XTC

XTC were an English <a href="/facts/Rock_music/zBM2guyQ">rock</a> band formed in <a href="/facts/Swindon/lxued87p">Swindon</a> in 1972. Fronted by songwriters <a href="/facts/Andy_Partridge/Qwm4KBzw">Andy Partridge</a> (vocals, guitars) and <a href="/facts/Colin_Moulding/tbKam0tx">Colin Moulding</a> (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of <a href="/facts/Punk_rock/voBjpcpS">punk</a> and <a href="/facts/New_wave_music/jw9IYpDh">new wave</a> in the 1970s, later playing in a variety of styles that ranged from angular <a href="/facts/Guitar_riff/VgNk7JRt">guitar riffs</a> to elaborately arranged <a href="/facts/Pop_music/kgshFE5B">pop</a>. Partly because the group did not fit into contemporary trends, they achieved only sporadic commercial success in the UK and US, but attracted a considerable <a href="/facts/Cult_following/bzUD4beU">cult following</a>. They have since been recognised for their influence on <a href="/facts/Post-punk/y9REP8za">post-punk</a>, <a href="/facts/Britpop/oENLa3l6">Britpop</a> and later <a href="/facts/Power_pop/Qm1GdDl1">power pop</a> acts.
Partridge and Moulding first met in the early 1970s and subsequently formed a <a href="/facts/Glam_punk/8qUpC3HB">glam</a> outfit with drummer <a href="/facts/Terry_Chambers/04EKsV5R">Terry Chambers</a>. The band's name and line-up changed frequently, and it was not until 1975 that the band was known as XTC. In 1977, the group debuted on <a href="/facts/Virgin_Records/FJy6Thzc">Virgin Records</a> and were subsequently noted for their energetic live performances and their refusal to play conventional punk rock, instead synthesising influences from <a href="/facts/Ska/lswkm6MY">ska</a>, 1960s pop, <a href="/facts/Dub_music/Pb0wQdUK">dub music</a> and <a href="/facts/Avant-garde_music/QbTR6kmJ">avant-garde</a>. The single "<a href="/facts/Making_Plans_for_Nigel/dAfDXsnb">Making Plans for Nigel</a>" (1979) marked their commercial breakthrough and heralded the <a href="/facts/Gated_reverb/GexMMjjR">reverberating drum sound</a> associated with 1980s popular music.
Between 1979 and 1992, XTC had a total of 10 albums and 6 singles that reached the UK top 40, including "<a href="/facts/Sgt._Rock_(Is_Going_to_Help_Me)/Rkl02Bw7">Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)</a>" (1980) and "<a href="/facts/Senses_Working_Overtime/W53TsTXm">Senses Working Overtime</a>" (1982). After 1982's <a href="/facts/English_Settlement/7ws8I8UF">English Settlement</a>, the band stopped <a href="/facts/Concert_tour/QISSIPAD">concert touring</a> and became a studio-based project centred on Partridge, Moulding and guitarist <a href="/facts/Dave_Gregory_(musician)/M9Yk8et5">Dave Gregory</a>. A spin-off group, <a href="/facts/The_Dukes_of_Stratosphear/q2f3hc8V">the Dukes of Stratosphear</a>, was invented as a one-off excursion into 1960s-style <a href="/facts/Psychedelic_music/RkxWNDTa">psychedelia</a>, but as XTC's music evolved, the distinctions between the two bands lessened. XTC continued to produce more <a href="/facts/Progressive_music/NHY3DPem">progressive</a> records, including the albums <a href="/facts/Skylarking/BnDaqdcP">Skylarking</a> (1986), <a href="/facts/Oranges_%26_Lemons_(album)/GXV4rDjs">Oranges & Lemons</a> (1989) and <a href="/facts/Nonsuch_(album)/dvyblmbF">Nonsuch</a> (1992). In the US, "<a href="/facts/Mayor_of_Simpleton/bRqx4kNW">Mayor of Simpleton</a>" (1989) was their highest-charting single, while "<a href="/facts/Dear_God_(XTC_song)/XN52Iugx">Dear God</a>" (1986) was controversial for its <a href="/facts/Antireligion/PUCXdEj0">anti-religious</a> message.

Due to poor management, XTC never received a share of profits from record sales (of which there were millions), nor from touring revenue, forcing them into <a href="/facts/Debt/VDKsvv1q">debt</a> throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, they went on <a href="/facts/Strike_action/aCsc26tR">strike</a> against Virgin, citing an unfair <a href="/facts/Recording_contract/gAshT1Q1">recording contract</a>, and soon extricated themselves from the label. Gregory left the band during the making of <a href="/facts/Apple_Venus_Volume_1/uR7yjE8B">Apple Venus Volume 1</a> (1999), after which the XTC name was used by the duo of Partridge and Moulding. In 2006, Partridge announced that his creative partnership with Moulding had disintegrated, leaving XTC "in the past tense". Moulding and Chambers briefly reunited as the duo <a href="/facts/TC%26I_(band)/1a28HXdw">TC&I</a> in the late 2010s. Partridge and Gregory remain musically active.

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XTC