Chris Robinson was born in 1956, in Northwich, Cheshire. He grew up on a council estate and graduated in 1988 from Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education with a degree in Creative Arts / Combined Studies. In between these years, he was a trainee reporter and photographer, and moved to Germany when Margaret Thatcher came to power, finding employment with a US military community newspaper. He has three older brothers, a younger sister, and is the son of factory worker parents. He co-authored the book The Road to Recovery (2011) with Alan Boden, so Can't Pay, Won't Pay (2023) is his first lone venture. He remains a staunch socialist, having seen first-hand the darker elements of the social and education sector (qualifying as a teacher in 1995) and was a prominent member of the anti-poll tax campaign.