Friday’s Fitztory with Robbie Vincent
Greetings fellow soul survivors. Here’s an intro into today’s Friday’s Fitztory. Like many of my then teenage generation of the late 1970s and early 1980s, I grew up listening to Robbie Vincent Saturday morning 11.30am to 2pm in the afternoon, for what would be considered to be an essential listen. Fast forward to 2006 and having started the Soul Survivors Magazine with former co owner Anna Marshall, we mutually agreed at some point interviewing Robbie Vincent was on top of our hit list and was one of the most requested from our readers as a future feature.
After 5 years and various failed attempts to make contact with Robbie, an impromptu meeting at Bobby Womack’s Jazz Cafe date in the summer of 2017 it eventually became a ‘Mission Not So Impossible’ accomplished. Long story short Robbie was unable to get upstairs to the VIP area. I providential happen to be in the vicinity and with me having worked at the Jazz Cafe since 1991 and knowing the management, I told them (as they were ignorant of who Robbie was) that he was a VIP, and the dully allowed him upstairs. Although it was the least I could do for all the music he’s educated me with Robbie was very grateful, but his wife was even more grateful.
She insisted that Robbie should do an interview in the magazine, something I’d briefly mentioned to him outside earlier, we we’d met in the queue. Robbie who had just recovered from a serious illness, agreed and we gave him this front cover for issue 32 in our exclusive members issue in September 2011. Robbie hosted our 2nd Soul Survivors Awards at Fluid in Farringdon and was awarded his 40 years being a Master of the airwaves at our Feb 2017 awards at Under The Bridge Chelsea. He is an avid supporter of The Soul Survivors Magazine and Robbie is making a return to Jazz FM’s airwaves today 10am-2pm for four hours of ‘If it moves funk it music. Here is a segment of our exclusive at the time interview with Robbie. To order a hard copy of that edition go to
Read and enjoy…Fitzroy
Fitzroy : “You are noted for introducing us to the Japanese jazz world Like Boy Katingdig ‘Whatever Happen to The Love’ and
Hiroshi Fukumura-‘Hunt Up Wind’ via your Fusion 40. What made you capitalise on such a specialist market genre of music that resulted years later in you doing the Master Cuts ‘Classic Jazz Funk Volume 6’?”
Robbie : “One of my saddest losses was the burglary of my home where they took all of my Jap jazz .I had all of them lined on the floor for refilling and they took the lot.The burglars could have not had any idea what they were and would have been of little use to them unless they realised I’d spent a fortune on them.They are irreplaceable and that took along time to get over I can tell you as they were very valuable and permanently lost.When I get asked about the Jap jazz it always reminds me of waking up that morning and the bastards have taken the lot. The good lord works in mysterious ways ..I bet they’ve got boils on their bums now LOL.
There was no accessible jazz on the radio anywhere and I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing. I liked finding things that excited me and sharing it with people who had the same enthusiasm. It was different and good it really was, and not until you stop doing it do you realize how appreciated it was as they never really said at the time. The Jap Jazz one was done by Jeff Young”
Fitzroy: “What was it like to interview Marvin Gaye and James Brown recently Bobby Womack?”
Robbie : “With Bobby I’ve spoken to him a couple of times… you put a pound in the meter and he doesn’t stop talking he’s incredible as he’d go all over the place with his stories.They are all different but Bobby has had a full life to put it mildly and as a writer he’s prolific with more artists than you and I will have a bowl of porridge. Marvin kept sniffing and you had to be aware of the effect the drugs had on him but he wasn’t at his worst when I spoke with him . I was very honoured to talk to him my regret is that I didn’t speak with him on a drug free day. James Brown was completely bonkers larger than life and a bit like Bobby a bit of a scatter gun..he’d say it was me that he took the Jackson Five to New York then speak of crawling under the tent to seeing some of his hero’s like Louis Jordan. Again very honoured to meet Mr Brown as I was advised to refer to him as by Bobby Womack. There was Joe Sample of the Crusaders who was fantastic and Bob James,Luther Vandross the first ever UK interview and the naughty boy who let me down Rick James. He never made the show as he was completely off his face and we met up in New York was full of apologies and was very good drug free when we did a show for Radio One from New York. I liked Sly Stone very much who was larger than life and Johnny Guitar Watson was very funny and a fantastic man as was George Clinton.”