Although Styx has been getting a hero’s welcome every night when it launches into “Mr. Roboto” after a 35 year live hiatus, ousted frontman and the song’s co-writer Dennis DeYoung maintains there’s a reason why that is. “Mr. Roboto” was the Top Three lead single from the band’s 1993 Kilroy Was Here concept album, which marked the band’s last with the dramatic frontman and final album featuring the classic lineup. DeYoung denies guitarists J.Y. Young and Tommy Shaw’s assertion that the song “killed the golden goose” due to its undeniable commerciality.
Dennis DeYoung — who still tours frequently as a solo act — told Pulse point blank that he knows full well why “Mr. Roboto” has finally been added to the band’s setlists: “It’s one of two things, isn’t it? If you hated the song and it killed the band, and it ruined the fanbase — why are ya playin’ it now? The matter is, their summer tour promoters had gotten so many complaints that Tommy and J.Y. weren’t playing the hits. Because, they leave out (my songs) ‘Mr. Roboto,’ ‘Babe,’ ‘Don’t Let It End,’ and ‘Show Me The Way,’ and ‘(The) Best Of Times’ — that’s five hit records out of their set. It’s been a very hurtful thing to watch the fanbase go through that.”
In a statement to Billboard, Styx’s management denied that promoters requests played any part of “Mr. Roboto” being added to the band’s current setlists: “We have not had any promoters suggest that Styx play ‘Mr. Roboto’ at all and promoters had nothing to do with the band adding the song to the set. The band did know that some fans did want to hear ‘Roboto’ and over the years they have added many songs to the Styx set that had not been being played.”
Dennis DeYoung wrote and sang lead on such band classics as “Come Sail Away,” “The Best Of Times,” “Rockin’ The Paradise,” “Babe,” “Lady,” “The Grand Illusion,” and “Mr. Roboto,” among others, before leaving the band in 1999. His solo shows feature a Styx-heavy setlist — including his sidemen performing classic tunes written by former bandmate, guitarist Tommy Shaw.
