History Music / XTC

* AffectionateParody: The Duke of Stratosphear incarnation was a faithful recreation of British pyschedelic music in TheSixties, GratuitousPanning and all.

The band's other two initial members were keyboardist Barry Andrews (who left after two albums in 1979 and was replaced by Gregory), and drummer Terry Chambers (who left in 1983 when the band's retirement from touring severely cut into his income, and was replaced by a series of session men). Can anyone say [[ThePeteBest "Pete Best"]]?

* ''Drums and Wires'' (1979) - first album with Gregory

* ''English Settlement'' (1982)
* ''Mummer'' (1983) - NewSoundAlbum, marked their definitive break with Music/NewWave
* ''The Big Express'' (1984)
* ''25 O'Clock'' EP (1985) - The Dukes of Stratosphear release
* ''Music/{{Skylarking}}'' (1986)
* ''Psonic Psunspot'' (1987) - The Dukes of Stratosphear release

* ''Oranges & Lemons'' (1989)
* ''Nonsuch'' (1992)
* ''Apple Venus Volume 1'' (1999) - last album with Gregory, who left midway through recording
* ''Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)'' (2000)

* CoverVersion: They covered "All Along the Watchtower" on ''White Music'' and "Ella Guru" on the obscure CaptainBeeheart tribute album ''Fast N' Bulbous''.

* {{Garfunkel}}: Both played straight and averted with David Gregory. Though he didn't write songs, he contributed a lot to the group's distinctive sound.
** Played completely straight with Terry Chambers, however.

* WallOfText: The cover of ''Go 2'' designed by famed art collective Hipgnosis (of Music/PinkFloyd fame), which says this, verbatim:

* ControlFreak: According to Partridge, ToddRundgren was one during the ''Skylarking'' sections. He'd already worked out which songs he was going to use from the demos he made them send ahead of their arrival to the studio., and also had a running order before the band started recording.

* CoverVersion: They covered "All Along the Watchtower" on ''White Music''.

* ControlFreak: According to Partridge, ToddRundgren was one during the ''Skylarking'' sections. He'd already worked out which songs he was going to use from the demos he made them send ahead of their arrival to the studio., and also had a running order before the band started recording.

XTC were a [[LongRunner long-running]] cult favourite AlternativeRock band from Swindon, active between 1976-2005 and highly worth checking out. The band had the following core members:

* InTheStyleOf: "Battery Brides" is done in the style of Brian Eno, if the "(Andy Paints Brian)" subtitle was too subtle.

* ''Mummer'' (1983) - NewSoundAlbum, marked their definitive break with NewWave

XTC throughout their existence were based around the two main songwriters, Partridge and Moulding. Their initial style was a frantic, hyperactive variation of NewWave that added in elements of {{Funk}}, PunkRock, {{Ska}} and {{Reggae}}. This [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly stylistic fusion]] found favour with the contemporary PunkRock movement, and the band gained some success with its first two albums.

** Not to mention the two they made as the Dukes of Stratosphear: "The Mole from the Ministry" is very much an AffectionateParody of MagicalMysteryTour and "You're a Good Man Albert Brown" is a psychedelic Punch and Judy show.

* WallOfText: The cover of ''Go 2'' designed by famed art collective Hipgnosis (of PinkFloyd fame), which says this, verbatim:

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xtc.jpg
[[caption-width:500:Left to Right: Gregory, Partridge and Moulding]]

-->''Drowning here in summer's cauldron''
-->''Under mats of flower lava''
-->''Please don't pull me out, this is how I would want to go''
-->XTC, "Summer's Cauldron"

Benefitting from renewed attention, XTC managed to revive their commercial fortunes with their next two energetic PsychedelicRock albums, ''Oranges and Lemons'' and ''Nonsuch'', gaining three more hit singles from them: "The Mayor of Simpleton" and "King for a Day" from the former and "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" from the latter. However, they became embroiled in a long contractual dispute with their label Virgin Records and went "on strike" until they were released from their contract in 1998.

* ''{{Skylarking}}'' (1986)

!XTC provide examples of the following tropes:
* AbusiveParents: The song "Runaways" gives them a kind of sympathetic, rueful context.

* AlbumTitleDrop: ''Oranges & Lemons'' is named after a lyric from "Ballet for a Rainy Day", a song on their previous album, ''Skylarking'', and it doubles as a reference to the old eponymous nursery rhyme. ''Nonsuch'' is titled from a lyric in "Chalkhills and Children" from ''Oranges & Lemons''. To top it all off, ''Apple Venus'' is named after a lyric in "Then She Appeared" from ''Nonsuch''.
** Andy has since admitted that the first two instances were unintentional, but after fans repeatedly pointed them out he decided to use a lyric from a previous album as the title of ''Apple Venus'' on purpose.

* CreatorBacklash: Initially Partridge resented ''Skylarking'', due to Todd Rundgren's JerkAss working style and TroubledProduction. In a rare example of VindicatedByHistory with a creator, Andy later said the album was "a summer's day baked into a cake."
** He also said he wishes he never wrote "Another Satellite", but not because of quality, but because it offended his partner and damaged their relationship for a while.
* CreatorBreakdown: Despite struggling not to do it, Partridge wrote "Your Dictionary" from ''Apple Venus'' about his divorce from his wife Marianne.
** And, of course, Partridge's severe [[PerformanceAnxiety stage fright]], which caused him to collapse on stage, forcing the band off the road.

* (Hilariously) SillyLoveSongs: "My Love Explodes", "Stupidly Happy", "Rocket from a Bottle", "The Loving".
** Don't forget "Then She Appeared" and "That Wave".
*** And "You're The Wish You Are I Had".
* SlobsVersusSnobs / StepfordSuburbia: "Respectable Street".

* ''Skylarking'' (1986)

* ContemptibleCover: The original artwork for ''Skylarking'', rejected by Virgin and used for the 2010 remaster, featuring a shot of female pubic hair with flowers.

* WordSaladLyrics

Around the same time, XTC recorded some outright PsychedelicRock parodies, under their alter egos The Dukes of Stratosphear. As The Dukes, the band released an EP, ''25 O'Clock'' (1985), and an album, ''Psionic Psunspot'' (1987), where they were all credited under StageNames (Partridge was Sir John Johns, Moulding was The Red Curtain and Gregory was Lord Cornelius Plum) and did their damnedest to pass the material off as [[{{Retraux}} genuine Sixties psychedelia]]. The EP and album were initially available on vinyl only, but simultaneous with the album the two were compiled as ''Chips from the Chocolate Fireball'' on CD only. It wasn't until 2009 that the original works were released on CD separately, with bonus tracks and credited to XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear.

* CreatorBacklash: Initially Partridge hated the production of ''Skylarking'', due to Todd Rundgren's JerkAss working style. In a rare example of VindicatedByHistory with a creator, Andy later said the album was "a summer's day baked into a cake."

* KidsRock: Todd Rundgren got the daughter of a friend to sing the first stanza and last line of "Dear God".