Originally from
Port Glasgow,
Scotland, he moved to the south of
England with
Thomas Leer in the late 1970s, and became involved with the local music scene. Robert Rental however released very little of his solo music, preferring to collaborate with
Thomas Leer, as well as with
Daniel Miller (as
The Normal). The only commercially-released solo recording from the 1970s is the
7-inch single "Paralysis" first released on the homemade
Regular Records, then re-released on Company Records in 1978. "Paralysis" was recorded at home on a 4 track
Tascam tape recorder which he hired in collaboration with Leer. The single features the distorted sound of a
Stylophone. Another distinctive sound that Rental used was that of the
EDP Wasp Synthesizer, which he introduced to
Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle and William Bennett of
Whitehouse. He also made an acclaimed album with
Thomas Leer called
The Bridge which was released on Throbbing Gristle's
Industrial Records. The album reached number 9 on the Independent Chart in 1980. His other two official releases were the 1980 single "Double Heart/On Location", released on
Daniel Miller's
Mute Records, and
Live At The West Runton Pavilion, recorded with Miller in 1979, and released via
Rough Trade in 1980. Robert Rental toured with Daniel Miller as The Normal, supporting
Stiff Little Fingers. Miller had met Rental through a
Throbbing Gristle concert. Robert Rental died of
lung cancer in 2000. ==Discography==