XTC was my favorite band by far in the 80's. Sadly, they haven't released any music that I'm aware of since 2000.

In reading their Wikipedia page, it seems Colin Moulding lost all interest in music and had a falling out with Andy Partridge. It's a shame. They were giants.

In my research, I discovered some interesting info for fans who have lost touch:

Did you know the original cover of Skylarking looked like this and that it is available with that cover on vinyl here? That cover is freakin' awesome. (Pic very small but probably NSFW.)




They have this awesome Dukes of Stratosphear box too.



As well as the two Dukes CDs in new book packaging.

Wikipedia mentions that new, remasters would be forthcoming of their catalog with extra stuff. I'm not seeing them anywhere.

XTC is in my all-time top 5 for sure. I think I own more XTC CDs/albums than any other band with the exception of They Might Be Giants.

I somewhat desperately want that Dukes pack (honestly, the Dukes anthology is my favorite thing XTC ever touched), but I haven't bitten the bullet yet.

$141 for the box with the two CDs. Ouch.

As for my favorite, I'd go with anything from English Settlement through Skylarking although I am partial to The Big Express.

wow that's expensive, you're better off getting all the 60s stuff they're imitating for that price. All of their stuff is released on that Chips from the Chocolate Fireball cd.

There are some new tracks on "Apple Box" <small>(Apple Venus+Wasp Star)</small> i.e. "Spiral" by Partridge & "Say It", by Moulding.

Then there are the Fuzzy Warbles CDs to try until something totally new arrives.

AND I read that Partridge + the essential Dave Gregory are talking, so...

I have the greatest hits cd and love several of their singles, especially "Plans for Nigel" and "Generals and Majors", but I haven't really delved into their back catalog. Didn't Andy Partridge have some serious stage fright issues that kept them from touring often?

Used to be into them. One of the few bands that got better with age. That's a pretty elaborate set for a "fictional band" that hardly anyone's heard of. I did like the Dukes of the Stratosphear but not that much. A jigsaw puzzle?

It's just goofiness (the box set).

I remember back when 25 O'Clock came out. That was pre-internet (in the commercial, cultural sense of course) and I looked at that album countless times in the record store until I realized it was XTC.

I have every XTC album on vinyl already so I have little interest in anything but that Skylarking record with the "original" cover.

The two Dukes of Stratosphear CDs are available on Amazon for $15 each. I assume they are the "book" packaging as they have the extra demo tracks on each. Think I'll pick those up.

They stopped touring after their 3rd or 4th record. Their records were very much epic, studio productions which probably couldn't have been duplicated live well anyhow.


It would be fun to try and pinpoint the exact reference XTC was making in each song. For instance, Have You Seen Jackie? reminds me of The Kinks' Do You Remember Walter?

Chips is fine. The new releases separated the two records, gave them better packaging, and added some demo tracks.

think it would be kind of hard to pinpoint everything. 25 o clock EP is a lot better than Psunspot I think.

seems like a lot of BS with that new package. I'd just want the music and they might of brick walled them assuming the way pretty much all new remasters are.

Senses Working Overtime is one of the best songs ever written.

As for album, I've always liked Oranges And Lemons the best although I probably listen to Transistor Blast the most often.

Anyone have the Coat Of Many Cupboards box? How is it?

Yeah, they stopped in the middle of touring behind "English Settlement".

There's a chapter on the Dukes in "Song Stories", and they run through a lot of those. I don't have the book in front of me right now 'cause I'm at work, but I remember The Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" inspiring "25 O'Clock"...The Yardbirds and The Beatles were definitely called out a couple of times, and I think The Hollies were too.

Yes.

The live "Science Friction" is one of my favorite things ever. There are a few tracks in that collection that trump the studio versions to my mind. The BBC version of "No Thugs in Our House" is definitely one for me.

My favorite XTC albums are "Black Sea", "English Settlement", and "Nonsuch".

As far as least favorites, I've never really warmed up to "Mummer", although there are individual songs on it I adore (especially "Great Fire"). Sometimes I love "Go2" and "The Big Express" and other times I find them grating and borderline-unlistenable. I can't think of any other albums by any band where the pendulum swings that wide for me.

I got it a few months ago off eBay since it's the last not-demos/not-dub-experiment/not-reissue thing I don't own. I've only listened to it once straight through. It's a really bizarre mix...album tracks, obscurities, live versions...not really sure who it's meant for since most of it won't be of interest to neophytes, but there are so many album tracks that die-hard fans might be skipping around a lot to get to the new stuff. There's a live version of "Crowded Room" that I won't stop playing on my iPod.

I was a big, nay, huge fan back in the '70s and '80s. I think the last album of theirs I bought was Skylarking.

My favorite album of theirs is probably Mummer. I know, weird, huh? I also like Drums and Wires a huge amount.

The last 3 official albums Nonsuch, Apple Venus Vol 1 and Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) are all very good albums

I love XTC. For me, Black Sea, English Settlement, and The Big Express are some of the best albums of the 80's. The Apple Venus albums were also great. I particularly love "No Thugs In Our House" and the title track from English Settlement. Oh, and "The Wheel and the Maypole" off Wasp Star.

Mummer and The Big Express are probably my two favorite XTC albums. I like Skylarking a whole lot too. The original...not the bastardization with Dear God on it.

Are you referring to English Roundabout?

Love Yacht Dance and naturally Melt the Guns.

Yes, sorry, I meant English Roundabout.

I'm not even going to fake like I'm a huge fan, but I am a huge fan of Skylarking. In fact, I have my cassette sitting right on my desk which I pop in my CD/cassette player every so often to listen.

It's one of my favorite albums of the 80's.

Does your cassette have Dear God on it? The original record was ruined when they dropped Mermaid Smiled and added Dear God. Not that Dear God is a bad song (although attempting to play it on guitar involves using your thumb ) but Mermaid Smiled just fit the flow of the album better.

I'm also a very big fan of XTC and even own a vinyl copy of Take Away / The Lure of Salvage.

And I almost saw them in concert. I was in the crowd at the Hollywood Palladium the night Andy Partridge freaked out and canceled the show.

(Even though they pretty much stopped performing live after that night, there are instances of when they did do a song or two in front of an audience. One instance is when they appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in 1989.)

For those not in the know, that song is about the infamous "Magic roundabout" in Swindon:



Which as you can see is actually five roundabouts combined to make a sixth.

Not if you think of the Am as a Fmaj7/A instead. That way, you finger the traditional Am shape with your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers, and use your index finger to play the F bass note on the first fret of the sixth string and the F# bass note on the second fret. Then switch to the traditional Am fingering and use your 4th finger to play the G bass note on the third fret of the sixth string.

That is ludicrous! (The roundabout.)

Thanks for the guitar pointers. I'll have to try it tonight if I can get what you are telling me.

Puts the lyrics into context, doesn't it?

PM me if you have questions. It's been years since I even thought of that song.

Sure it's not in Slough?