Robin Lane & The Chartbusters

It was in Cambridge in the late 70's, in an environment of cultural and intellectual experimentation that Robin was able to integrate Punk and New Wave influences, East Coast folk, and West Coast rock in her songs and her band -- the legendary Robin Lane and The Chartbusters. The band included ex-Modern Lovers Asa Brebner and Leroy Radcliffe who infected Lane's songs and sensibilities even further with their unique and now historic garage sound. Robin Lane and The Chartbusters released three albums on Warner Brothers Records. The first, Robin Lane And The Chartbusters was released in 1980 to widespread critical acclaim. Singles "When Things Go Wrong" and "Why Do You Tell Lies?" received extensive national airplay. Their follow-up album, Imitation Life was also well received by the critics including Nat Hentoff who described Robin's vocals on this release as "...ominous, desperately tender, and cuttingly illuminating." Subsequently, the band released a 5-song live EP entitled 5 Live. They toured extensively, opening for The Kinks, The Cars, Split Enz (later Crowded House), Hall & Oats, and XTC, but mostly crisscrossing the country headlining shows of their own.