Robert Rental, real name Robert Donnachie (1952-2009) was a British musician and composer, considered a pioneer of the post-punk DIY industrial electronic music. He moved from Scotland to England in the late 1970s to work with the like-minded Thomas Leer (b.1953). The duo released a collaborative album The Bridge in late 1979 on Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records. Rental also collaborated and played live and with Daniel Miller, who was using the pseudonym The Normal, and who would go on to form the Mute label. Rental himself released very little solo material. His only release for Mute was the 7" Double Heart, a track which featured Leer on piano and Robert Görl of D.A.F. on drums.
A retrospective mini-album of Rental's demos from 1980 was released in 2018.
Peel gave airtime to Rental & Leer's critically acclaimed 1979 album The Bridge. He also saw Rental play live with The Normal, commenting in Sounds in March 1979, "I thought Robert Rental And The Normal were highly gear".
Sessions[]
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Other Shows Played[]
Thomas Leer & Robert Rental - Attack Decay (Official Audio)
20 September 1978 - Paralysis (7") Regular Records/Company Records – RECO 002
