I subscribe to and visit the important XTC sites (Idea, Chalkhills etc.); but I was wondering if any of you (who may be more privy than I, or perhaps Swindon "old town" residents) have any idea if Andy & Colin are working an another 'proper' XTC studio album?

Starved For Excellence In Seattle

I keep popping into the official site in the hope of some news, but nothing. Anywhere.

nick.lees at btinternet.com

I'm in the same boat. I had hoped to pass the time with the first four Fuzzy Warbles discs, but they didn't satisfy me. Part of what's great about XTC is the spit and polish, and the Fuzzy Warbles needed a bit more buffing.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Re: Fuzzy Warhols, etc.

I generally find that the official releases by artists are what I find satisfying long-term; I think I've listened to my Beatles' Anthology CDs through twice...maybe. Demos & out-takes don't do it for me.

No more idea than you on xtc news I'm afraid,but waiting as keenly as you for any new stuff. In the mean time, another band that I love,which you may not have heard of before & may be worth checking out are "JELLYFISH". They sadly dis-banded about 8-10 years ago, but did 2 killer albums called "bellybutton", & "spilt milk".Great musicianship,bits of beatles/supertramp/beach-boys/queen/xtc influences.Quite quirky (by usa standards)& from san-francisco, I think.Worth a search whilst waiting for swindons finest to get their act together. Cheers, matt.

Andy Partridge was underwhelmed by the poor sales of the two volumes of Apple Venus, and I get the impression that this has discouraged him from writing or releasing new material.

...which is a shame.

Mark S

quote:

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Originally posted by cider glider:
Andy Partridge was underwhelmed by the poor sales of the two volumes of Apple Venus, and I get the impression that this has discouraged him from writing or releasing new material.

...which is a shame.

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Oh man, I hope not...

New XTC albums are (were?) the only new releases that I could look forward to that gave me the same buzz as new albums by the Beatles, Kinks, Move, ELO etc. used to in the "old days". ...

Having said that, occasional new releases by Neil Finn (Finn Bros., Crowded House), Aimee Mann, Jon Brion, Michael Penn, Martin Newell, Nick Heyward etc. scratch the itch somewhat...

manicatel: Jellyfish were great; did you hear the Grays album (ex-Jellyfish guys)? Very XTC/Revolver-esque. Released 1994, deleted soon thereafter.

Jellyfish were magic. How many times has "Fan Club" sneaked into my shopping basket only to wimp out at the last moment?

I've not heard of The Grays (any samples out there?), but everything that splintered out of Jellyfish has been less than the sum of the original parts (though Imperial Drag had a good go at it).

My understanding is that Messers Sturmer and Manning had a world-class falling out at the end and are unlikely to voluntarily talk to each other, let alone work the magic again. Very very sadly.

And anyway Andy Sturmer's raking it in as the man behind a number of Japanese teen pop groups.

BTW I experienced a minor tragedy recently when, digging out a box of CD singles, I came across my copy of "The King Is Half Undressed", whose rather spiffy "Jellopack" of glitter stars and some dubious fluid had sprung a leak and deflated. :-(

Oh, and if Andy Partidge is throwing a snit about sales then someone should march down to Swindon, give him a good slapping and tell him to bloody well get on with it.

nick.lees at btinternet.com

bhazen, yeah I managed to get a copy of the grays album "ro sham bo" & enjoy it.As nick lees said though, not as good as the real thing IMHO.I have also got an"outtakes/demo" jellyfish cd called"new mistake", a japanese import of demo's of mainly stuff on the 2nd album.Anyway, nice to hear of som other people who have actually heard of them!Glad I managed to catch them live in cambridge some years back. A drummer who plays standing up & sings bloody well as well!(p.collins eat your heart out!) Cheers, matt.

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Originally posted by Nick Lees:
Oh, and if Andy Partidge is throwing a snit about sales then someone should march down to Swindon, give him a good slapping and tell him to bloody well get on with it.

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Nick, are you a manager?

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Oh, and if Andy Partidge is throwing a snit about sales then someone should march down to Swindon, give him a good slapping and tell him to bloody well get on with it.

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Sounds like a job for Mick Parry...

I don't think Mick knows much about XTC. Although I seem to remember he bought Apple Venus 2 on my recommendation!

Every time I walk past Andy Partridge's house the living room light is on - the implication being he's not in the shed, ergo no music being made. I'll pop a note through his door next time.

Reading the sleeve notes in Homespun, my impression is that it's Colin who's more the Shed man than Andy...

Pete.

If you're looking for something similar to early XTC, but possibly better, try Futureheads' eponymous debut.

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Originally posted by j8hn:
If you're looking for something similar to early XTC, but possibly better, try Futureheads' eponymous debut.

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Although I've got all of their early stuff, it it's too raw for my tastes. I very much prefer the polished intricacy of their later works.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

I agree with Mike, it's the stuff they made after Andy dusted off his copy of Magical Mystery Tour that I love best....