Robert Wyatt’s son shares health update: “He’s being well looked after”

The musician retired 10 years ago

By Tom Skinner


Robert Wyatt‘s son has shared an update regarding his father’s health, saying he is “being well looked after”.

The musician and composer, 78, was a founding member of Soft Machine and Matching Mole, serving as a drummer and vocalist in both bands. He later embarked on a 40-year solo career after becoming paraplegic following an accidental fall from a window in 1973.

Wyatt branched out to other instruments and became an important name during the formative years of British jazz fusion, psychedelia and progressive rock. His final studio album, 2007’s ‘Comicopera’, features contributions from Brian Eno, Paul Weller and more.

He retired from music in 2014, telling Uncut: “I would say I’ve stopped, it’s a better word than retired. Fifty years in the saddle, it’s not nothing. It’s completely unplanned, my life, and it’s just reached this particular point.

“Other things have happened – I’m more taken up by politics, to be honest, than music at the moment. Music tags along behind it. There is a pride in [stopping], I don’t want it to go off.”

Posting on Facebook yesterday (February 6), Wyatt’s son Sam thanked his followers for their recent “messages wondering about how Robert is and whether he will do any more recordings”.

He went on to say that Robert and his wife Alfreda Benge had asked him “to share some news about his health”, writing: “Towards the end of last year Robert’s recent memory loss was diagnosed as being progressive.

“He is also physically very frail and no longer able to reply to messages and letters or listen to other people’s music and comment on it. He has very much appreciated all he’s received in the past, and is very moved by people’s loyalty and concern for him over the years.”

Sam explained that Robert’s memory is currently “variable, and if you meet him he may not remember who you are unless you’re a close friend or family”.

“Thankfully, he’s coping well, as he always has with physical adversity, and he’s being well looked after,” the message concluded. You can see the post above.


According to Setlist.FM, Robert Wyatt’s final live performance took place as part of the 2014 EFG London Jazz Festival.