Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 13
Date: Wednesday, 4 November 1998
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 13
Wednesday, 4 November 1998
Today's Topics:
Rock & Roll Jeopardy
(Fwd) additional gig
xtc on vh1
REMINDER
Book tour
Squeeze My English Beet (ooh-er, missus....)
Re: Interview in Oz
Re: Fannies Girdle the Globe
Re; Can Can
Pre-halloween Yazbekocity...
Q101 mentions XTC
Re: PR Activity
Nigel Wrench in Dixie
Picture This
Book tour? Yowzers!
Nonsuch Demos and The Little Express
Discography Question
Re: XTC Break-up
No news is NOT good news
News from TVT
News from Neville!!!
Manchester Convention
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <19981101160521.20296.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Amanda Owens" <daveizgod@hotmail.com> Subject: Rock & Roll Jeopardy Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 08:05:21 PST See if you can help me out with this clue that was on Rock and Roll Jeopardy on Sunday, I had the damn hardest time figuring it out... Category-Totally 80's Clue-"In 1982, this group's biggest hit was 'Senses Working Overtime'." Well damnit if I didn't hoot with delight at the fact that the Lads were featured, but of course, not one contestant knew the answer. Tis all for now, Amanda C. Owens "People will always be tempted to wipe their feet on anything with welcome written on it."-Andy Partridge XTC song of the day-Spinning Top non XTC song-Jumper-Third Eye Blind
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 15:10:38 -0800 (PST) From: relph (John Relph) Message-Id: <9811011510.ZM36881@mando.engr.sgi.com> Subject: (Fwd) additional gig Recently Russ Reynolds <rreynold@ksjo.com> wrote to say: > >I was perusing your chalkhills gig list and I didn't see any mention of the >show I went to in SF. Black Sea tour, probably right around the UC Davis >gig (early '81). California Hall was the venue. I can't tell you the date >(guest list--no stub to refer to). I *think* wall of voodoo and romeo void >were also on the bill. Maybe you can put out a call to list members for >date verification. Did anybody out there go to this show? If so, can you supply any more information? Thanks! -- John
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 16:15:25 -0800 Subject: xtc on vh1 Message-ID: <19981101.161527.14110.0.deuchars@juno.com> From: deuchars@juno.com (jim d deuchars) hey chalkfolk! Our lads made vh1 this weekend, coming up as a question on "Rock & Roll Jeopardy". The category was 80's music. The answer was: Had the 1982 hit "Senses Working Overtime." No one got it right. No one even tried. love, deuchars
------------------------------ Date: 2 Nov 98 11:16:10 AED From: PCulnane@dca.gov.au Subject: REMINDER Message-ID: <0000txphxdzn.0000sgmiogyw@dca.gov.au> Just a reminder: The 3-hour XtC special, featuring lenghty interviews with Andy Partridge and Terry Chambers, will air on Andrew Lambkin's CONTACT! program on Wednesday, 11th November, from 9.00pm. Tune in to Sydney radio 2RDJ-FM at 88.1Mhz. The CONTACT! program is relayed to other stations Australia-wide on the ComRadSat network (check your local affiliate station to see if they carry the show). You're in for a treat, Aussie fans! >>From: Mandy Taylor <mandyt@central.susx.ac.uk> Subject: c30 c60 c90 go Will someone please do the decent thing and just bloody bootleg the Australian 3 hour extravaganza? I'd be happy to be exploited and pay a hefty load for it.<< Mandy (and others with similar ideas), there will probably be a "tape tree" available to Chalkhills folk; of the whole show - I will make these available as soon as I get the masters, so keep your eye out for an announcement in Chalkhills. On the matter of "exploitation", well I expect that fans who listen to the program will naturally bung in a tape or two to capture it, and if somebody wants to sell or swap copies among their friends, then so be it - I'd probably do the same. But it would disappoint me if someone chose to start selling this material for two main reasons: 1) Andy himself has allowed us to play a couple of the demos for the new album. Somebody making money (as distinct from just trading tapes) would be exploiting Andy his intellectual property and his generosity. 2) It was me who put this whole thing together, at considerable personal expense. As the initial "brief" to mount this interview was on the basis that I would secure as much promotional coverage for "Song Stories" in Australia, I've gone one step further, and have arranged to share this stuff with as many fans as possible. That's why the *full* transcript of the interview will shortly be available on Mark Strijbos' The Little Lighthouse website. And, as I say, a "tape tree" will be arranged in late November. I appreciate your enthusiasm, Mandy, and hope you eventually get the opportunity to hear the show. But I'd also appreciate it if people could be patient, and would respect the rights of the copyright holders, i.e. Andy and myself, by not exploiting this material unduly. Oh, and there's no musical content in the show that isn't fairly easy to obtain by other means. Thanks for reading, and....enjoy! ~p@ul culnane
------------------------------ From: Jdmack01@aol.com Message-ID: <2c2e2f15.363d1b55@aol.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 21:39:17 EST Subject: Book tour I called Hyperion Publishing on Friday, and talked to Mary Ann in their publicity department. She said that no date or location had been set yet for a book signing, but there would definitely only be one signing somewhere in New York City. Any other U.S. publicity stops would be through TVT. I haven't had a chance to call them yet (and I doubt I will - week from hell coming up). J.D. Mack P.S. - Did you know that Hyperion Publishing is a division of Disney Publishing?
------------------------------ From: Iain_Murray@hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au Message-Id: <4A2566B0.001EB3F7.00@ncc-notes.hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 15:35:20 +1000 Subject: Squeeze My English Beet (ooh-er, missus....) Rob Crawford wrote in #5-12 about The Beat being referred to as The English Beat. The same goes for Squeeze - at least in Australia, they were always called "U.K.Squeeze". I always assumed this was because there was another band working in Australia who had rights to the same name, but "U.K. Squeeze" are the only Squeeze I've ever heard of. Was this the same in America and other non-British places?
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 10:40:01 +0000 (GMT) From: Mandy Taylor <mandyt@central.susx.ac.uk> Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.96.981102103257.26798C-100000@sunx1.central.susx.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Interview in Oz hey guys, I just had a lovely e-mail off ~p@ul culnane (funny name) telling me to hold on tight about the Australian interview and that NO-ONE is going to be exploited. Anyone doing so would be unfair to both p@ul and Andy P. And the buyer, of course. That's the ticket! Stay shrewd, Mandy
------------------------------ From: R.Crawford@mgn.co.uk Message-ID: <802566B0.003C2DD2.00@mgnmail4.mgn.co.uk> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 10:50:04 +0000 Subject: Re: Fannies Girdle the Globe >From: Melsta@aol.com >Subject: While we are waiting >I was quite shocked, I can tell you. Fanny is such an innocent little word >around here. It's a woman's _name_ for godssakes! What can you people over >think about the fact that we have a confectionary chain called "Fanny >Farmer"? Or the expression "sweet Fanny Adams"? (Not that I'm all that sure >what that means, but I heard it on the Simpsons once.) Well sweet Fanny Adams is easy, Sweet Fu*k All, or SFA >From: CCooli9575@aol.com >Subject: Rush, Roads Girdle The Globe Hmmm, major hack and slash job here. >On a more interesting note, I found in a bargain bin a CD of Dave Stewart >& Barbara Gaskin's album >Thomas Dolby's "Leipzig" I prefer this version to Dolbys >"The Siamese Cat Song" from 101 Dalmatians, Lesley Gore's "It's My Party," Hmmm I think it may be Lady & the Tramp, as I have watched 101 Dalmations over 100 times (really), and their version of It's my Party, really sums up foggy Autumn in my misspent youth. Of course Dave Stewart produced some of Peter Blegvads album The Naked Shakespear. I remember buying my girlfriend (now my wife), that album when it came out, and the shock I received when I saw that AP had produced it and CM had played on it. Rob...
------------------------------ Message-Id: <s63d98b7.057@parliament.uk> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 11:33:26 +0000 From: Dominic Lawson <LAWSOND@parliament.uk> Subject: Re; Can Can Rob says: >>on the subject of Andys taste in music, in early interviews he was >>always mentioning a Can album My guess would be that it was "Ege Bamyasi", easily the best of the pre-jazzwank Can albums. "Tago Mago" is another possibility, but I would have thought the former was more obviously "funky" on the whole. Buy both of them just to be sure... Harrison pipes up with: >>I don't know which was tougher--getting a word in >>edgewise through the brittle banter, so reminiscent of the Algonquin Round >>Table in its heyday, or the Yankee Pot Roast I ordered. Firstly, I find the idea of Harrison struggling to get a word in edgewise (or edgeways if you'd rather use the right word) fairly hysterical. Nearly choked on my conceit. Secondly, you fucking wish, pal. Alexander Woollcott would have chewed you up and spat you out as if you were mere muesli and the fact that you even attempt such a comparison just goes to show that you're probably a Marx Bros fan and therefore an intelligent and cultured kinda guy. Oops, that didn't go to plan.........shit. Melissa announces: >>I can tell you. Fanny is such an innocent little word >>around here Apparently so. This reminds me of an episode of "Miami Vice" which I failed to avoid a few years back. It co-starred the spew-inducing Phil Collins (whose new album title "Hits" must be the ultimate in telling anagrams - a bad joke, but a necessary one), a thespian titan in his own bigoted and imagination-free brain, as some kind of "crook" (fellow Brits will confirm how implausible this casting was for the diminuitive, cash-loving spunkbubble). Anyway, the point is that during the ensuing "drama", Phil called someone a "wanker", not a word we would expect to hear on TV before 10pm in this country, and received only the slightest of reactions from his American co-stars. Bizarre. If it had been me, I'd have punched his stupid face off. Does this mean that "wanker" is an acceptable word in America, or just that the concept of masturbation has been purged by years of brainless evangelical fearmongering? Just wondering...... Oh, and finally... Many thanks to everyone for sharing the best bits of "Song Stories" with us. That's saved me a tenner. Only kidding, of course - I shall be buying it soon, but evidently not as soon as most of you. Are you all hugely overpaid or what? Maybe I'm hanging around with the wrong social group, but most people I know earn a pittance. All this "I rushed out and bought it" bollocks suggests that you're either credit-card crazy (and let's face it, if you're American this is pretty likely), talented shoplifters, or lying bastards. Just try to leave some bits of it for me to read when I eventually scrape enough pennies together. Thank you, you're very kind. Dom.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <C4D3F9980FD4D111892B00805FBBF5D1EC0C72@MAILSVR1> From: "Lieman, Ira" <ilieman@lernerny.com> Subject: Pre-halloween Yazbekocity... Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 08:43:12 -0500 Good Monday Morning, Chalkfolk... Yazbek played in New Yawk City on Friday 10/30 and a good time was had by all. His Urban Blight Horns really added to the mix -- it was the first time this 'hillian has seen them perform with the fedora'ed one. One of thousands of highlights of this show was the presence of one Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies, and the deepest singing voice in North America) who came on to sing "Schmuck In A Vacuum" off Yazbek's latest and greatest, "Tock." It was a shame the concert couldn't have gone on all night...but then I would have missed my last bus home and that would have made me a very unhappy camper. Sean Altman played after Yazbek...but I had to make my bus and I was upset I had to miss him this time around. Obligatory XTC Content: NO JOKE...I had a dream last night that Colin Moulding was in my parents' living room talking to my father when I stopped by to visit...then I was kidnapped and sent to England by some secret police agency who had to make sure that their population remained constant and since Colin was no longer there I had to take his place for the meantime. THIS IS NO JOKE...IT REALLY HAPPENED THIS MORNING and I woke up at 6:0something before my alarm went off and wondered where my tea was. If anyone present has the ability to interpret this dream please e-mail me privately. I'm now going to get a refill on my Prozac. -ira
------------------------------ From: MPadg@aol.com Message-ID: <fec23b1e.363ddb57@aol.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 11:18:31 EST Subject: Q101 mentions XTC This weekend a DJ for Q101, the local franchise-alternative radio station in Chicago, was promoting their Twisted Christmas show. He noted that there were no "retro" acts on the bill as there had been in past years. He then added that there should be some good retro acts in their big show next summer because the Original members of Blondie will be touring and -- XTC should be touring. I can't remember the exact words, but that was the gist of it. At least this means the station might actually play something from Apple Venus when it comes out. >The Rush Limbaugh show on 10/20 used the intro from "Generals and Majors" >when they were coming back from a commercial break. >Frightened, >Wes A few weeks earlier, he used Marilyn Manson for an intro.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <TFSLGDCA@ubk.net>> From: Jonathan Monnickendam <monnickj@ubk.net> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 14:14:20 +0000 Subject: Re: PR Activity >>..if Xtc are going to be awkward and do interviews for GLR and not the rest of the country (so near yet so far), and US book tours...I *knew* there'd be heartache when they came back. You bet ! Anybody know whether all this PR activity in US and Australia (relative to the UK) reflects the sales of Nonsuch ? >>BTw on the subject of Andys taste in music, in early interviews he was always mentioning a Can album, with a quote along the lines of; 'It was frightlingly funky, like a tribe of Zulus'. He was always neglected to say which Can album, can anybody name it ? I would go for Tago Mago, sides 2 & 3, difficult listening, though I would recommend Ege Bamyasi to the uninitiated). For Canfans you should check your local record store for 'Radio Waves', 70 mins of early Can on an unknown record label yet freely available from HMV Oxford St. SonG StorieS CoveR I am at the start of the book and enjoying it. Who worked on the cover ? A picture of 3 middle aged men in drab clothing on a dark red background hardly reflects the humour inside. More O&L or Dukes style would have been my choice, or simply the 3 men crossing the road with a reliant robin registation number TC 15 0Z or something similar in the background. Yeah i know it was a difficult time etc... jon * --------------------------------------------------------------- The views expressed are of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The United Bank of Kuwait PLC. * ---------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199811021943.OAA15134@mail.bna.bellsouth.net> From: "RoadKill" <csberry@mail.bna.bellsouth.net> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 13:47:29 +0000 Subject: Nigel Wrench in Dixie >The Rush Limbaugh show on 10/20 used the intro from "Generals and >Majors" when they were coming back from a commercial break. >Frightened, >Wes Oh, yeah! Well, when the BBC's Nigel Wrench came to the morning show I produce here in Nashville last week, I played a version of "English Roundabout" that I had cut to fit the lyric after a :10 intro. He barely twitched, but he wasn't the most hyperactive of fellows. We did have fun w/ him, though. I wrote up some southern phrases for him to say: "I reckon y'all are hankerin' for some vittles" and "Go fetch my shotgun from the pickup" were two of my favorites. Whenever Nigel tried the southern accent he ended up sounding Scandinavian...Hmmmmmmmm. Cory
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199811022002.VAA28591@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 20:53:45 +0000
Subject: Picture This
Dear Chalkers,
My American friend Dan Meier kindly donated a nice picture of our
Heroes live on stage in San Franciso.
As far as i've been able to determine the only show they've
ever done in S.F. was at the Old Waldorf on February the 25th
of 1980 so this picture must've been taken on that night.
If anyone knows they did other shows in S.F. please let me know
Anyway, it's a great picture and it's on display now at my site
( http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/pg.html )
Lady Cornelia and all others who worship in the Church of Dave take
note: the gentle guitar god's got facial hair in this picture :)
yours in xtc,
Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse
http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/
or http://come.to/xtc
------------------------------ From: LadyCPlum@aol.com Message-ID: <94ba7971.363e3050@aol.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 17:21:04 EST Subject: Book tour? Yowzers! Twould be nice if they could get down to New Orleans, but of course, most sorry Louisianians probably think XTC named themselves after a drug, if they even know who they are. On the plus note, I managed to win three free months of Mindspring net service from our wonderful alternative station, 106.7 The End. I was the only person who knew which band XTC had been most recently collaborating on songs with. (That'd be the Verve Pipe.) Tis all for now, Amanda XTC song of the day-The Good Things non XTC song-My Own Sunrise-Crash Test Dummies
------------------------------ Message-ID: <363E4D68.48BC9CD2@earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 16:25:12 -0800 From: KenL <herne@earthlink.net> Subject: Nonsuch Demos and The Little Express Hi folks.... Just managed to score a copy of the Japanese Ep of the Nonsuch demos. I was surprised at how similar they were to the final versions. A brief review: Peter Pumpkinhead---without the "Let's Begin bit". Still my least favorite XTC song. the Smartest Monkeys---close to final version. Nothing special leaps out. Down A Peg---I'm rather fond of this one. Sounds lyrically the flip-side of Limelight. Once he was "big on my block now". Now he's been brought down a peg and is happier for it. I think this could have subbed for Wardance or Smartest Monkeys on the LP. My Bird Performs---Again close to the final but you can tell there are a few places that were sweetened in the LP version. Always Winter Never Christmas---Great title but the song doesn't do much for me. Not yet anyway. On another note. So far nobody has really mentioned the latest Little Express and its thorough detailing of Dave's departure. They interview the band and follow the time line. Very informative and of course...a bummer. Hadyn Bendal's comments regarding "creating" vs. "interpreting" seemed to offer a reasonable theory behind the friction in the band. Do a lot of people on this list get LE? If not, you should. It comes out once in a blue moon but it is informative and insightful. You should pick up the new one if only to see what Lady Cornelius Plum (aka AMANDA) looks like. She is seen happily clutching her copy of REMOULDS. Speaking of which, everytime someone posts a link to hear some RealAudio or whatever of DG stuff, it doesn't work. What am I doing wrong? Cheers, KL
------------------------------ From: Jdmack01@aol.com Message-ID: <b613fc4e.363efaeb@aol.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 07:45:31 EST Subject: Discography Question Dear Prudence, I have a tape of "Nonsuch" demos that were broadcast on WFMU in 1991. The DJ mentions that a flexi-disc of "Then She Appeared" and "It's Snowing Angels" was to have been included in an issue of "Strange Things Are Happening" magazine. I seem to remember reading somwhere that this magazine was never issued. Does anyone know if this flexi was ever released? I can't find anything about it in the Chalkhills discography. J.D. Mack
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 11:33:36 -0800 (PST) From: Stephen Mahoney <stephenm@nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us> Subject: Re: XTC Break-up Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.4.02.9811031128380.2487-100000@nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us> I was a little too depressed to read on - after hearing about the break-up of xtc.......but apparently colin and andy are back together? this is good! and am I to understand some tracks have actually been completed for the new album? a new book??? a book tour???? okay-hope is not lost! I think the new album will be completed the same day as the release of the new kubrick film.cheers all, Stephen Mahoney Rockwood branch library Clerk 248-5396 stephenm@nethost.multnomah.co.lib.or.us WE ALL COME FROM SLIME. a pagan musican speaking to a fundamentalist son at a wedding he played at.
------------------------------ From: Melsta@aol.com Message-ID: <404fbce2.363f780d@aol.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 16:39:25 EST Subject: No news is NOT good news Hi all-- Me again. Yes, I'm still obsessing over this possible US promotional tour. In my never-ending quest to find out whether I'll get to meet my heroes soon, I have bothered all sorts of people, and nobody knows anything. I started with the original poster of the news, the inimitable Simon Sleightholm, talked to my local Borders (mega book/CD chain for those outside the US), they gave me Hyperion's number, they gave me TVT's number. As of right now, from those horses' mouths, nothing is in the works through those channels. I know no one out there is sitting on information, trying to keep it from us loyal fans. So I'll just sit tight, secure in my faith that we 'Hillians will be the first to know. Transistor Blast is delayed here until the 24th. Has it been released anywhere yet? Much to look forward to. --Melissa "Still frothing" Reaves
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 17:10:33 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199811040110.RAA02189@mando.engr.sgi.com> From: John Relph <relph> Subject: News from TVT Folks! The news is that there is NO promotional tour planned (just the one appearence in NYC). The other news is that _Transistor Blast_ is now scheduled for release on 24 November in the USA. TVT Records now has a website for XTC at http://www.tvtrecords.com/xtc and there you can find the full track listing for _Transistor Blast_ (and some artwork, too). Looks like you can also get a discount if you pre-order the set directly from TVT Records. I'm still hoping TVT Records will try to organize a signing tour for the book, the box, or the forthcoming album... -- John
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 22:46:33 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <v03007803b26525e339bb@[209.86.130.147]> From: Mitch Friedman <mitchf@mindspring.com> Subject: News from Neville!!! It's sad that the book had to end when it did. Andy felt that it would take at least six months for him to know what his songs really meant and I was worried that the final running order wouldn't match my list. In any event, Haydn Bendall's early departure for other projects left a hiatus with Nick Davies stepping in to salvage the mixes once more. Tonight, in the luxurious mastering suites of Metropolis in West London's leafy suburb of Chiswick, Tim Young, ably interfered with by messers Partridge, Moulding, Davies and various lesser lifeforms such as myself and guitar-maker to the stars, Dennis Fano, tweaked and teased eleven tracks into a glorious whole - THAT IS GLORIOUS "W"HOLE oh naughty-minded chalkie-hill folk! - And now, subject to Andy's whims about the positioning of Your Dictionary, here is the first final line- up of "Apple Venus" 1. RIVER OF ORCHIDS - the most curious, stumbling and gobsmacking entree to an album ever 2. I'D LIKE THAT - cute and cuddly with cosy Englishness up until it's cod- flamenco clapping conclusion 3. EASTER THEATRE - Lush and overwhelming, I'm speechless! 4. KNIGHTS IN SHINING KHARMA - Effortlessly beautiful, silky and seductive 5. FRIVOLOUS TONIGHT - Colin's clear imagery and gentle humour remains honest from the demo to the master. This is real Colin without Partridgeal molestation. 6. GREEN MAN - Massive and gorgeous and quite astounding. Awash with Abbey Road orchestrations (the studio not the album) 7. YOUR DICTIONARY - Bitter and heartbreaking, Kleenex at the ready, lump in throat 8. FRUIT NUT - Again Colin breaks the Moulding and takes us back to salad days and Syd Barrett, right down to the Arnold Layne/BBC Radiophonic cadence. 9. I CAN'T OWN HER - And I can't understand how they do this. Sweet strings and ethereal things. 10. HARVEST FESTIVAL - If you wonder, the opening noise is (suppose to be) children standing in school assembly for their harvest festival. A wonderful wonderful wonderful recording close to the demo but bigger and better. 11. THE LAST BALLOON - Careful enunciation of "climb aboard...you women" as it should be. Sad and vast with melancholy trumpet solo and a long and drifting exit. Chris Ingam of Mojo magazine was there for the early part of the day and said to me as he left, "This is the only real example of pop genius we have in this country at the moment. If only people would realise it." I couldn't put it better myself. All the best Neville Farmer
------------------------------ Message-ID: <000401be081a$4f02ad60$df0417d4@default> From: "Steve Jackson" <smj@zen.co.uk> Subject: Manchester Convention Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 17:40:20 -0000 I've not said much up to now but I was just wondering if anyone on the list ever attended any of the XTC conventions that were held in Manchester, England. They were all organised by a bloke called Paul Wilde and the most memorable one lasted 3 days. Some poor guy flew in all the way from Tokyo to arrive on the second day and sleep through most of the convention events. I had a particularly good time because, somehow, Mr Wilde had in meetings with Andy, managed to secure the instrumental backing tapes for some of the songs off Oranges and Lemons....by performing an appalling Karaoke rendition of One of the Millions, I won a fully signed American promo poster for the album which now adorns my kitchen wall. There were also other goodies, like having a strum on Andy's guitar (the one featured on the back cover of O&L) and an exclusive home-shot video of 3 songs (which , I think, were "Humble Daisy", "Where did the Ordinary People go?" and one called "Hey Goosey Goosey" (?) Was anyone here, there? A lot of people have mentioned how they got into XTC, so.....I was 12 years old and I went into a Welsh record shop and bought 2 singles "Questions and Answers" by Sham 69 and "Making Plans for Nigel" From that point I used to pretend I was in the band, played air guitar in my bedroom and imagined I sang Andy's backing vocals "Innnn his woooork " (which I thought was "In his world" but , hey, I was 12....and I didn't know who Andy was anyway) . Next single of theirs I bought was "Sgt Rock" . I didn't *really* discover them until the 5th year at school but I've made up for it since. The drumming on MPFN ( and Adam and the Ants) is why I became a drummer. (My mother was always finding knitting needles under my bed...I think she may have thought there was something wrong with me) There was a time when I believed Terry Chambers was a god and I was really chuffed that my girlfriend of the time really fancied him.... BTW... Years ago, whilst in Paris, I bought the XTC compilation "The tiny circus of Life" which was sold as a resume a prelude to Nonsuch. It was limited to 3000 copies. Although I doubt I'd sell it, the mercenary in me would like to know if it's actually worth anything as a collectable.... Cheers, Steve.
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