The Beach Boys

For a long time I saw The Beach Boys as a formula, a brand name and verrrry American, I thought. Which indeed they were : toothpaste smiles, sunshine lyrics and good times almost too good to be true. That would change in late 1975 thanks to Robin, a friend at Keele University. I was a music enthusiast at the time, but Robin was a music fan who was also a musician and totally unafraid of liking music which others considered too pop to be of interest. He knew what he liked, and he could tell you why it was good. He took me into the world of "Surf's Up" and…