A trawl through the music and art work of XTC's single releases (part 3)

 And so for the third and final installment of my trawl through the music and artwork of XTC's vinyl single releases. If you've not seen the previous posts then check out part 1 and part 2.

This post sees us in 1986, where XTC released a new album, Skylarking, but just one single, Grass, written about a park in Swindon as opposed to cannabis, was taken from the album. Grass was written by Colin Moulding, with the b-side track, Dear God, written by Andy Partridge, which would go on to become a single in its own right in later years, although again not without controversy over the lyrics. The 12" version contains the additional track, Extrovert. The single only managed to get to number 100 in the UK charts.

XTC - Grass, Virgin records, c.1986

Moving on to 1987 now, the next single release by XTC was the Colin Moulding penned track, The Meeting Place, again taken from the latest album, Skylarking. The track tells the tale of a man meeting his wife outside a factory, in this case the Swindon railway works, whose hooter features as the track starts. The b-side is The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul, written by Andy Partridge. Initial copies of the 7" single came on clear vinyl in a printed plastic sleeve. It was also released with a conventional picture sleeve.

The 12" version has both the 7" tracks on the a-side, with 4 XTC home demos on the b-side: Terrorism, Let's Make a Den, Find The Fox, and The Troubles. Although many of the earlier XTC singles turn up 'in the wild' from time to time, this one never seems to, in any of its formats. Ebay currently has a few copies with the prices reflecting the seeming rarity of the release.

XTC - The Meeting Place, Virgin records, c.1987

XTC's next single was Dear God, which had already been released as the b-side of Grass. Lyrically contentious, questioning the existence of God and the existence of evil, Partridge again attracted hate mail. The record only made it into the very lower reaches of the UK chart, and although not included on early pressings of Skylarking it does feature on later re-pressings. The b-side is Big Day, written by Colin Moulding. The 12" release features an extra track, Another Satellite, written by Andy Partridge.

Although this post is only about vinyl, I will make an exception briefly to mention the CD version of Dear God, which includes all 6 songs from the Homo Safari series, which as far as I'm aware have never been released on a single vinyl compilation, only as b-sides to their various singles. 

XTC - Dear God, Virgin records, c.1987

1988 was a fallow year for XTC, with no releases at all. In 1989 XTC released another studio album Oranges and Lemons, from which a further 3 singles were taken. First to be released was Mayor of Simpleton, written by Andy Partridge with Colin Moulding's One Of The Millions on the b-side. There were 2 different 12" versions of this release. A conventional one, featuring a cover version of Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) song, Ella Guru, taken from his 1969 Trout Mask Replica album. The other version of the 12" was a limited edition release containing 3 previous singles: Dear God, Senses Working Overtime, and Making Plans For Nigel. The single reached number 46 in the UK charts.

XTC - Mayor of Simpleton, Virgin records, c.1989

The next single to be release from the Oranges and Lemons album was King For a Day, written by Colin Moulding, with the Andy Partridge penned, Happy Families on the b-side. A 12" version was released which featured a 12" mix of King For a Day, as well as the 7" version and Happy Families.

XTC - King For a Day, Virgin records, c.1989

The final XTC single to be released in 1989 was The Loving, again taken from the Oranges and Lemons album. The Loving was written by Andy Partridge, with Colin Moulding's Cynical Days on the b-side. The original version of this release had white paper labels but later versions have silver injection labels. The 12" version has an extra track, The World Is Full of Angry Young Men, written by Colin Moulding. The release failed to make any impact on the UK charts.

XTC - The Loving, Virgin records, c.1989

There now followed a 3 year hiatus before we were treated to another XTC release. 1992 saw the release of their album Nonsuch. This was the time when CDs were much more prevalent than vinyl, and original vinyl pressings of this and their subsequent albums go for quite a hefty sum on Ebay. The first single to be taken from Nonsuch was Disappointed, an Andy Partridge composition about people who have been turned down romantically and have come together to join "the disappointed". On the b-side was Colin Moulding's The Smartest Monkeys. It was also released as a 10" single, with Humble Daisy, written by Andy Partridge, as an additional track. The single reached number 33 in the UK charts but was the last time XTC troubled the UK Top 40.

XTC - The Disappointed, Virgin records, c.1992

The second single to be released from Nonsuch was The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, telling the story of a man who helps the poor but is then killed off by the government. The b-side is Wardance, written by Colin Moulding, Ebay has plenty of this release for sale on CD, but not so many copies on vinyl, and it would seem, according to the discogs pricing history, that it's relatively hard to find.

XTC - The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, Virgin records, c.1992

The third and final single to be released from Nonsuch was the Andy Partridge penned, Wrapped In Grey, however it was quickly withdrawn by Virgin with only a few thousand copies having been pressed. As such it's quite a collector's item. The CD version goes for £100's on discogs, but no one is selling the 7". Following this release XTC effectively went on strike following a dispute with Virgin records. The b-side features 2 versions of the track Bungalow, written by Colin Moulding.

XTC - Wrapped in Grey, Virgin records, c.1992

And so we come to the end of XTC's vinyl single releases. They did not release another single until 1999's Easter Theatre, but that along with subsequent singles were only released on CD, so I've not included them here.

Once again, thanks very much for reading. I hope you've enjoyed it. If you missed them then part 1 and part 2 are also available to read.

Here are links to a few books about XTC which may be of interest:

 

Complicated Game, Inside the Songs of XTC, by Andy Partridge

The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls

XTC - Chalkhills and Children, the Definitive Biography

A trawl through the music and art work of XTC's single releases (part 2)

 Following on from my previous post, a trawl through the music and art work of XTC's single releases (part 1), below is the second installment in the series. In my previous post, we finished at the end of 1980, with Towers of London and so to start this post we kick-off with XTC's first single release of 1981, and another track taken from their fourth album, Black Sea, Respectable Street. Once again the lyrics to one of their songs courted controversy, and the album version of this track was rewritten to replace some of the wording which the BBC did not favour, namely 'contraception' and 'abortion'. Despite this forced change however, it would seem that the BBC still did not give any airtime to Respectable Street and it failed to chart.

The b-side featured 2 tracks, Strange Tales, Strange Tails (Andy Partridge) and Officer Blue (Colin Moulding). Unlike many of their previous, and indeed future, releases, the sleeve of the single did not feature any 'gimmicks' that I'm aware of.

XTC - Respectable Street, Virgin records, c.1981

Moving on to 1982, next up is XTC's best selling single, Senses Working Overtime, which reached the dizzy heights of number 10 in the UK charts. This was the first of 3 tracks to be released as a single from their fifth album, English Settlement. The a-side was written by Andy Partridge. The b-side featured 2 tracks, Blame the Weather (Colin Moulding) and Tissue Tigers (Andy Partridge). Early copies of the 7" single were released in a fold out sleeve showing each of the 5 senses and included the lyrics. There are a fair few of these on Ebay, although most seem to be the version without the foldout sleeve.

XTC - Senses Working Overtime, Virgin records, c.1981

This single was also released on 12", making it their first 12" release since the 3D EP back in 1977. The only additional track on the 12" version was Egyptian Solution (Homo Safar Series No. 3), written of course by Andy Partridge.

Following on from the success of Senses Working Overtime, XTC went on to release a second single from English Settlement, Ball and Chain, written by Colin Moulding about the over development in his home town, Swindon. Unlike the single before however, it only graced the lower end of the UK charts. The b-side features 2 Andy Partridge tracks, Punch and Judy, and Heaven Is Paved With Broken Glass. This single release comes in a conventional picture sleeve, with no 'enhancements' although perhaps the story behind the picture did not require any embellishing. The picture is of Peter Uzzell's house in Swindon which he refused to move out of when all the surrounding houses were being demolished. The track was apparently played at his cremation.

It was also released in 12" format with an additional track, Cockpit Dance Mixture, written by Andy Partridge.

XTC - Ball and Chain, Virgin records, c.1982

The third and final single to be taken from their English Settlement album was No Thugs In Our House, which despite the success of earlier singles failed to chart at all. The a-side was written by Andy Partridge and chronicles the antics of Graham, who has joined a far right group and spends his time drinking and being violent, to the (seeming) ignorance of his parents. The b-side has 3 tracks, Chain of Command (Andy Partridge), Limelight (Colin Moulding) and Over Rusty Water (Andy Partridge). Chain of Command and Limelight were originally available on the 7" that was given away with early copies of their 1979 Drums and Wires album.

The sleeve on this release has to be one of the most intricate of XTC's many singles. The sleeve opens out into a theatre with the characters (Graham's parents, the policeman and the judge) on a separate cardboard insert.

XTC - No Thugs In Our House, Virgin records, c.1982

As we move into 1983, we see another XTC album release, Mummer, from which 3 more singles were taken, staring with Great Fire. All tracks were written by Andy Partridge. The b-side on the 7" is Gold, and on the 12" version the extra tracks are Frost Circus (No. 5 In The Homo Safari Series) and Procession Towards Learning Land (No. 6 In The Homo Safari Series). This should have concluded the Homo Safari series, although number 4 comes later, which we'll come to in a few record's time.

Initial copies of the Great Fire 7" single came in a plastic sleeve with a wavy pattern on it. The sleeve of the record fits inside this and also has a wavy pattern on it. Removing the sleeve from the plastic sleeve creates a fire-like effect.

XTC - Great Fire, Virgin records, c.1983

The next single to be take from the Mummer album was the Colin Moulding penned Wonderland, with Jump by Andy Partridge on the b-side. It was released as a limited edition picture disc as well as in a conventional picture sleeve. It only managed to reach number 104 in the UK charts. This release was not issued on 12". The non-picture disc version of the 7" seems fairly common on Ebay but the picture disc version less so.

XTC - Wonderland, Virgin records, c.1983

The final track to be taken from Mummer as a single was Love On A Farmboy's Wages. Every bit as good as Senses Working Overtime, this single only managed to reach number 50 in the UK charts, which seems surprising. The a-side was written by Andy Partridge, and was perhaps surprisingly covered by Fairport Convention on their Sense of Occasion album from 2007. The b-side features a Colin Moulding song, In Loving Memory of a Name. There was a limited edition double single version of this release, in a gatefold sleeve which opens up like a wallet. The tracks on the extra single, both written by Andy Partridge, are Desert Island and Toys. 

This single was also release on 12" and, perhaps unusually, features 3 completely different tracks compared to the double 7" single. These 3 tracks are Burning With Optimism's Flame (Andy Partridge), English Roundabout (Colin Moulding), and Cut It Out (Andy Partridge), the last 2 of these being live recordings from the Hammersmith Odeon in May 1981.

XTC - Love On A Farmboy's Wages, Virgin records, c.1983

Moving on to 1984 now sees the release of yet another XTC album, The Big Express, again producing 3 singles. This album has some innovative sleeve design, but I think that will have to wait for another day. The first single to be released from The Big Express was All You Pretty Girls, written by Andy Partridge, with Washaway on the b-side. There was a limited edition version of the single which features a die-cut outer sleeve designed like a sailor's top, with a printed inner sleeve showing the tattoo adorned sailor's chest, which houses the vinyl.

The single was also released on 12" with an extra track, Red Brick Dream, written by Andy Partridge.

XTC - All You Pretty Girls, 7" Virgin records, c.1983

The second single to be released from The Big Express was This World Over, written by Andy Partridge about nuclear weapons. The single sleeve came with 6 mini postcards attached, with "Greetings from" each of Paris/Berlin/Tokyo/Moscow/New York/London. The b-side is a track called Blue Overall, also written by Andy Partridge. The 12" version of the release does not include any additional tracks but the version of This World Over is the full length version.

XTC - This World Over, Virgin records, c.1984

Just the 2 singles in 1984 before we head on into 1985 for the third and final single taken from The Big Express album. This time it's Colin Moulding's track, Wake Up. On the b-side are 2 Andy Partridge compositions, Take This Town and, finally number 4 in the Homo Safari series, Mantis On Parole, thus completing the 6 parts of this series, albeit not quite in the right order. No particular extensions to the sleeve artwork on this one as far as I can see, almost marking the end of such antics. The 12" version of Wake Up includes 3 additional tracks, Making Plans For Nigel, Sgt Rock, and Senses Working Overtime, almost like a mini greatest hits compilation.

XTC - Wake Up, Virgin records, c.1985

So, that's the end of the second installment. Many thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully the third and final part will follow shortly, starting with Grass from 1986.

Before I do bring this post to an end, here are links to a few books about XTC which may be of interest:

 

Complicated Game, Inside the Songs of XTC, by Andy Partridge

The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls

XTC - Chalkhills and Children, the Definitive Biography