Thread: XTC

**Sunlight Caller** · 03-11-2021

They never made big money, it’s a bone of contention, they were ripped off by labels, managers, you know the classic sad rock n roll story. Andy lives in a very modest house in Swindon that he bought at the height of his fame. Colin sold his rights I believe and Andy still curates the legacy and I guess lives off of that. So yes back then, money was a thing that mattered to them, and I suppose Andy was keen to pursue his vision (in sound, if that’s not a tautology) to its glorious acoustic best. Colin was on board with him, but Dave wanted to go a more direct route and focus on the guitar tunes that would eventually appear on Wasp Star.

In the book Andy states that one day of the orchestra at Abbey Road cost them £20,000 ouch!

**Guitarplyrjvb** · 03-11-2021

^^ If I'm not mistaken, Dave Gregory is not credited on Wasp Star. I think Andy Partridge played all of the guitars on that one. Apple Venus Vol. 1 is a great record. A nice change of pace in the sound, while still undeniably XTC.

**Sunlight Caller** · 03-11-2021

Yes you are correct, Andy played all of the guitars and I think replaced some of Dave’s contributions on Apple Venus recorded before he walked out. The orchestral arrangements on Apple Venus that Dave would usually have provided were beautifully realised by Mike Batt, formerly a Womble !

**soundsweird** · 03-11-2021

I'd like to add to the comments I made last week about that 4-CD box of BBC recordings "Transistor Blast". I listened to 3 of the discs the other night (the fourth is a disc of live stuff from their early days that I just don't care about), and I had forgotten that the two discs of studio recordings are not the usual attempts to make carbon copies of the album versions. Every song features a slightly different arrangement or a different guitar solo or instrument, etc.; well worth checking out. The third disc is a concert recorded around the time of English Settlement, and it's a winner. Other than Andy's voice affected by a cold (not bad, just gruffer), the sound and performances are great.

**Sunlight Caller** · 03-12-2021

^^^ Thank you for the further thoughts on the live / session collection, I must get this. I’m currently on a hunt to locate the 5.1 releases, but I’m also looking out for a fair priced Transistor Blast.

**proggy_jazzer** · 03-12-2021

In case anyone's interested, Gregg Bendian (drums/perc with Keneally, Musical Box, Cecil Taylor, many others) has a YT channel called The Progcast, and has carried out extensive conversation/interviews with both Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory. Very entertaining and informative!

**jlneudorf** · 03-12-2021

Just watched an interesting documentary called XTC - This is Pop. Really interesting insight from Partridge, Moulding and Gregory. Such a great band and noone made pop music quite like XTC.
Believe the doc is on Crave.

**jlneudorf** · 03-12-2021

Some interesting tidbits when Todd Rundgren produced them (Slylarking album).

**Sunlight Caller** · 03-13-2021

^^^ That’s a great documentary, made with the usual amount of good humour and intelligence, and very informative too.

**jlneudorf** · 03-13-2021

Agreed

**markwoll** · 03-13-2021

I was listening to my music and Wake Up from Big Express came on. So many layers of perfectly layered sound with a perfectly jerky drum track. Not one of my favorite XTC songs, but just so XTC in it's complexity that on the surface seems simple.

**Polypet** · 03-18-2021

Wing Beat - so good.

Drums and Wires is my favourite XTC followed by, well, everything else

**miamiscot** · 03-30-2021

There are exactly four bands that I would and will fight you over:

Yes
Genesis
Guided By Voices
XTC

Come at me, bro!!!

(I'm a lover not a fighter...)

**polmico** · 05-20-2021

Seems that Moulding has a few new songs coming our way:

https://burningshed.com/store/colin-...ter+20+05+2021

Containing two songs and an 'exploratory demo', The Hardest Battle represents XTC founding member Colin Moulding's first ever solo release.

A tantalising glimpse into the creative process of one of the UK's finest songwriters.

CD single in 4-panel digisleeve.

**polmico** · 07-07-2021

Sounds like a continuation of TC&I.

There's almost enough new material from Partridge and now Moulding over the past decade to compile a "new" XTC album . . .

**Sterbus** · 10-03-2021

I'd like to share with you my cover of "Another Satellite", one of my favorite tunes from Skylarking!

This cover has been aired during the wonderful Xtc Online Convention that has been hold on October 1st, with interviews to Terry Chambers, cover band Fossil Fools (amazing!) and other important people of the Xtc world.
You can still watch it here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIBjuny2IsU&t=11730s

**markwoll** · 10-03-2021

Originally Posted by Sterbus

I'd like to share with you my cover of "Another Satellite", one of my favorite tunes from Skylarking!

This cover has been aired during the wonderful Xtc Online Convention that has been hold on October 1st, with interviews to Terry Chambers, cover band Fossil Fools (amazing!) and other important people of the Xtc world.
You can still watch it here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIBjuny2IsU&t=11730s

Nice, very well done video too.

**Sunlight Caller** · 10-03-2021

^^^ I enjoyed your energetic take on a great song from a favourite album, well done. I didn’t know about the online convention, so I’ll be sure to check the link, thank you.

**Sterbus** · 10-03-2021

Originally Posted by Sunlight Caller

^^^ I enjoyed your energetic take on a great song from a favourite album, well done. I didn’t know about the online convention, so I’ll be sure to check the link, thank you.

Thank you!

and about the convention,

Here's a rough schedule:
00: 01 - Mark Fisher chats to Terry Chambers and Steve Tilling and reviews EXTC in concert (audio only)
01:31 - Darryl talks to Neville Farmer, co-author of Song Stories and Bags of Fun With Buster
2:26 - The Loving - Alvaro Ortega’s amazing animated video, endorsed by Dave and Andy
2:30 - Fossil Fools Set 1
3:16 - music from Sterbus, Reg Shaw, and Tom Demi
3:28 - Fossil Fools Set 2
4:15 – music from Masaya Takai, Ishikawa, and Hisimashi
4:28 - Darryl talks to Terry Chambers
5:13 - music from Tom Appling, Atsushi Okuda, Steve Chris Manning, and Larry Stevens
5:27 – Julie talks to Steve Warren
6:25 – music from Reg Shaw, DJ Ivan, and Ishikawa and friends

**Geoff O'Donoghue** · 02-05-2022

Has anyone here seen an EXTC show? This is Terry Chambers' band that morphed out of the now-defunct TC&I. They seem to be doing a lot of gigs and, judging by a setlist I found online (see attached), they're doing a broad selection of XTC material.
extc setlist.jpg

**Mister Triscuits** · 02-05-2022

Originally Posted by Geoff O'Donoghue

Has anyone here seen an EXTC show? This is Terry Chambers' band that morphed out of the now-defunct TC&I. They seem to be doing a lot of gigs and, judging by a setlist I found online (see attached), they're doing a broad selection of XTC material.

Whoa, that is a killer set list.

**markwoll** · 02-05-2022

Hmmm.
Seems very ambitious.
https://www.extc.co.uk/tour/

**Geoff O'Donoghue** · 02-05-2022

Originally Posted by Mister Triscuits

Whoa, that is a killer set list.

Yes it is indeed. Very impressive. I follow them on FB so I knew of some of the material they were doing but seeing that setlist has me hoping that they might make it down under one day. XTC were very popular in Aus/NZ so it's not entirely impossible.