Apples and Lemons: an Interview with XTC, Leisuresuit.Net February 1999
by Chris Tyrrell

They'd tour, but the lead singer's afraid. They'd make videos, but past efforts have been just awful. They'd live the rock and roll life, but they're broke. They'd release an album, but their record company was too busy designing new forms of cola. They'd be popular, but their instincts are far from commerciality. Plus, they've lost three band members and the sense of hearing (perhaps it was working overtime) in the past three decades. This is Pop? This is pathetic.

Were it not for the fact that XTC is beloved, in the strongest sense of the word, by those that . . . belove them, they would just be "those guys that did the 'Dear God' song." But the XTC melodrama has been wonderfully, tragically played out for those of us that worship at the altar of all things Partridge Moulding (and of course, Gregory, Chambers, and Andrews). Is the time now right for their big breakthrough? In the words of Theodoric of York, "Nah."

Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding are XTC, and always have been. They're releasing an album, the first in seven years, called "Apple Venus". And how's this for a hard sell? Moulding warns potential buyers that they'll have to listen to the album many times before they like it. "Most people listen to it and say, 'Christ . . . This is different!'" Different! That'll pack 'em into Tower. Then again, Moulding's first reaction to "Skylarking", their American 'breakthrough album' was, "Oh my God!" (and not in a good, orgasmic kind of way).

To really understand and appreciate XTC, one needs to be aware of their whole history, via books like Chalkhill and XTC: Song Stories, or through the many Web sites devoted to them, such as Chalkhills.

In short, XTC was punk in '77 with Andy, Colin, Barry Andrews (keyboard), and Terry Chambers (drums). Barry left. Dave Gregory came in on guitar. The quartet released critically acclaimed pop/rock albums, that mostly fell beneath the radar, save the devoted international fan base. They toured relentlessly. Andy got severe stagefright, so they ceased touring in the early '80s. Terry left. America liked "Dear God", but right-wingers tried to bomb radio stations. They were screwed for years by Virgin. They released nothing new for the last seven years. Andy lost his hearing, then got it back. Two new albums hit stores this year, courtesy of TVT Records. Oh, and now Dave's gone.

On the brighter side--and there is one--XTC has fought tooth and nail to be unique, to be themselves (whatever incarnation that is at the time), to be weird and witty, subtle and subversive, and always harmonious and melodious, even amid chords that just don't sound right. Hence the lack of singles; hence the "love it or hate it" reaction to their music. And Moulding promises more of the same for the future, though he does see a new maturity in their work. "I think this is our most adult recording." Adult recording? Knowing XTC, this sounds naughty. "No," assures Moulding, "this isn't XXXTC."

"Apple Venus" represents the better tracks written over XTC's seven-year hiatus/standoff with Virgin Records. The near decade has seen old tracks packaged and repackaged, culminating in the four-disc set "Transistor Blast", which was lovingly chucked under the Christmas tree two months ago. But fans have been salivating for the new stuff, and 1999 promises to satiate their needs with the release of "Apple Venus" volumes I and II.

The first, hitting stores on Tuesday, February 23, contains songs of a "non-electrical" flavor, according to Moulding, while the electric volume will arrive later this year. A brilliant strategy? You would think. But Colin attributes the dual disc plan to not having enough budget to record all twenty-one songs at once. In fact, many of the tracks for "Apple Venus" had to be finished in his Swindon home. Music on a Farmboy's Wages.

The songs Andy Partridge has written for "Apple Venus" (the first)--such as "Knights in Shining Karma", "Easter Theatre", "Your Dictionary", "The Last Balloon", and "Green Man"--lie in the familiar territories of stories about lovers' bliss/strife, the future of civilization, the spiritual and scientific worlds, and a wee bit of British history. Of course, it's the irony, the cheekiness, or the complexity of tone that make each song truly XTC's, whatever the topic.

Moulding has contributed two original songs to the mix: "Fruit Nut", which "is really just a novelty song dealing with English eccentrics and hobbyists," and "Frivolous Tonight", which the always modest Colin calls his best song ever. "It's really just about a night in. It's a light song. But I feel there's a shortage of light songs-- though I know how you Americans like your angsty songs. I don't know anything about the world really. This is a broad subject, just about having fun at home."

Indeed, XTC has grown up; the days of "Life Begins at the Hop" and "Radios in Motion" are gone, replaced by the ever-refined gems in their musical pantheon. Time off the road, since Andy's much-publicized (by XTC standards) retreat from the limelight, has made them into the tightest recording studio band possible. But could they have been more if Andy's fears hadn't surfaced?

"My reaction at the time," says Moulding, "was, 'My God, what are we going to do?' If you were in a band, you toured. But I think it strengthened us in other ways." Yes, but could they play live now? Moulding doesn't think it's such a hot idea. "It be just like going back to our short trousers. Touring has more of an affinity with aerobics than music. Besides, that decision was taken out of my hands a long time ago."

Resentment? Not on Colin's part. But Dave Gregory is another story. He joined the band after XTC's first two albums, "White Music", and "Go 2", and was the revered guitarist who for almost twenty years really was the other wheel on the tricycle. So why the sudden departure, now that XTC is back in business? "Dave was not a happy man." It seems Gregory had a history of fighting with the always outspoken Partridge about his limited role in the band. "And Dave loves playing guitar. With where we were going on 'Apple Venus', making so many songs acoustic, he became the reluctant keyboard player." Though he is on the new album, Gregory is very much out of XTC.

Andy Partridge, the suffering genius, the enigmatic frontman, has rattled enough bones over the course of XTC's history to cause many to abandon the ship. But Colin and Andy--the heart and soul of the band--have only had one falling out in their long history. This doesn't mean it's an egalitarian relationship, as songs written by Andy always outnumber those written by Colin on a given album.

"Andy can be a bit of a bully," says the more laid-back Moulding, "but everyone chips in. And I know I contribute a lot more to Andy's songs than he does to mine. I have principality in the XTC country. I haven't heard the tanks rumbling yet. And it's not time for exile."

Partridge and Moulding can afford to be in good spirits now, as they are rid of "a manager who was absolutely useless." In addition to the albums, there is an upcoming Bravo special featuring the band, and they are making a number of stops in America to tout their rebirth. And what of a bubblegum pop project that XTC had cooked up over the hiatus, in the same vein as their pseudonymous band, The Dukes of Stratosphear?

"Christ!" says Moulding, "I think that was the last straw with Virgin." He believes their "little twee vignette," all in the name of fun for the Swindon boys, was an idea that illustrated how Virgin and XTC had not been on the same page. Rabid fans will, for now at least, have to settle for XTC's psychedelic alter egos, the Dukes.

The Dukes of Stratosphear song "25 O'Clock," was resurrected on "A Testimonial Dinner," the XTC tribute album, by quirky comrades They Might Be Giants. TMBG continued the praise on their album "Factory Showroom", with the tune "XTC vs. Adam Ant". Colin Moulding can't be sure who would win that war. "We've been on the same battlefield. Although, he's an actor now, isn't he? Then I guess we're on different battlefields."

And now XTC is entering a new phase of adulthood. The four snotty punks have been whittled down to two pros, at the top of their game. They're beyond making plans (for Nigel), past their stint as mayor of Simpleton, and are, all of a sudden, ready to re-introduce themselves to a limited, but ecstatic audience. The rest of the world, as always, has a chance to catch up.

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