XTC are without doubt one of the most ignored bands in the history of British music. I know this to be a fact because even I ignored them for years. I grew up listening to them from a young age (5/6 years old) bought singles had a couple of albums and liked just about everything I heard for several years.
Then suddenly around 1983ish I sort of forgot all about them and didn't pay any attention to them at all, that is until about 1989 when the "Oranges and Lemons" album was played constantly on Radio 1 late at night for a few weeks. Again loved everything I heard, didn't buy the album forgot all about them again until the late 1990's when I bought "Fossil Fuel" the singles compilation. This brought me back to my senses and re-awoke my interest in the band and led to me buying all of their albums and really appreciating how original, unfashionable and uncompromisingly brilliant they are.
Their music is really multi layered covering a whole spectrum of styles, from the early punk/new wave energy of their early days through to the sonic blast of their major breakthrough album "Drums and Wires" and their first real whiff of chart hits in 1979/80, to the later more pastoral albums such as the excellent "Skylarking" and "Nonsuch".
The band have had many problems to contend with over the years including members suffering stage fright, bad contracts that offered poor royalties, managerial problems (which to this day they are not allowed to discuss in public due to a gagging order!) and of course having to go on strike for several years to get out of a contract with a major label. If you can pick up the excellent "Song Stories" paperback it is a well worth reading as an honest history of the band if you are a serious fan or just as a damn good read if you love music biographies.
To me they are right up their with all the great British pop songwriters/performers of the last 40 years or so that are often mentioned in the same breath, Pete Townshend, Ray Davies and all the usual suspects. But mention Andy Partridge or Colin Moulding and all but the most obsessive music lovers would look at you with a vacant expression. I think the main reason for this is simple. Most of the time especially in later years, they made music for themselves, for them to enjoy and not to please any demographic or jump on any bandwagons. This is why they seem to have been forgotten. They have a few ardent fans but never gained the sheer adulation or respect of the great British record buying public, which is a real shame.
I'll leave you with a few examples of some of their less obvious work, first of all Generals And Majors, A minor hit from 1980 and to me is one of their best pure pop songs, my six year old daughter saw this months ago and knows it word perfect (my fault!) and before you ask that is Richard Branson in the video, he got in by default as he owned the record label, the house and the studio the song and video were made in:
Next is Dear God from the 1986 album Skylarking. Although it was never released as a single in the UK, it caused a stir in the USA when it was put out as a B side but gained heavy rotation in some areas and led to a few protests due to its strong views on religion. Possibly Andy Partridge's finest hour as a songwriter?
Next is Funk Pop A Roll from Mummer made in 1983. At this time in the bands career their relationship with their record label could be described as "frosty". In fact they were certain this was going to be their last ever album and this song is an open criticism of the music business with lines like "But please don't listen to me, I've already been poisoned by this industry" and descriptions of asking for bread but being force fed cakes and stuff that you don't need, as well as a final "Bye Bye" as the song ends as if they are signing off for good . The video is interesting as it is very similar to Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" but it pre-dates it by nearly three years.
Finally is the Beach Boy influenced single The Disappointed from the 1992 album Nonsuch. A fantastic single seemingly strangled at birth by their own record label. This would be their last album and one of their last singles before their self imposed strike which finally got them out of their deal with Virgin and finally going independent in the late 1990's.
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