other children, so Lamorna’s upbringing was much like her mother’s. She was also very much like her as a child. When Lamorna first walked to school for the time, she didn’t return back home until 7:30 pm. As you can imagine her parents were beside themselves with panic not knowing where she had gone. It turned out she had taken the scenic walk back from school and was diverted by all the animals she saw along the way. Like mother like daughter.
When Lamorna started going to school, Robyn had the day free to do what she wanted. She started to get back to her first love doing guided tours of the local area. She couldn’t think of anything she would rather do with her new spare time. Her guitar and voice also made a comeback at the end of the tour. As she was still making a nice living from the royalties from her music, she did a collection at the end of the tour for a local housing charity. She was amazed how many of the tourists knew of her and even more when they started singing along to her songs. Derek continued to be Robyn’s agent arranging small gigs and all the financial deals he need to do.
Lamorna grew up to love music just like her mother and grandmother, but decided against taking it up as a career. Sining and playing was just a fun hobby of hers. Her main passion was animal conservation. She became a scientist and researcher studying the many flora and fauna of Cornwall. By the 2010s, she had become one the experts in her field leading to great success in introducing new species and breeding existing ones within the south west.
Robyn is still living in her beloved Cornwall and now campaigns for Cornish issues. Such issues include the reintroduction of teaching the Cornish language in Cornish schools and recognition and protection of historic architecture and culture. She has been known to do the odd gig here and there whenever she feels she has the time. Her music is still well thought of amongst fans and has found a new audience with younger generations. Her tireless promotion of Cornwall and it’s heritage in her music brought her her highest accolade to date. In 2012, as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, she was made a “Sister of Cornwall,” after receiving countless nominations from her admirers. Robyn Coodle’s music lives on with those who were around at the time and a new wave of youngsters who revere Cornwall and it’s heritage as their home and their heritage. Her catchy and witty songs and ballads received praise from all corners of the industry, but it is her fans who elevated her to a brief but fabulous moment in the sun.