The Blasphemous Story of XTC & "Dear God" I New British Canon

XTC burst out of late 1970s Britain with hooks for days. While many of the punk bands around them proudly ignored anything before 1976, they took notes from The Beatles, Kinks, and Beach Boys and reformed them into pugnacious state-of-the-art pop. “Making Plans For Nigel,” “Generals and Majors” and “Senses Working Overtime” made their unique stamp on the UK Charts.

But when XTC stopped playing live in 1982, their career took a much more interesting turn. Unable to sell their Englishness to the UK, instead via calamitous recording sessions with Todd Rundgren and a dismissed b-side, XTC landed a punch squarely below the Bible Belt. This is New British Canon, and this is the story of “Dear God.”

#xtc #postpunk #musicdocumentary

Fact-checking by Chad Van Wagner.

00:00 Introduction
00:49 "This Is Pop" The Early Years of XTC
07:51 "Making Plans For Nigel" The Rise of Colin Moulding
14:10 "Senses Working Overtime" The XTC & The Agony
18:58 Skylarking: Last Chance For XTC
26:16 "Dear God" Fist-Fighting a Deity
32:34 "You Bring The Summer" Enduring Legacy

Bibliography
XTC: Song Stories by XTC & Neville Farmer, 1998, Helter Skelter
Complicated Game: Inside The Songs of XTC by Andy Partridge & Todd Bernhardt, 2016, Jawbone
Isle of Noise: Conversations with Great British Songwriter by Daniel Rachel, 2013, Picador
"Song of the Week -- Andy's Take" by Andy Partridge & Todd Bernhardt, Chalkhills, 2006-2009
"XTC: Our 1989 Interview" by Rosemary Passantino, Spin Magazine, Apr 1989
"‘My dream had died’: XTC’s Andy Partridge on mental illness,..." by Fergal Kinney, The Guardian, Oct 2022
"The Stories Behind The Songs: Making Plans For Nigel" by Paul Lester, Classic Rock, Jan 2015
"Todd Rundgren In-Studio with Jonesy" by Steve Jones, 955KLOS, May 2019
"How we made: XTC on Making Plans for Nigel" by Dave Simpson, Colin Moulding & Terry Chambers, The Guardian, Apr 2020
"MAGNET CLASSICS: THE MAKING OF XTC’S 'SKYLARKING'" by A.D. Amorosi, Magnet Magazine, Mar 2016
"PARCELS FROM A PATCHOULI PAST: AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW PARTRIDGE" by Bill Gibron, Popmatters, Feb 2010
"English Settlement - Andy Partridge: Small-town by perfectly formed." by Peter Paphides, Mojo Magazine, Feb 2003
"Skylarking XTC Review" by Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, Apr 2020
"XTC Ninjas of the Mundane" by Steve Pond, Rolling Stone, Apr 1989
"XTC’s Andy Partridge on COVID-19, Valium and 20 Years of ‘Wasp Star Apple Venus (Vol. 2)’" by Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, May 2020
"THE MAN WHO SAILED AROUND HIS SOUL" by Patrick Schabe, Popmatters, Oct 2006
"Heavy Load: Andy Partridge" by Ian Fortnam, Classic Rock, Feb 2016
"All-Time Classics: Skylarking by XTC" by Joe Standard, Uncut, Aug 2004
"English Settlement: The Rise and Fall and Rise of XTC" by Joe Silva, Ray Gun, Jan 1999
"XTC: 'Til Death Do Us Part" by Chris Ingham, Mojo Magazine, Mar 1999
"The Great XTC Problem" by Craig W Thomas, Rock's Backpages, 2006
"XTC: Senses Working Overtime" by Pete Paphides, The Word, Apr 2004
"XTC: An Everyday Story Of Country Punks" by Tim Lott, Record Mirror, Oct 1977
"The Agony & The XTC" by Chas de Whalley, Sounds, Nov 1977
"The Agony and the XTC" by Jim Green, Trouser Press, Aug 1978
"The Agonies of XTC" by Toby Goldstein, Creem, Apr 1979
"XTC: The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindon" by David Hepworth, Smash Hits, Nov 1979
"XTC: Making Plans for Andy Colin Terry and Dave" by Nick Kent, NME, Oct 1979
"XTC: Last Exit To Catalonia" by Paul Morley, NME, Sept 1980
"XTC: Optimism Is Next Week’s Thing" by Mike Stand, Smash Hits, Sept 1980
"XTC: Slaving For The Yankee Dollar" by Betty Page, Sounds, Dec 1980

Soundtrack
Luar - Citrine (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present
Luar - Anchor (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)

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