XTC
Biography
XTC was one of the smartest -- and catchiest -- British pop bands to emerge from the punk and new wave explosion of the late '70s. From the tense, jerky riffs of their early singles to the lushly arranged, meticulous pop of their later albums, XTC's music has always been driven by the hook-laden songwriting of guitarist Andy Partridge and bassist Colin Moulding. While popular success has eluded them in both Britain and America, the group has developed a devoted cult following in both countries that remains loyal over two decades after their first records.
Partridge, Moulding, and drummer Terry Chambers formed the first version of the band around 1976, calling themselves Star Park. As punk rock took off in 1977, the group changed their name to Helium Kidz and added keyboardist Barry Andrews. After being turned down by CBS Records, the band changed their name to XTC and secured a record contract with Virgin; they released their first EP, 3-D, in October of 1977. White Music, the band's first full-length album, was recorded in a week and released by the end of the year. Critics praised the angular yet melodic pop, and the album reached number 38 in the U.K. charts. However, none of the singles released from the album charted (including "This Is Pop"), nor did "Are You Receiving Me?," the teaser single for their second album, Go 2 (1978).
Selected Discography
Apple Box
2005
Black Sea (Remastered)
2002
Drums And Wires
2002
Mummer (Remastered)
2002
White Music
2002
Coat Of Many Cupboards
2002
Nonsuch
2002
Wasp Star (Apple Venus, Pt. 2)
2000
Apple Venus, Pt. 1
1999
Transistor Blast: The Best Of The BBC Sessions
1998
Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-1992
1996
Oranges & Lemons
1989
The Compact XTC: The Singles 1978 - 1985
1987
Skylarking
1986
English Settlement
1982
Black Sea
1980
The only band from the same time period that even comes close which I'm surprised isn't in the similar artist list is The Chameleons. The 2 truly great ignored British bands of the 80's. Own all of both on wax!
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Absolutley in my top three favorites of all time but avoid the last two albums, Apple Venus part 1 and 2 - they aren't awful, but mid life angst has hit and a sour life view as well as a sugar pop production prevail.
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These guys are almost too much. Take the Beatles as an ice cream cone and throw so many toppings on it that you are on the brink of vomiting.... . b u t
they are fantastic and they screw with your head if you play! |
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Fabulous band. Not a one-night stand band. You won't like them if you're looking for sugar candy. Earlier albums are admittedly sophmoric but they are a band that grows on you. From Skylarking onwards, if you listen to any of their songs more than 3 times you will continue get pulled into their imagination and the beauty of their songwriting. A cerebral band with writers who dare to turn their craft on its head. This is music for intelligent people who know how to appreciate a good bottle
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What if XTC and the Doors got in a fight? Would rock's most underrated band defeat rock's most overrated band? Hmmm...
What difference does it make? A wise man once said "it doesn't really matter where you put your vote, because someone else will come along and move it..." |
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I've heard like one song from them, that's about it.
It was pretty good, they obiously are not religious at all. Which is kind of a nice change of pace, they prefer to let their non-religiou s beliefs be known versus talking about it in every song. |
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I have the "White Horse" tattooed on my arm. Besides being on the cover of a most incredible album, it's carving by ancient people in a hillside in Uffington, near where the boys grew up, is fantastic. Some of you out there are with me. "English Settlement" is, in my opinion, one of the best pairings of music and lyrics I've ever heard. That album was my introduction to XTC. Along with Talking Heads, Elvis Costello and others, XTC shaped my musical thinking and social consciousnes s forever.
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XTC, sadly, never had a chance to make it big. They are too good.
My first exposure was "Skylarking, " which was huge on "College Radio" (if any of you are old enough to remember that brief phenomenon) and I was, literally, entranced. I went from there to "Nonsvch" to "English Settlement" and never looked back. I must say, though, that while I love their earlier stuff (e.g. "Go 2"), it has not aged terribly well. Partridge's lyrics are often brilliant, and the melodies are simply beautiful |
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XTC...Beatle s echoes with Cornish/Brit i s h folk thrown in and pop/punk influences. Lovely music...make s you think...make s me dance. My all time favorite band (next to the Beatles and Annie Lennox).
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XTC is magnificent. They are in my top tier. Skylarking and Apple venus are exquisite and the Duke's parodies are excellent. I rarely gets better.
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It's easy to get ignored if you don't shout or "act like a rock star(s)." I will always associate XTC as one of the sounds of my youth and young adulthood. I can walk just a few blocks away and think how aptly "Respectable Street" describes the neighborhood and the suburb where I grew up. It's thinking person's pop at its best....
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Thank you MTV (back when they played videos, remember that??)for introducing this band to me in the early 80s. Loved Dear God, Then She Appeared, and many other tasty morsels.
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XTC does deserve a better place in pop history. They have been very influential during their time and were it not for Andy Partridge's severe stagefright they would have been able to tour more and built a stronger fan base. As it is they are very respected in the music industry and Partridge/Mo u l d i n g are often compared with other great co song writers in pop music history.
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Andy Partridge, "the main guy," is about as humble and self-effacin g as you get (not to mention funny as hell). I understand he can be a bit of a tyrant in the studio, but that's hardly unusual for people with his level of talent. Pretentious? No way. XTC are widely perceived as country bumkins in their native England.
McGarr is right about the band being underrated. They're the greatest pop band I've ever heard and I encourage everyone to give them a lengthy listen. |
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i've been around so i remember this band and i just made a station but i can tell the main guy is a pretentious a**hole-its obvious-oh for crying out loud its okay-i'm ok you're ok
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artistic.1: If you're implying XTC pinched Elvis' sound...not sure about that. His first album was released in 77 and they were also at least recording their first around the same time. I like Elvis just fine, but XTC is perhaps one of the most underrated bands out there. Check out the stuff from mid-late 70's and then what they did through the 80's. You may put your Elvis records back on the shelf for awhile. They're a GREAT pop/rock band.
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Never heard of them before but I'm amazed at the combination of Costello/Byr d s their sound has. Without hearing more than what Pandora plays, I would guess their sound is very much early Costello.
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I love XTC, especially the Skylarking album. It's like a summer day morphed into a CD.
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The 2 comments below are hilarious.Mo n k e y s + B e a t l e s , thats pretty good.I hope you like this band Psqurley321. a s far as the Coldplay reference, that band could only wish to change XTC's guitar strings.I'm sure Coldplay has listened to a couple XTC albums.If you 2 are at all interested in a band that is far superior to the bands they've influenced (that you may like, but are unaware of where they "got their sound") you may want to investigate XTC's catalog.
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I've never heard of this band before! They sound like a cross between the Monkeys and The Beatles.
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I first heard of XTC about the time MTV went to crap. Probably the best song and album of theirs would be "Dear God" from Skylarking. That entire album seemed to be a soul searching time for the band and me as well. It's good that they keep on swinging despite the lack of commercial success.
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For my money, I don't think there has been a more well rounded band that is considered Pop. They've explored countless genres, are very good musicians and writers with interesting lyrics. I think with the quality of their work, history will remember them...even if the marketplace didn't seem incredibly interested at the time.
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XTC is such a great band, I know they never went mainstream, but I think it's so sad that almost nobody has heard of them.
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I Agree With The Author Of This Bio:XTC Is The Most Consistant Band In The History Of Rock!!!!!
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This is one of my favorite bands. I think their political commentary and rich pop instrumentat i o n make them one of the stand out bands of the last 30 years.
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Andy's biting lyrics were the perfect antidote for the pandering fluff of the 80's music scene. Hope to hear more from them soon!
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lucky peeps!
i have to say i enjoy "the fly on the wall" from English Settlement album! listening to that on vinyls is stellar indeed! Cheers, K.d.W |
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I saw the Black Sea tour, too. One of the best shows I've ever seen.
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The biggest regret about XTC was Partridge's unwillingnes s to tour again after 80/81. Couldn't blame him - it made him ill. But I was lucky to see them after they recorded Black Sea - and it was the best gig I ever saw.
My favourite lyric-"Life' s like a jigsaw-you get the straight bits, but there's something missing in the middle" |
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I discovered this group back in my early college days. I have always found there music interesting, and many of their lyrics are very beautifully written.
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