An Explanation

To most people, joining an internet mailing list devoted to the 
music of an obscure British singer-songwriter does not sound 
like a promising way to improve your social life.

                           Images swirl of pale skinned computer geeks fuelled
                           by Jolt-Cola and Taco Bell, illuminated only by the
                           flicker of their monitors, as they fume with almost
                           apoplectic anger having read that someone has dared
                           to express a preference for the seven inch remix over
                           the original album version of their favourite song.  

            ...and as Robyn himself commented, "They may be fiends!".

    If you’ve been there/done that/bought the T-shirt - relax.
    Compared to other mailing lists, Fegmaniax is a breath of fresh air.

                                            Fegmaniax - an internet mailing list for fans of 
                                            British singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, 
                                            named for the 1985 album which introduced his 
                                            band The Egyptians - turns out to be inhabited
                                            by a population of intelligent, crazy, tolerant, 
                                            compassionate, articulate, witty folk of every
                                            age and background.

                               These people actually seem to have real lives away
                               from their computer screens, other interests and
                               widely ranging musical tastes. They’ll discuss anything
                               (even, on occasion, the music of Robyn Hitchcock!). 

                    They embrace opinions which differ from their own
                    and they support and encourage new members to the
                    group. (...and if the conversation dries up a little there’s
                    always someone ready to post some work of bizarre
                    fiction ...or record a CD!) 

      It remains a mystery to me how all these amazing people
      ended up in the same place - but there's no denying it.
      There they are.

               Maybe the truth will be revealed as the human genome
               project uncovers the Robyn gene... Or perhaps we'll find
               the the answer has more to do with strange ceremonies
               performed secretly by the benign but shadowy figure
               of our listmaster known only as "woj" (pronounced "whoa-j").

It all started one day, a few years ago
                                               (though it could have been last Thursday)...

                          ...strange things started to happen. Fegs began 
                          meeting each other in person! First it was just at 
                          Robyn's shows, but as time went on, it happened
                           just about anywhere - even other artists shows... 
                          Road trips were taken, Fegs flew around the 
                          country - around the world, even - just to put a face 
                          to a name on an email message. 

                 Remember, these people were travelling not to see Robyn, 
                 their musical hero, but each other! 

         I have no idea what the secret ingredient is that makes this such
         a great bunch of people. All I know is that everyone who has had
         the opportunity to meet up with other list members has reported
         the same experience. 

These pages serve, hopefully, to capture some of that experience
-- and to provide a few chuckles for Fegmaniacs who can now put
faces to some of the folk who's words of wit and wisdom they read
every day.

                         As anyone who has participated in this list will tell you,
                         there's nothing quite like Fegmaniax.

           ...and as you'll see from these photos, there are
           no people quite like Fegmaniacs!