Robert came over to my house outside Oxford for one of his many visits in 1979. This time it was to write some lyrics and sing on a crazy spoof sci-fi disco album I was producing called 'Disco Dream and the Androids' (tracks: 'Connection Disconnection' and 'Cafe Des Illusions') and he played the part of a broken down and neurotic android who fell in love with a female android but that's another story. I had just completed the design of my synthesizer, the Wasp, and was really excited to give him one of the first batch. While we were drinking tea in the kitchen (a very regular occurrence with Robert!), I placed it on the table and told him that this one was his own. He looked at me in astonishment and with a tear in his eye told me that this was HIS synthesizer - "my machine". From then onwards, as you probably know, Robert and the Wasp were seldom parted!

A few years before, Robert and myself had worked with Steve Took (Tyrannosaurus Rex) on a couple of singles about Cricket which was another of Robert's passions. They were 'Howzat' and 'Cricket Star'. We decided to call ourselves 'The 1st Eleven'. However, Robert's then record company, United Artist Records, in their wisdom had turned the idea down flat and he was pretty miffed about it. As we moved onto the third or fourth cup of tea, he told me about the upcoming cricket tour with the West Indies and it would be a shame to miss the opportunity. I told him that I still had the original master tapes but they were in a pretty poor condition. We then decided to re-record some of the individual tracks again but we would keep the original backing with the addition of a few additional Wasp tracks. That night we completed the recording in my Electronic Dream Plant studios (actually the living room and connected garage to the house) and mixed it down the next day.

I had just put a new record label together called 'Wake Up Records' and we decided to launch 'Cricket Star' ourselves on a new and strange flexidisc. Robert went missing in Oxford for a few hours and came back with a complete cricket outfit, including pads, stumps, and perfectly fitting cricket clothes. We went out to the nearby village green and I shot a few rolls of film for the green disc cover. I arranged for the first pressing run of 10,000 copies to be produced which cost me an arm and a leg and Robert had organised for the single to be sold outside the cricket grounds (Lords I think) and we sat back and waited for the 'hit' to happen. Well, it didn't exactly go according to plan and as usual in Robert's astounding career the twist in the tail happened. For some reason that I have forgotten they decided to cancel the West Indies cricket tour that year!

The next result was that we ended up selling a few thousand flexidiscs and I committed 8,000 flexidiscs to the Oxford rubbish tip before I moved to Wales a few years later. However, the single became a much played hit on radio across the World and over the 25 years since it's release many people have contacted me about re-releasing this single. Unfortunately, the original tape master is lost, along with 'Howzat' and it has taken a while to re-master from the original, clean, flexidisc I have. The results after a lot of digital cleaning I think are quite remarkable and I know Robert would be well pleased with the results.
Finally, Robert Calvert was remarkable, a unique talent and an extraordinary comedic poet/rock star and a close and great friend. This single is a small tribute to him and I hope will contribute to his well deserved and long destiny.

Adrian Wagner - July 2004.

This limited edition CD Single is only available for sale on eBay! (Search for 'Cricket Star')

More infos on ADRIAN WAGNER and his MEDIAQUEST studio/company

More infos on the CRICKET STAR re-release


Robert Calvert - the spirit of the p/age