| What's Old? |
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- Headline News
- The most important recent developments.
- Other News
- Other recent changes and additions to Chalkhills and new XTC pages on the
web.
- What's Old
- Not-so-recent changes, going back to 1996.
These are old What's New entries going all
the way back to July 1996, archived for your edification.
2008
- February 9:
- Ever wondered who created the MIDI for “Scissor
Man”? Me, too. Until today, when I received a message from
long-time Chalkhills subscriber Ed Daranciang. It was he.
- February 3:
- XTC Fans: Andy sees “Red”.
- February 2:
- Listen to “Senses Working Overtime”
and “The Loving”, the latest efforts
from Aceofwands.
- January 24:
- Kay Stracey tells us to go Ask
Andy.
- January 20:
- Aceofwands strikes again: “Extrovert”, “I
Gave My Suitcase Away” and “Train
Running Low on Soul Coal”.
- The XTC Fans song of the week is “2
Rainbeau Melt”. See if you can find the pot of gold.
- January 13:
- Dave
Gregory remembers the song for last week: “Complicated
Game” (at the XTC Fans MySpace).
- January 12:
- Per Aronsson contributed three new pics: Colin Moulding's Canadian Drums and
Wires gold record and Steve Taylor's Diſappointed
promotional counter stand and collection of promo
bits.
- January 8:
- Aceofwands is back with “Dame
Fortune” and “Humble
Daisy”.
- January 6:
- The song of the week is “Complicated
Game”. Play it.
- January 2:
- Aceofwands has too much time on his hands, and as evidence, I present
“English Roundabout”.
2007
- December 30:
- Aceofwands swished and flicked and what to my wandering eye did appear
but a cyclops tied to a rock, but everybody knows her as “Little Lighthouse”.
- December 28:
- J. D. Mack sent in scans from the December 1968 issue of Monkees
Monthly including the cover and a caricature of Mickey
Dolenz by young Andrew Partridge.
- Aceofwands has covered “Obscene
Procession”.
- December 26:
- Ace recorder Aceofwands, live from Bumfuqh, Egypt, submits “Difficult Age”.
- December 23:
- Andy discusses “Always
Winter, Never Christmas”.
- December 21:
- Apple Venus Vol. 1 is a “Classic
Pick” at The College Crowd Digs Me.
- December 17:
- More sounds from the anonymous Aceofwands: “All of a Sudden (It's Too Late)” and
“Love on a Farmboy's Wages”.
- More sounds from the anonymous Sgt. Rock: “Crowded Room”,
“Atom Age”, “Yacht Dance” and “This World Over”.
- December 10:
- The prolific Aceofwands continues making his many
covers of XTC and Andy Partridge songs available.
- Oh, and Happy Dec-10!
- December 9:
- The XTC Fans's song for the weak is “Towers
of London”. La la Londinium!
- December 7:
- Dave Mallow notes: “Scott Mervis with the Pittsburgh Post
Gazette recently interviewed Todd Rundgren about ‘the three
signature records in his production catalog’. Interesting to
hear a current take on the oft-discussed Skylarking
sessions. . .”
- December 5:
- Aceofwands is now letting us hear his covers of “No Thugs In Our House”, “Everything” and “Runaways”.
- December 4:
- Kim Simpson released his acoustic cover of “Snowman” on his Big Surprise EP in
March 2007. Enjoy!
- Aceofwands has recorded numerous covers of XTC and
Andy Partridge songs.
- December 1:
- Henry Albert Sebastopol Queen Victoria Crun sent in a scan of the purple
and green cover of his Japanese CD of Through the Hill.
- November 25:
- Paste Magazine has some interesting features, including “XTC's
Andy Partridge - Senses Working Overtime” and “Paste's
100 Best Living Songwriters: The List”. The latter also comes
with a podcast featuring an interview with Andy Partridge: “Paste
Magazine Culture Club Episode 19: Paul McCartney, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and
XTC's Andy Partridge - Special 100 Best Living Songwriters
Episode”.
- The XTC Fans song of the week is “Church
of Women”. Worship today.
- November 24:
- Have you enjoyed “The XTC
X-perience”?
- Stuff-Em-Up the hill backwards features a number of “Tape
Archive” features, including “The
Dukes Of Stratosphear Interview 1985”, “XTC
Interview 1984 Part1” and “Part2”.
- November 20:
- Here's an article entitled “Dave
Gregory - XTC's Axe Toting Genius” from The GigRig.
- Read “XTC -
Towers of London”, an extensive piece in Dancing About
Architecture.
- November 19:
- aggregät 4/5/6 presents an
analysis of “No Thugs in Our House”.
- November 17:
- I have attempted to compile an exhaustive XTC covers list. If you
have corrections or other additional information, please let me
know.
- November 12:
- Monstrance reviewed: Cyclic
Defrost.
- November 11:
- The Song of the Day is “This
Is Pop”. Help spread the word!
- Lêa says, “Lay your head on the-strip-arte.blogspot.com to see an
illustrated birthday greenman”.
- November 2:
GHP Complete Complete: Volumes 13-16 of GHP Complete
are now available from Go
Home Productions. GHP Complete CD13: ‘Official Remixes Vol
1’ includes David Bowie vs XTC: “I'm Afraid of Making
Plans for Americans” which samples, remixes and otherwise folds,
spindles and mutilates, in a good way, XTC's “Making Plans for
Nigel” and Bowie's “I'm Afraid of Americans”. Download
your copy today!
- November 1:
- Darlene Love covers “Thanks For Christmas” on her album It's Christmas, Of Course.

- October 31:
Everything New is Old Again: Work continues apace on 11 Modern Antiquities,
the forthcoming album from Pugwash. Dave Gregory played on their 2006
Christmas single Tinsel & Marzipan, and it is rumoured that
Pugwash was also the backing band on the last XTC single, Where Did the Ordinary People
Go?. In any case, Andy Partridge has co-written two of the
tracks (“My Genius” and “At The Sea”) with
Pugwash main man Thomas Walsh, and we believe Partridge also plays guitar
on one or more of the tracks. You can hear an excerpt from a rough mix
of “My Genius” on the new 11 Modern Antiquities MySpace page.
- October 29:
- The song of the week over at XTC Fans is “Chalkhills
and Children”, the song that gave this website its name.
- October 14:
- The XTC Fans song of the week is “Great
Fire”. Burn.
- October 8:
- Tor Lier found lip-sync video of “The Meeting
Place” from The Tube, 1987, on YouTube.
- October 5:
- Bill Wikstrom points out that the new print issue of Filter magazine has
interviews with Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory in their tribute article
entitled “Permanent Bliss: The Immutable Pleasures of
XTC”. Scan, anyone?
- Swindon Advertiser says “Music
fans will be in XTC” at 12 Bar on September 29. Well,
September 29 has come and gone. How was it?
- October 4:
Pour a Glass of Fine Wires: Fine
Wires Humming A New Song, the new EP from Monstrance,
recorded especially for Stuart Maconie's
Freak Zone show on BBC
6 Music, is now available for download from APE House Records. An animated video for
“I Lovely Cosmonaut” (from the Monstrance album) is
also included.
- October 3:
- Autumn's here and the time is right for dishing up a treat: “Autumn
Almanac Pt. 1” (Planet Mondo).
- October 1:
- “Then She Appeared” is the XTC Fans Song
of the Week.
- September 22:
Mark of Go Home Productions (XTC
fan and remixer extraordinaire) writes: “‘Bootlegs’
have been fun but have become less spontaneous for me in 2007.
‘Mashed’ was initially an exciting project/prospect but 3
years took its toll and really watered it down to the laughing stock that
it was.” So Mark “put a lid on this particular GHP
chapter” and released GHP Complete, the first 12 of
16 mp3 compilation albums now online. “Basically all the bootlegs
from 2002-2007. Unofficial Remixes. Rarities and Unreleased.”
Including many tracks which sample or remix XTC. Download yours
today.
- September 16:
- “Meccanik Dancing” is the XTC Fans song
of the week.
- September 15:
- Fossil Fuel reviewed: Les
Inrockuptibles, and you can also read about “L'Affaire
Louis Trio - Trois hommes et un Colin”.
- September 10:
- Pitchfork reviews Apple
Box.
- Being There thinks “Getting to Know:
XTC” is a good idea.
- Apple Venus Vol. 1 reviewed: Tokyo
Weekender · La
T-Calf.
- September 2:
- The Song
of the Week is “Summer's Cauldron” over at the XTC
Fans blog.
- August 26:
- XTC Fans Song of the Week: “All
of a Sudden (It's Too Late)”.
- Check out “La
verdad brillando como el sol...”, a piece of art inspired by
“I Bought Myself A Liarbird” at the-Strip-ARTE!.
- Paul Margach pitched a concept to the publishers of the 33 1/3 book series, but it
was rejected.
- August 17:
- MIT's The Tech reviews Beeswax:
Some B-Sides 1977-1982, Waxworks:
Some Singles 1977-1982, Skylarking,
Mummer,
and Fast
'N' Bulbous (which includes XTC's cover of “Ella
Guru”).
- August 14:
- Monstrance reviewed: Alternative
Press.
- August 5:
- “Greenman”
is the MySpace XTC Fans song of the week.
- August 1:
12 Bar, 179 Westcott Place,
Swindon, has been booked to host an XTC-themed event on Saturday 29
September. The
Shebeats and The Fuzzy Warblers are scheduled to appear.
(The SundayDogs
unfortunately will not be able to perform.)
- July 23:
- The XTC Fans Song of the Week is “Real
by Reel”.
- July 12:
Monstrance will be playing live on Stuart Maconie's BBC 6 Music
programme Freak
Zone, on Sunday 29 July. Yes, you heard it right, Martyn, Barry
and Andy will wield their musical tools in the studio for a session of
improvised sound. The show starts at 17.00 UTC.
- July 10:
- Chalkhills is moving to a new system (Ubuntu Feisty) and it might be a
few days before mail delivery is configured and the next issue of
Chalkhills goes out. Please be patient.
- July 9:
- The XTC Fans Song of the Week is “Seagulls
Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her”.
- July 3:
- Bullz-Eye thinks XTC is one of eight “Bands
that should reunite”.
- Orpheus — The Lowdown reviewed: Groove.
- July 2:
- Laura Sylvester spoke to Andy Partridge, “The Tiny Circus of His
Life: Catching up With Andy Partridge” is what resulted.
- June 29:
- Ricardo Juarez sent in three nanopictures inspired by the trace of a wet
bag of tea and XTC songs: “The
Disappointed”, “Holly Up On
Poppy” and “Snowman”
- June 27:
- Orpheus — The Lowdown reviewed: Orlando
Weekly · All
Media Guide · HARP
· Downtown
Music Gallery.
- Monstrance reviewed: HARP.
- June 26:
- Orpheus: The Lowdown reviewed: PopMatters
(thanks to Tyler Hewitt).
- June 25:
- I'm back from Weiser and Andy's back from Swindon to discuss “No
Lampreys in my Lunch” with Todd “Working Stiff”
Bernhardt over at XTC Fans.
- Monstrance reviewed: JamBase.
- June 14:
- Jeff Truzzi has charted two more songs: “River of Orchids” and
“Easter
Theatre”.
- June 13:
- LêA submits “La
Rana y el Güey” and “Travestismo
Ilustrado” for your edification.
- June 11:
- And I quote: Part of an ongoing series of interviews by Todd Bernhardt
with Andy Partridge about the songs we feature each week on MySpace. This week's song,
“Dame
Fortune”, is the first song from the first disc in the
nine-disc series of outtakes, demos, and rarities known as Fuzzy Warbles.
Kathleen Davis writes to say that there will be a mini southern
California XTC gathering starting at 6:30pm on July 21, at the
AMAZING-sounding Library Bar
in Downtown Los Angeles! (630 West 6th St, Suite 116-A, Entrance on Hope
St.) Please write Kathleen
for more details.
- June 3:
- Andy discusses “All
Along the Watchtower”, the XTC Fans Song of the
Week.
- May 29:
- Martyn Barker blogs about Monstrance in Modern
Drummer.
- May 27:
- Darrell Harvey has attempted a new transcription of the ‘brown
chords’ for “Easter
Theatre”.
- May 20:
- The XTC Fans Song of the Week is “Garden
of Earthly Delights”.
- May 16:
- Andrew Boyle noticed some editing mistakes in this CMJ feature
entitled “ANDY
PARTRIDGE: Self-Editing: Andy Partridge Gets Away From The ABCs Of XTC
With Moonstrance”.
- May 12:
- J. D. Mack transcribed this review of Monstrance from the
recent issue of Goldmine.
- “Blast from the Past”: English Settlement is reviewed
by Ben Gott for Blogcritics.
- May 10:
- Goldmine features an article and interview entitled “XTC
carves out a unique punk niche”. In which issue does this
article appear? (Thanks to Marie Omnibus and J. D. Mack.)
- May 9:
- Monstrance reviewed: Pitchfork.
- May 6:
- “Over at the XTCfans
MySpace site, the song of the week is ‘Ladybird’.”
- May 5:
- Marie mentions more Monstrance: Billboard.
- May 3:
- Marie Omnibus points you to two new zoo reviews of Monstrance: C|net
Download.com & La
MagicBox.
May
2:
- Unfortunately, the last Dukes Of Simpleton gig was cancelled at the last minute due to
inclement weather (outdoor venue). The good news is that they have a new
date at the same club. So if you're in the Austin area, please join them
for two hours of live XTC music at Threadgill's World Headquarters on
Saturday June 9th. They'll be playing from 9.00pm until 11.00pm. As previously announced, they've got five new songs
and a new drummer who really leans into those Terry Chambers parts.
They've even got good stock of Dukes T-shirts which they'll be selling at
the show. (Thanks to Chris Vreeland.)
- April 30:
- Yet another in a series of conversations with Andy Partridge and Todd
“Drumboy” Bernhardt, the Song of the Week is “We're
All Light”.
- April 27:
- Monstrance reviewed: Sunday
Tribune · La
Repubblica.
- April 26:
- “Andy Partridge isn't afraid to admit it: He's a Luddite.”
Read more in Wired.
- April 24:
- Jared Morris sent in guitar tab for “This is Pop?”!
- According to Sea of Tranquility, “Andy Partridge
Favors Left Arm With Monstrance”.
- Monstrance reviewed: PopMatters.
- April 22:
- The XTC Fans song of the week is “Battery
Brides”.
- April 20:
- Steve Clarke has informed me that he was responsible for the MIDI
transcription of “Chalkhills and
Children”, for his use at the 1997 XTC gathering in
Basingstoke.
April 17:
- David Yazbek and his Warmest Regards (Dean Sharenow, Erik
Dellapenna, Mike DuClos) will be playing songs from his forthcoming album
on May 10th at 7:30 p.m. at Joe's
Pub (425 Lafayette St., New York City, 212-967-7555). Tickets are
$25. “The amazing bastard! He's my hero. I wish I'd written
all his songs!” - Andy Partridge of XTC.
- April 16:
- The song of the week is “Season
Cycle”. Help ride the song.
- Jeff Truzzi charts again: “Ballet for a Rainy
Day”.
- Monstrance reviewed: Shepherd
Express.
- April 13:
- Monstrance reviewed: The
Independent · Glorious
Noise · LMNOP
· Cincinnati
CityBeat · Bullz-Eye
· Your
Flesh Magazine.
- April 9:
- NewCritics/By Neddie Jingo offer “A Tinny Little
Sputnik”, an exclusive interview with Andy Partridge concerning the
new album Monstrance, in both an
easy-to-digest abridged form and as an
unedited transcript.
- Last week, the XTC Fans song of the week was “Jason
and the Argonauts”. . .
- March 31:
- Monstrance reviewed: Blogcritics
Magazine.
- Thanks to a new distribution deal between Ape House Records and Rykodisc,
“Andy
Partridge Floods Marketplace With Albums”. The American
market, that is. Flooded with the likes of Monstrance, Orpheus
— The Lowdown, Veda Hille's Return of the Killdeer and
more. . .
- Salon offers an “Exclusive
Song of the Day: ‘Chaingang,’ Monstrance” for March
26, 2007.
- Starling's Balm Carousel makes an equinoxe offering of “EggsTC”.
- March 30:
- Monstrance reviewed: The
Independent.
- March 29:
- Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed: The
Sunday Times.
- March 28:
- Magnet Magazine March 2007's Featured
Artist: Andy Partridge.
- Skylarking reviewed: Treble.
- March 27:
- The Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Box reviewed: The
Orange County Register. (Hi, Ben!)
- Apple Venus Vol 1 reviewed: La
Repubblica.
- March 26:
- Monstrance reviewed: Kevchino.com.
- Read “Fricke's
Picks: Home-Demo Larks From XTC's Andy Partridge”
- March 21:
- “Winterwerk” Single Released:
“Winterwerk”,
the first single from Monstrance, the new album
by Martyn Barker, Barry Andrews and Andy Partridge, is now available for
download from the Ape store (67p excluding VAT, 79p inclusive of
VAT).
- March 19:
- Apple Box reviewed: All
Music Guide.
- Dukes Have Another Gig:
The
Dukes Of Simpleton (a tribute band dedicated to bringing you the
music of XTC, performed live) will be playing Saturday, April 14th at Threadgill's World
Headquarters in Austin from 9-11 pm. They've got five new songs and
a new drummer! (Thanks to Chris Vreeland.)
- March 18:
- “Wrapped
In Grey” is the XTC Fans song of the week. Listen and
weep.
- March 16:
- From the collection of Mark Byron: XTC poster (circa
1977),
Black Sea poster
(US?), and a
Virgin UK Black
Sea poster.
- March 14:
- Mark Byron flashes his autographed Too
Many Cooks In The Kitchen single. Thanks, Mark!
- Gerry Eng shares a letter from
Andy Partridge. Thanks, Gerry!
- March 13:
- The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed: Chicago
Sun-Times.
- March 12:
- The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed: Pitchfork
· Reno
Rambler.
- Annie Zaleski says, “XTC's
fuzzy warbler [Andy Partridge] is a pop genius” (Denver
Westword).
- March 11:
- The song for today is “Helicopter”.
Help spread the song.
- HARP claims that “XTC's
Partridge Gets ‘Monstrance’ On Us”.
- March 6:
- Lots of new XTC video on YouTube these
days. Check it out.
- March 5:
- Andy Partridge talks about “All
You Pretty Girls” with XTCfans (what a surprise).
- March 3:
- Ben Gott writes, “In honour of the end of XTC, I have compiled an
MP3 of some of my favourite XTC endings . . .”
- February 26:
- “Respectable
Street” is the song of the week on the XTC Fans MySpace
blog.
- February 24:
- “Wildgroei van
XTC?” you ask yourself.
- February 19:
- Andy Partridge talks about “Stupidly
Happy” this week in the XTC Fans blog.
- February 14:
- Jordan Cooper has contributed simple guitar chords for “Instant Tunes”.
- Find out what happened between Robert Schneider (The Apples in Stereo)
and Andy Partridge (XTC) in this interview (thanks to
Ben Gott).
- Andy Partridge was Spinning On
Air at WNYC on Sunday, 11 February 2007 (thanks to Pär
Nilsson).
- February 11:
- “Statue
of Liberty” is the song of the week over at XTC
Fans.
- February 10:
- Andy Partridge says XTC is “Well
and Truly in the Fridge” (thanks to Peter Mack for the
link).
- February 9:
- Kelly Osborn found this disturbing Onion AV interview with Andy
Partridge (thanks to Bob Crain).
- February 7:
- Per Aronsson is keeping me busy, sending in photos at an alarming rate:
the Japanese
Nonsvch promotional box set, contents of said
box set, back cover of said
box, a
“Sgt. Rock” sticker, a Drums and
Wires sticker, and a few of his collection of pin
badges. Yow!
- February 5:
- Apparently Jeff Truzzi was not happy with his initial pass at the guitar
chords for “No Thugs In Our
House”. He sent in corrections today.
- February 4:
- XTCFans Song of the Week: “Little
Lighthouse”.
- January 31:
- Guitar chords for “No Thugs
In Our House” are now available thanks to Jeff Truzzi.
- January 28:
- It's Andy versus Todd again over at XTC Fans, today's subject:
“Love
on a Farmboy's Wages”.
- January 26:
- Kevin Denley has an autographed copy of the Wrapped in
Grey CD single.
- January 22:
- Dom is jealous of Todd because Todd spoke to Andy Partridge about
“I'd Like That”, so visit XTC
Fans for the full conversation.
- Total Music Magazine has published this interview
with Andy Partridge.
- January 16:
- Fuzzy Warbles Vol. 7/8 reviewed: Sentire
Ascoltare.
- January 14:
- Todd Bernhardt speaks with Andy Partridge about “Are
You Receiving Me?” As a matter of fact, he does. Or is
he? Only his hairdresser knows for sure.
- January 12:
- Jeff Truzzi, reporting for duty: guitar charts for “All I Dream Of is a Friend”
updated, sir!
- January 10:
- Jeff Truzzi has now, only days later, sent in guitar charts for the intro
and verse parts of “Funk Pop A
Roll”.
- January 9:
- Monstrance Mix-Mastered:
According to
the Ape
House, the new double-disc live improvised (“and overdub
free”) album Monstrance from
Barry Andrews, Martyn Barker and Andy Partridge has now been mixed and
mastered and is mostly ready to go. The album will be released on 2
April 2007 in the UK, and on 3 April 2007 in the USA (via Ryko
distribution). Check the Ape site
for more details on the track
listing, free downloads,
podcasts, blogs, etc.
- January 7:
- Jeff Truzzi has sent in guitar chords for “Scarecrow People”.
- Andy Partridge discusses “Mayor
of Simpleton” over at the XTC Fans (MySpace) site.
- January 1:
- Happy New Year! Andy Partridge discusses “Making
Plans for Nigel”, the song of the week at XTC Fans.
2006
- December 29:
- Per Aronsson is a true Chalkhills hero again, he sent in photos of
numerous pieces of XTC swag: a Drums and Wires T-shirt (front and back), the jacket Andy
Partridge wore on stage during the English Settlement tour, a
promotional
counter stand for The Meeting Place, two Nonsvch
T-shirts (short
sleeve and long sleeve), a
black Skylarking T-shirt (front and back), a white
Skylarking T-shirt, and a promotional counter
stand for Wasp Star. Rock on!
- December 27:
- Coat of Many Cupboards reviewed: HARP.
- Is it “Das Ende der
Demokratie” for XTC? And are XTC The Lords of
Song? Intro thinks so. Intro also reviews Homegrown,
Wasp
Star, Homespun
and Transistor
Blast.
- It's a “Day
In The Life: Andy Partridge, guitarist and chief songwriter with XTC, and
the founder of Ape House records” (The
Independent).
- “Mix
It Up: Andy Partridge!” (Amplifier).
- Fuzzy Warbles is a “A
Garden of Earthly XTC Delights” (Los Angeles
Times).
- Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Box Set reviewed: OX
Fanzine.
- December 26:
- According to MP3.com, “Andy Partridge is not a
Social Worker”.
- Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed and recommended: The Philadelphia
Enquirer · Le Monde.
- December 19:
- The Official Andy Partridge Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album
reviewed: San
Diego Union-Tribune.
- December 18:
- Andy Partridge discusses “Thanks
For Christmas”, the song of the week at XTC Fans.
- Fuzzy Warbles Collectors Album reviewed: Entertainment
Weekly.
- “XTC's
Partridge discusses boxset, Monstrance” in Variety.
- December 16:
- The Fuzzy Warbles Collectors Album reviewed: Time
Out Chicago · Amplifier
· Chromewaves
· Tucson
Weekly · HARP
Magazine · Metroland
· Austin
Chronicle · Illinois
Entertainer.
- December 15:
- Fingertips chooses Andy Partridge's “Sonic Boom” as
one of “This
Week's Finds”; a free and legal download of “I Don't Want
To Be Here” is also available.
- December 14:
- Andy Partridge is a “Genius
of Pop” (at least according to the St. Louis Riverfront
Times).
- December 13:
- “A
warm and fuzzy Partridge? Not!” (The Boston Globe,
thanks to Wes Hanks).
- Runout and Groove to Apple Vinyls:
Apple Vinyls, the
Special Collector's Edition box set of 13 vinyl 7-inch singles with
special sleeves, is now available from Idea Records.
The box set includes all the tracks from Apple Venus Vol. 1 and
Wasp Star, plus three
bonus tracks “Where Did The
Ordinary People Go”, “Spiral” and “Say It”.
- December 12:
- Ape House in the 24th and 1/2 Century:
The
latest news: the Ape
House web site now features audio and video podcasts,
the first being Andy Partridge talking about the Fuzzy Warbles Collector's
Album. There will also be a video preview from Monstrance; a download
single will be released early in 2007, the album is expected in April.
More audio and video podcasts will follow. Oh, yes, there will also be
some sort of blog thing.
- December 11:
- Andy Partridge discusses “Senses
Working Overtime”, the song of the week at XTC
Fans.
- DEC-10:
- Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed: Newsday
· Humo.
- December 6:
- Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed: The
New York Times.
Pugwash have released a new Christmas single
entitled Tinsel & Marzipan. All proceeds from sales of
the single go to Brainwave, the
Irish Epilepsy Association. The recording features some special guests
including Mundy, Eric Matthews, Neil Hannon, Peter Fitzpatrick, and Dave
Gregory. We'd like Dave to get a Number One, and we reckon we can get
this CD into the charts if enough people buy it the weekend of December
8th. And, even if you purchase this song as a digital download it will
still count toward the chart position! So buy it now, either as a digital download
or as an honest-to-goodness
CD single! Let's go all the way!
- December 4:
- The song of the week at the XTC Fans space is “The
Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead”.
- Jeff Truzzi has transcribed the chords for “All I Dream of is a
Friend”.
- December 1:
- Neil Callatrava sent in some corrections to the chords posted for
“New Town Animal (in a
Furnished Cage)”.
- November 27:
- Don Leibold brought this Chicago Sun-Times review of The Fuzzy
Warbles Collectors Album to our attention.
- Benjamin Lukoff wrote to let us know that a transcript of the “Amazon Wire podcast” is now
available on Amazon.com — the transcript is entitled
“Music
You Should Hear: Andy Partridge”.

- The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed: Amazon.com
· Platomania.
- November 26:
- The song of the week at the XTC Fans space is “Dear
God”.
- November 23:
- Ben Gott sent in images of the front and back covers of the
promotional Official Fuzzy Warbles
Collector's Sampler.
- November 20:
- The song of the week at the XTC Fans space is “Science
Friction”.
- November 19:
- The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed: Seattle
Weekly · De Morgen.
Ian E
and Paul Culnane pointed out this unsettling comment from Andy Partridge
in the December issue of MOJO magazine: “I
speak of XTC in the past tense. It's in the freezer and I dunno if it'll
ever come out again. Colin [Moulding] phoned me recently and said he
wasn't interested in music any more, and it wouldn't be XTC without
him. . .”
- November 18:
- Ben Gott is a contributing writer at kevchino.com, check out his review
of the Fuzzy
Warbles Collector's Album.
- Bullz-Eye has “a
chat with Andy Partridge”. (Thanks, Wes!)
- November 12:
- Todd Bernhardt writes to say, “Ben Lukoff's excellent interview
with Andy is up at http://www.amazon.com/wire”
(free download of “2
Rainbeau Melt” also available). Also, the “Song of the
Week” is “Harvest
Festival”.
- November 10:
- Max Greenstreet alerted us to a new “Puremusic interview
with Andy Partridge”.
- November 6:
- Jeff Truzzi contributes “possibly the toughest song [he has]
transcribed”, “1000
Umbrellas”.
- November 5:
- Todd Bernhardt interviews Andy Partridge on the topic of “The
Song of the Week” (this week's song:
“Snowman”).
- November 3:
- For some time today, both the Ape
Records and XTC/Idea
Records web sites were down. There was a server problem, but it
seems to be fixed now. Thank you for your patience.
- October 31:
- Todd Bernhardt interviews Andy Partridge on the topic of “The
Song of the Week” (this week's song: “Merely a
Man”).
Bill Wikstrom wrote to point out that
“XTC are briefly seen in the new DVD Everyone
Stares: The Police Inside Out by Stewart Copeland (yes, the
very man who seemingly lived in that Drums & Wires T-shirt).
They are seen: 1) On the tour bus with The Police (Andy sitting next to
Terry and Colin and Dave scattered across from them). 2) Orange, France
- Terry standing behind Police tour manager Kim Turner as Kim spittles
out some water. 3) Orange, France - Andy rabidly talking to Sting
backstage about the bands The Yachts and Holly And The
Italians.”

- October 30:
- Wes Hanks points out a new interview with Andy Partridge at
PopMatters: “The
Man Who Sailed Around His Soul” (includes a podcast).
The
latest news from the Ape House:
“Andy Partridge has recently recorded an edition of Freak Zone
hosted by Stuart Maconie, for BBC's 6 Music digital radio station.
Several numbers from the Fuzzy Warbles series are
played with Andy and Stuart shooting the breeze in between. The show
rounds off with an exclusive airing of a nine-minute extract from the
forthcoming double disc set Monstrance, called ‘I
Lovely Cosmonaut’. The show will be broadcast on 19th November at
1700 GMT.”
- October 29:
- a quegg has contributed black & white
and greyscale
images of the Dukes name from the cover of 25 O'Clock.
- October 22:
- Free downloads available!
- Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed: Miami
New Times.
- October 18:
- Plato (p)reviews The
Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album and Fuzzy
Warbles Vol. 7-8.
- October 17:
- Fuzzy Warbles 7+8 reviewed: KindaMusik
· Antithetik.
- The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album (p)reviewed: The
Independent · Subba-Cultcha.
- October 14:
- Blogcritics.org features a little news item about the (then)
impending release of Fuzzy Warbles 7 & 8 and Collector's
Album: “Overlooked
Alternatives”.
- The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album reviewed (at LiveJournal)
and previewed (at CityBeat).
- October 9:
- Scott Thill let us know about this interview with Andy Partridge:
“I
Pissed God Off” on Morphizm.
- October 8:
- Jamie Lowe has moved his XTC White Horse bumperstickers to http://xtcstickers.jamielowe.net/.
- October 7:
- Fuzzy Warbles 7/8 is reviewed by Power
of Pop and Platomania.
- Download Andy Partridge's “Sonic
Boom” courtesy Toolshed.
- October 6:
- “Here
comes President Enik again” compares the song “Here Comes
President Kill Again” to recent events (in Timedoor).
- September 25:
The Official Fuzzy Warbles
Collector's Album will be released on 16 October 2006 by Ape House UK. The box set includes all
8 volumes of Andy Partridge's Fuzzy Warbles, a bonus
9 track CD entitled Hinges, a book entitled A Brief History of
Home Taping and a sheet of Fuzzy Warbles stamps. For those of
you who have already bought autographed copies of Fuzzy Warbles
volumes 1-6, the box is available with volumes 7+8 at a special price, as
of 25 September. Order yours today!
- September 23:
- Randall Johnson has contributed corrected chords to “Mermaid Smiled”.
- September 21:
- Jeff Barringer has alerted us to his “Podcast:
Interview with Andy Partridge of XTC” in Club
Kingsnake.
- Philip Adamek has contributed guitar chords to “I Defy You Gravity”.
- September 17:
- aquegg interprets “Wrapped In Grey”
for the Nonsvch Colouring Book.
- September 15:
- Jeffrey Terich points out that “XTC's Skylarking was
featured on Treble's
Best of the 80s!”
- August 29:
- William Loring points out that XTC are a “defunct English art-rock
combo” according to Yahoo!. Billboard
is not so sure.
- “Andy Partridge Opens
Up His Ape House” in ChartAttack.
- Apple Box reviewed: Jam!.
- August 26:
- This Day In Rock mentions “XTC's USA Debut” (thanks
to Paul Culnane).
- August 11:
- Alfred Masciocchi writes, “One of the songs [‘Cause It's Love
(Saint Parallelogram)’] on Robyn's forthcoming album entitled Olé Tarantula
(due early October in the states) has a songwriting credit to Robyn and
Andy.”
- August 2:
- Fuzzy Warbles
Volumes 7+8 have just been listed for pre-order at
Amazon.co.uk. The two collections are scheduled to be released on 25
September 2006 in the U.K. At least, that's what Amazon.co.uk says. It
appears that the two volumes may be released in August in other
countries. We have no word as of yet of a Japanese release.
- July 17:
- Links to XTC videos on YouTube have
been added. Check 'em out!
- July 13:
- More mixed news from The Ape House:
“The good news is that Andy's broken tendon (in the all important
guitar chord forming left hand) is slowly recovering. He's started to
play again but says he feels like a beginner at the moment. . .
The bad news is that an accident during mixing the forthcoming improv
album, has left Andy with damaged hearing and very bad tinnitus. This is
a crippling condition where a constant loud whistling is heard inside the
head. He is currently undergoing hyperbaric oxygen treatment which can
be beneficial in many cases. Lets all keep our fingers crossed.”
Additionally, “The album of live improvised (and overdub free)
music by Barry Andrews, Martyn Barker and Andy Partridge is all mixed and
awaiting the mastering process. This unusual and thrilling 2 disc set,
called Monstrance, will be released in the
autumn . . .”
- July 7:
- Daniel Garrett writes, “On the historic day Swindon College closed
down, we spoke to a former student, XTC's Andy
Partridge.”
- July 4:
- XTC/Idea Records news: “For all you vinyl junkies a very special
treat. We have pressed up only 1000 units of the Apple Box
as A Special Collectors Edition Set of 7 inch singles called Apple Vinyls.
Painstakingly put together by the two Andys, the box emulates its CD
sibling with the varnished peacock design. Each box contains 13 x 7 inch
singles, each in its own unique sleeve. All the tracks from Apple
Venus Vol 1 and Wasp Star are paired together with one
addition, the XTC song ‘Where Did The Ordinary People Go’,
which was only previously available as a digital download. As a special
bonus there is a 7 inch single version of the tracks ‘Spiral’
and ‘Say It’ in its own picture bag.” Stay tuned for
more information.
- July 3:
- Rory Hoffmeister sent in his version of Books Are Burning
from the Nonsvch Colouring Book.
- June 30:
- Per Aronsson is busy once again: here's a nice Oranges &
Lemons baseball cap.
- June 10:
- Per Aronsson has contributed some pics of the Japan Tour
1979 Programme.
- May 30:
- The Daily Vault reviews Go 2, Waxworks: Some
Singles 1977-1982, and Skylarking.
- May 28:
- Apple Venus reviewed: Berliner
Kurier.
- May 27:
- Trouser Press has combined its guides to XTC,
previously in two parts: “The '70s and '80s” and “The
'90s and Beyond”.
- May 26:
- Hisaaki Shintaku has a copy of the Black Sea Live! bootleg LP set,
and he sent in some pics: the whole shebang,
the front
cover, the
back cover, the LP
label, the 7",, the backside of
the 7", and the other LP
label. Many thanks!
- May 25:
- Apple Venus Volume 1 reviewed: Orlando
Weekly.
- Fossil Fuel reviewed: Planet
Internet.
- May 23:
- Jan Bletz writes, “4 hours of Andy Partridge on Dutch radio
tonight: interviews, music (XTC, Judee Sill and others). Can be listened
to on demand (with an extra hour added!).” Go to http://chalkhills.org/articles/VPRO060523.html
for more info.
- The forthcoming album Calling Distance Stations by The Nines will be self-released on
their TAS GOLD imprint in late May 2006 and is now available for
pre-order (with bonus songs) from NotLame. The album features
the song “Receiving Me” co-written with Andy Partridge.
Several songs will be mixed by Jason Falkner, with John Adams and
João Carvalho mixing the remainder. Their website recently
received a full makeover. They also have a MySpace page, featuring the
previously unreleased track “Jack McGee” (a Polygram
demo).
- May 22:
- Oranges and Lemons reviewed: Weekly
Planet.
- May 16:
- The Dukes Of
Simpleton are playing their next gig at Threadgill's World Headquarters,
301 W. Riverside Dr., Austin, TX, on Saturday, June 17th, at 8:00pm.
They will be doing two full sets this time, featuring five new
songs!
- May 12:
- Apple Box reviewed: Revolver.
· Studio M
Live · OTG.
- Apple Bite reviewed: Groove.no.
- Check out OTG's
Year-End Music Reviews.
- May 10:
- Apple Box reviewed: Ox
Fanzine.
- Fuzzy Warbles 5 + 6 reviewed: Ox
Fanzine.
- May 5:
- I met Mark Cuevas, executive producer of Chalkhills Originals '98: Awaken You
Dreamers, for a pint or two in D.C. yesterday, and he says there
are still a few copies of the compilation available. Order yours
today!
- May 2:
- Tim wrote to say he loves the website, and he also has a blog, so read
“The iTunes 180!
#144: XTC's ‘The Mayor of Simpleton’” and “Reason
#152 not to abandon the long-playing format: Nonsuch” in
Split Like Light Refracted.
- April 26:
- J.D. Mack sent in a cool Nonsvch-styled
advert from a 1992 issue of Alternative Press.
- April 25:
- The Limited Edition XTC Oranges &
Lemons Tonestar guitar from Fano Guitars is now available! The
guitar features full-colour Oranges & Lemons graphics, orange
and lemon inlaid “dots” on the neck, and is autographed by
Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory. Loads of other
features, too! (Thanks to Erik Anderson.)
- April 17:
- Return to the Dark Side of the
Moon: A Tribute to Pink Floyd, produced by Billy Sherwood,
features XTC's Colin Moulding singing “Brain Damage” and
playing bass on “Time”. The tribute album will be released
on May 16.
- April 12:
- Ape House
Records claims: “Having had the knob twiddling talents of Ian
Cooper at Metropolis Mastering, weave his magic over the tracks, [Fuzzy Warbles] Volumes
7 and 8 are now complete. Andy has deliberately left some of
the best tracks till last. . . The artwork is nearing
completion by Andrew at Cactus Design, the covers are done and we are on
the final tweaks, so they will be ready for release in the Summer. These
two volumes will complete the . . . Series. Well
almost......!” Cryptic, that last.
- April 9:
- Bill Wikstrom sent in some more artwork: back cover of the Epic
Records USA English Settlement LP, back cover of the
Mummer LP, advert for the
Life Begins at the Hop single, and, last but not least, a platinum record
for Oranges and Lemons.
- March 29:
- Brian Canfield has submitted tab for “The World is Full of Angry Young
Men”.
- March 27:
- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: News from the Ape House. The good:
“Andy Partridge has been working with Barry Andrews and Drummer
Martyn Barker recently on an improvised music project. The three have
been playing live in Swindon's Headroom Studio and over three sessions
have amassed about 8 hours of material. Engineer Merv Carswell and
Future Sound Of London guitarist Stuart Rowe are sorting and mixing the
mountain of sounds for a future Ape release.” The bad and the ugly:
“. . . Andy has unfortunately damaged his left hand.
He has broken the tendon supporting his left ring finger and won't be
able to go anywhere near a guitar for over 8 weeks. Then the splint will
be removed and he will start physio to recover as much use of the finger
as possible. According to Andy it's the one that does the majority of
the work on the fretboard.” Is this the end?
- March 24:
- Todd Bernhardt interviewed Andy Partridge recently. A 1,500 word version
will be published this summer, but a longer
version is available on the XTCFans MySpace site.
- March 22:
- Drums and Wires reviewed: Treble.
- March 20:
- Give a listen to Totom's “An Open Letter to
XTC”, a mashup of Beastie Boys's “An Open Letter to
NYC” vs. XTC's “Day In, Day Out”.
- Oranges & Lemons reviewed: DJ
Snugglebunny.
- March 15:
- Mitch Friedman writes, “I would like to alert each and every one of
you to . . . the music video of Andy Partridge's long time
girlfriend Erica Wexler's scathingly amusing song ‘I'm So Sick of
Models!’ Andy produced and arranged the original demo version
of the song, and you can still hear some of his touches on this final
version as the demo version was passed off to a remixer who added some
dance inducing snares to the mix. . . In the near future Erica
will be releasing an album of original songs, and this video could help
to drum up a nice little buzz about her.”
- March 9:
- Thanks to Takada Yuichi and Matthew Last for translating “ganbare
nigel” (“Hold on, Nigel!”), a name by which
“Making Plans for Nigel” has been known in Japan.
- March 3:
- Omnibus writes to tell us that POPnews features an “interesting and well
done biography” of XTC.
- February 24:
- Bill Wikstrom, too busy for his pants, found these lovely pics: a 1965 Boston
radio advertisement poster by Milton Glaser, an advert for
the This World Over single, and a press photo from the
same session as the photo on the cover of the Dutch Wait Till Your
Boat Goes Down 7" single.
- February 17:
- Bill Wikstrom found Jean-Luc's photos of XTC
(1977-1980).
- February 15:
- Latest news from Idea and
Ape House: Andy Partridge is co-writing
and recording with both Robyn Hitchcock and Charlotte
Hatherley. Let's hope these efforts don't go the way of the
ill-fated collaboration with Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
- February 14:
- Ape House Records tells us that Fuzzy Warbles
7+8, the last in the series, will be released in early summer
2006. They will be mastered by Metropolis maestro Ian Cooper in a few
days. There will be a special box set offered containing all eight
volumes. Some songs to appear on 7+8: “Through Electric
Gardens”, “Sonic Boom”, “I'm Unbecome”,
“The Bland Leading The Bland”, “2 Rainbeau Melt”
and “I Don't Want To Be Here”.
- February 8:
- Jonathan Monnickendam writes, “News but nothing new to hear, I
imagine; XTC headline tonight's Dream
Ticket on BBC Radio 6” (Wednesday 8 February 2200-0100
UTC).
- February 3:
- XTC/Idea Records have made “Where
Did The Ordinary People Go”, the new XTC song written by
Colin Moulding, available for download worldwide. The song was
originally released on 6 December 2005 on iTunes
USA.

- January 30:
- Ben Gott has made his recordings of XTC's “Battery Brides”,
“Making Plans for Nigel” and Andy Partridge's
“Everything” available from his Loquacious Music
website.
- January 29:
- Paul Culnane transcribed this review of Apple Box
from the December 2005 issue of MOJO.
- Apple Bite reviewed: Glide.
- January 27:
- A few days ago Bill Wikstrom sent me some scans of tour posters that he
found, including Netherlands, 9
augustus 1980, B&L
Warehouse, Athens, Georgia, April 24, 1981, Showbox Theatre,
Seattle, Washington, April 10, 1982 (cancelled), and also this Go 2 promo
poster. Thanks, Bill!
- January 19:
- Apple Box reviewed: De Morgen.
- Coat of Many Colours reviewed: Music
Boom.
- Black Sea reviewed: Regards.
- January 15:
- Time for another Dukes of Simpleton show: The November show by The Dukes Of Simpleton at
Threadgill's was quite a smashing success! Well, here they go again,
with a few new songs this time, from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday,
February 25, at Momo's Club, 618
W. 6th St, Austin, Texas.
- January 14:
- Hinterlandt cover “Making Plans for
Nigel” on their New Belief System album from 2004. Give
it a listen.
- January 13:
- This is Wiltshire and the Swindon Advertiser have published
a few articles about XTC - The Meeting Place - 2005: “Band's
fans will be in ecstacy”, “Making
plans for XTC weekend” “Fans
gather to celebrate”, and “Xtreme
xstacy at XTC xtravaganza”.
- Also in the same rag: “XTC's
Andy has a pop at Swindon” from June 2005.
- January 11:
- Wasp Star reviewed: Music
Club.
- English Settlement and Skylarking are among “100 Overlooked Albums
— The Masterpieces Rolling Stone Doesn't Want You to Know
About”, a list compiled by Red Magazine.
- January 10:
- Coat of Many Cupboards reviewed: Exclaim!.
- January 4:
- According to Kurt's Krap, the forthcoming album by The Nines will be
“. . . mixed finally by Oct 3 2005. The last song is
being mixed as we speak or write and we are quite excited about this
one. . . Jason Falkner, John Adams and Joao Carvalho mixed
this new album. The album will also include a co-write with U.K.'s Andy
Partridge of XTC called ‘Receiving Me’. The Nines will be
mastering the album right away (October). [They're] currently looking at
a few label options to release this one. . . soon.” Of
course, I only just noticed.
- January 3:
- Apple Box reviewed: Fudgeland.
- Orpheus - The Lowdown reviewed: Credible
Muggins.
- January 1:
- Apple Box reviewed: Cucamonga · [Le
Machin-Truc].
2005
- December 30:
- Apple Box reviewed: Static
· Amazon.com
· 32puertas.com
· PopMatters
· Losing
Today · Kataweb
· RockStar.
- Philip Brands sent in a few lovely pics: the front cover,
back
cover, A-side label
and B-side
label of the original issue of the Mr. Partridge Take Away / The
Lure of Salvage LP, and the front
cover of the box, CD 1, CD 2, CD 3, and
CD 4 of
the Transistor Blast box set.
- December 28:
- Andy interview on BBC Radio Swindon: Ian Sutton writes, “BBC Radio
Swindon are heavily advertising their New Year's Day special which is
an interview with Andy and goes out at 1400GMT. . . In
a previous digest someone expressed surprise that Andy would write a
Christmas song. He explained that it is good to celebrate the end of
another year for whatever reason.”
- Returning to the Dark Side of the Moon: According to the “Yes and the current
members — Where are they now?” page, “Recordings
for Returning to the Dark Side
of the Moon — a follow-up project [to Back Against
the Wall, a tribute album to Pink Floyd's The Wall] based on
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon — are well under way with
a further array of guests . . .” including Pat
Mastelotto, drummer on XTC's Oranges & Lemons,
and XTC's Colin Moulding, who sings lead vocal on “Brain
Damage” and plays bass on “Time”. The album will
hopefully be released in early 2006.
- December 21:
- Daniel Garrett alerted us to a new “Interview
with Andy Partridge” on BBC Wiltshire.
- December 20:
- Robert Mallows sent scans of “Generally Major: Colin Moulding
Workshop” from the May 2005 issue of Guitar & Bass
magazine. And check out what's in front of Dave Gregory in the
photo. . .
- December 18:
- In order to better bring you all the news that fits in print, Chalkhills
has for some time now been bringing you RSS news feeds. Including
not only these headlines and other recent news, but XTC/Idea Records news and Ape House Records news as well (the latter
news feeds are created by a little Perl hack I wrote which parses the
original web sites). Our own Citizen Keith also built an XTC
feed jumbler which collects all of these feeds into one.
- December 17:
- Saturday Social Countdown to XTC Party Time: Phil Gazzard writes
“Just to let you know that Andy Partridge is picking his top 10 XTC
songs on BBC Radio Wales ‘Saturday Social’ programme
(Saturdays at 7:30 pm). Last week was ‘Chalkhills And
Children’ at number 7, this week ‘Season Cycle’ at
number 6. I assume there'd be another 5 weeks to go, then...”
- December 15:
- More wholesome XTC goodness: Rob Leary writes, “Andy [Partridge]
and Colin [Moulding] have set up a streaming
QuickTime feed for you to listen to the new Apple
Box-exclusive tracks, as well as some Fuzzy Warbles. Each
track is accompanied by liner notes and lyrics. An enjoyable listen all
around, especially while at work.”
- December 13:
- Chris Wright notes: “. . . readers may be interested
to know that it is also available on Rhapsody.”
- Jordi Ibáñez Llauradó sent in basic chords to
“all the songs in the XTC catalogue that hadn't been tabbed in this
great site, from Black Sea to Nonsuch”, including:
“Rocket From A
Bottle”, “Paper and
Iron (Notes and Coins)”, “Travels In Nihilon”,
“Smokeless
Zone”, “Don't Lose
Your Temper”, “The Somnambulist”,
“Runaways”,
“Leisure”,
“It's Nearly
Africa”, “Fly On The
Wall”, “Down In The
Cockpit”, “English Roundabout”,
“Wake Up!”,
“Seagulls Screaming Kiss
Her, Kiss Her”, “This World Over”, “Big Day”, “The Man Who Sailed Around His
Soul”, “Sacrificial Bonfire”,
“Cynical Days”,
“Miniature Sun”
and “War Dance”.
- December 8:
- Brian Canfield transcribed chords for “The Smartest
Monkeys”.
- December 7:
- Ptolemaic Terrascope featured “Pebbles from The Shore
of The Sun - The XTC Interview” in issue #3 from 1991.
- “Spiral” reviewed: Fingertips.
- Black Sea reviewed: Peter
Cashwell.
- The rubber shark.
Enough said.
- December 5:
- Ben Gott writes in to say “that the entire XTC catalog is finally
(!) available from iTunes
USA. Included with all the major albums are Fuzzy Warbles (1-6), Through the Hill (with
Harold Budd), and the Dukes.
Wonderfully enough, there is a new recording of Colin's ‘Where Did the Ordinary People
Go?’ It sounds incredible.”
- November 29:
- Jude Hayden sent in lovely scans of the cover and centerfold of the
Apple Bite sampler EP.
- Coat of Many Cupboards reviewed: Rolling Stone
(Germany).
- November 22:
- Apple Box reviewed: Planet
Internet.
- Read “XTC
leeft van de mislukking”, een interview met zanger Andy
Partridge, Planet Internet
- I just discovered that Mike Visceglia
interviewed Colin Moulding way back on January 15th, 2004
- November 18:
- Robert Mallows contributed this review of Apple Box from
Classic Rock magazine.
- November 17:
- Robert Mallows contributed this interview with Andy Partridge from
Classic Rock magazine: “Welcome
back . . . XTC”.
- Apple Box reviewed: De Tijd · Platomania
· betterPropaganda.
- Buhdge reviews “Say It”
and “Spiral”.
- Peruse this Apple Box
media kit from Toolshed.
- It may be old news to some of us, but Electrolyte Foundation
points out that “XTC
offers two exclusive new tracks for online orders of The Apple
Box”.
- November 15:
- Apple Box is reviewed in the latest issues of Q and
Mojo. Anybody care to transcribe the reviews or send me a scan?
Also, XTC appears on Now Hear
This!, a free CD that is included with the latest issue of
Word.
- November 10:
- Jeffrey Thomas alerted me to this review of Apple Box in
Rolling Stone Germany.
- November 9:
- Yorkshire Tony writes: “Andy Partridge is appearing on Mark
Radcliffe's late-night BBC Radio 2 show next Tuesday, November
15, 2005. His show is normally 10.30 pm to midnight.”
- November 7:
- Andy Partridge will appear on Tom Robinson's
Evening Sequence on BBC 6 Music, November 7, 1900h. Summary:
“On tonight's show you can hear Tom in conversation with Andy
Partridge, formerly of XTC and founder of Ape Records.” (Thanks to
stargazer)
- November 4:
- Arvel Perry contributed these screenshots of The Dukes Of Stratosphear
Flying Circus from the flight simulation game “IL2: Forgotten
Battles”. He did the paintjobs (with the help of the Chalkhills
Archives). See the
Flying Circus, the
squadron, from below,
and other
shots.
- November 2:
- Tyler Hewitt found this review
of “Spiral” in Pitchfork.
- October 30:
- Brian Rogers tabbed out the bass parts for “Meccanik Dancing” and
“Jumping in
Gomorrah” and last night. Enjoy!
- October 25:
- I finally noticed this “daily news
flash” in ICE from May 4, 2005.
- Frédéric Quentin contributed his cover of “Senses Working Overtime”.
- October 24:
- Short but nice piece on XTC
and the Apple Box in today's Sunday Times (if you are not
registered, use username “chalkhills” password
“andyboy”).
- October 14:
- The final three installments of the Andy
Partridge interview with Alan Haber have been posted on
Buhdge.
- October 9:
- Apparently the 1st two Judee Sill albums are getting a US CD
release — at a more reasonable price than the recent Rhino Handmade editions, but
without the lavish packaging or bonus tracks — on November 1.
XTC-relevant detail: according to the Amazon.com listing, Andy (an
avowed and longtime JS fan) has penned new liner notes for the Heart
Food CD. (Thanks to Robin Heath.)

- October 7:
- My apologies for the lengthy Chalkhills downtime. I still don't know why
it's back online.
- Chris Vreeland's XTC tribute band The Dukes of Simpleton
are playing at 9:00 pm, Nov 4th at Threadgill's World Headquarters,
301 West Riverside Drive, Austin, Texas, U.S. of A. They'll be doing a
wide variety of songs, from Black Sea forward, including several
acoustic songs, and some selections which should genuinely surprise
nearly everyone.
- September 22:
- The Apple Box,
which finally brings together the two acclaimed Apple Venus albums
Apple Venus Volume 1
and Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume
2), will be released by Idea Records on 31 October 2005 in the
U.K. The set also includes the demo albums Homespun and Homegrown in a
“stunningly simple, pure white [box], matte laminated with a
peacock feather varnished on the box lid. A white matte slipcase
completes the look. Inside, each CD is packaged in its own paperboard
wallet with new artwork and a 64-page book contains the lyrics to all the
songs . . . with new liner notes by Andy and Colin.”
Order yours today! (Thanks to XTC/Idea Records.)
- August 28:
- Christer Liljegren has been at it again. Here are transcriptions of
“Across This
Antheap” and “Living in a Haunted
Heart”.
- August 8:
- Six more audio segments of “XTC's
Andy Partridge in conversation with Alan Haber” have been
posted on Buhdge.
- August 6:
- Paul Culnane transcribed “The Most Underrated Albums Of Our
Time: Tony Williams' Lifetime”, by Andy Partridge, in
Word, June 2005.
- August 4:
- Paul Culnane recently spoke to Steve Somerset, the brains behind The Wish List and The Shadow Kabinet, and he said
“I'm fast awake in my own
need. . .”
- August 2:
- Shock! Horror! Andy Partridge plays and sings in public: Andy Partridge & Mid Life
Crisis - The Roaring Donkey!
- July 24:
- James Mack transcribed guitar chords for “The Art Song (Something Good With Your
Life)”.
- July 22:
- Ted Mills reviews The Big
Express and Black
Sea.
- Have you visited Phrygian?
- July 21:
- Roymond covers XTC's “It's
Nearly Africa”. Shadowself covers “Another Satellite” with Neil H. on drums.
Abominominous covers “Generals
& Majors”.
- July 19:
- Listen to “In
conversation with Alan Haber: XTC's Andy Partridge” in
Buhdge.
- July 18:
- Jeffrey Fariello (him again?!) contributes “some
completely altruistic XTC fodder”.
- July 17:
- Jeffrey Fariello has posted his version of “Omnibus”
and The Morningwood Brother's Auxilliary's version of “Then
She Appeared” (in full and a capella flavours), originally
recorded for the King for a
Day tribute.
- July 11:
- Fuzzy Warbles Volumes 5+6 reviewed: BIRDpages · Music-Scan.
- Fuzzy Warbles Volumes 1+2 reviewed: Music-Scan.
- July 9:
- Read about “Harold
Budd: Budd in May” in The Independent, May 8, 2005.
- July 7:
- Buhdge reviews Fuzzy Warbles
Vols. 5 & 6.
- July 6:
- Registration is now open for XTC - The Meeting Place - 2005.
When? September 30 through October 2, 2005. Where? Swindon. Why?
Because we like you. Martin
Newell and X-sTatiC will
appear. We hope you will appear, too.
- June 27:
- Andy poses the “Riddle
of the bands” in The Guardian.
- June 26:
- Steve Somerset writes, “Alan Haber . . . hosts a
great show on WEBR in Fairfax, Virginia, called Pure
Pop. . . On Saturday, 9th July, Alan hosts a two hour
XTC Pure Pop Special with an exclusive interview Andy Partridge
and tracks from XTC and the Fuzzy Warbles albums. The show airs
from 12-2pm.” Audio segments available at Buhdge.
- June 10:
- Fuzzy Warbles 5 + 6 reviewed: POPnews.
- June 5:
- Jacky Lurton contributes his cover of “Grass”. He plays all the instruments.
Anyone in Paris who plays bass or drums (or sings) who wants to play pop
music (Zombies, Beach Boys, Paul Bevoir, XTC, Martin Newell), please
contact Jacky by email (jacky
(dot) lurton (at) tiscali (dot) fr).
- May 27:
- In 2004, Pitchfork published their list of “The
Top 100 Albums of the 1970s”, which featured Drums
and Wires at No. 38.
- May 26:
- Stylus Magazine reviews “Generals and Majors” in their
article “Life During
Wartime: The Stylus Magazine Non-Definitive Guide To Pop Protest
Songs”.
- In 2002, Pitchfork revealed their idea of the “Top
100 Albums Of The 1980s”, a list which featured The Dukes Of
Stratosphear's Psonic
Psunspot at No. 66, XTC's English
Settlement at No. 46 and Skylarking
at No. 15. In response, Clink Magazine published their own list,
“Top 100 Records of the
'80s”, featuring Skylarking at No. 19
and English Settlement at
No. 54.
- Chips from the Chocolate Fireball reviewed: Echoes-Online.de ·
Utilikilts · Other
Music · Universal
Pop · Fort
Drastic · Il
Paradiso di Cassiel.
- English Settlement reviewed: Il Paradiso di
Cassiel.
- May 24:
- Apple Venus Vol. 1 reviewed: Pop Goes
the Culture!.
- May 22:
- Did you see the ikamono?
- May 11:
- X-sTatiC to play Summer Gigs, Hell freezes over! Merely a year (less 8
days) after their last gig, X-sTatiC will be returning to
their London Home, The Dublin Castle, on Friday, 1st July. This'll be
the first of two planned summer gigs, the other being somewhere more
exotic, possibly Manchester. Then, of course, they'll be playing at The
Meeting Place 2005 in Swindon on the weekend of 30th September to 2nd
October. You'll all be going won't you? Of course you will.
- May 4:
- L.A.'s only XTC cover band Drummed and Wired are
gonna hit it again. Come on out and revel in the Xtc-ness of it all.
They'll tackle some new ones as well as resurrect some old. May 27th,
10:30 - 11:30pm, Canter's Kibitz Room, 419 N. Fairfax, Los Angeles, CA,
323.651.2030. In addition, as part of International Pop
Overthrow (a pop festival in L.A.), Drummed and Wired will be
playing June 8th at The Derby in L.A.
- April 12:
- Apple Venus Volume 1 reviewed: Jeff Partyka's Mega-Music
Page.
- March 29:
- The Flea Theater presents The Neta Dance Company: NETRO: A Neta Dance Company
Retrospective, May 11-22, 2005, at The Flea Theater, NYC. This
retrospective of two decades of work includes River of Orchids (1999),
a whimsical solo set in a psychedelic swamp of giant vinyl lily pads,
with music by XTC (who have generously donated 10 box sets to the NETRO
raffle!).
- March 28:
- Greg Stump sent in chords for “I Can't Tell What Truth Is
Anymore”.
- March 27:
- Chris Dahlen spoke with Andy Partridge (and others), now you can read
“Get
That Out of Your Mouth #12: The Process Is the Product” in
Pitchfork; more quotes from the interview can be read at
Mr. Dahlen's Countyerchange.
- March 20:
- Andy Partridge reviews Judee Sill
in Uncut (thanks to Jamie Lowe).
- March 17:
- According to the latest newsletter from XTC and all things Ape:
“The Summer of 2005 sees the release of the Apple Box, an attempt to
present you with a set that should have graced your ears in the mid 90's.
Arguably XTC's best work, the two faces of the same coin are now properly
reunited. You even get all the home demo recordings as well, all in a
4-CD boxed set.” (Released on 20 July 2005 in Japan on Pony Canyon
Records.)
- March 16:
- Skylarking reviewed: Harizma.
- March 14:
- Mark Vidler of Go Home
Productions says, in his recent newsletter, “Cool news with
Andy Partridge of XTC coming soon too......oh yes....”. Mr. Vidler
recently met with Mr. Partridge and thus: GHPblogged:
Toy Soldiers and a Headful of Whine. Stay tuned! (Thanks to Stuart
Draper.)
- February 26:
- Darryl Bullock sent in some pictures of the Rainbow Drops & Finger
Pops bootleg CD box set: the set · the hidden CD-3 ·
the box · the bag · the CDs · inside · the booklet
c