“Rock ’n’ roll is an old person’s game now – there’s still loads of people 10 years older than me who are doing it. I imagine they’ve got personal trainers and better health regimes than I do”: The inimitable Robyn Hitchcock on the enigma of songwriting

Robyn Hitchcock plays a polka-dot Strat against a pink background — and wears a matching polka-dot shirt.

Imagine a textbook Nashville gunslinger. Chances are, in your mind’s eye, you’re picturing a claw-handed Southern roots master, raised on hickory smoke and hybrid picking, firing off first-take flash at three recording sessions a day.

By those metrics, Robyn Hitchcock might seem a square peg on the Music City scene where he planted his flag in 2015. Make no mistake: the 73-year-old Londoner is a serious player, especially when you hand him an acoustic guitar.