Super excited to be releasing a long-lost demo tape from my uncle Robin Hall’s short-lived 1980 NYC post-punk group, W-2.
Robin was also the frontman of the legendary Jack Ruby, a band that had a huge impact on the NYC underground scene in the late ’70s. After Jack Ruby disbanded, Robin formed W-2, a group that only lasted from late 1979 to 1980 but left behind a beautiful, untamed sound that still holds up today.
The tape features five tracks recorded in 1980 and originally passed around to club promoters in hopes of scoring gigs. One of those promoters was Jim Fouratt, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front, partner to photographer Peter Hujar, and manager of the legendary NYC club Danceteria. He kept every demo tape he received and recently donated them to the Yale Library. The original four-song demo includes a vital rehearsal recording, remastered by Andrew Oswald, and a fun interview I did with my uncle so you can hear him tell the story in his own words.