THE AGONY OF BEING XTC
While Andy Partridge searches through his travel bag to show me books he has purchased at a sale in New York, it gives me precious few moments to think through the history of XTC, a group tagged with labels that range from “difficult” to “cute” to “coy” but who are actually in the vanguard of making a new pop.
THE AGONY OF BEING XTC
Walter Wasacz
While Andy Partridge searches through his travel bag to show me books he has purchased at a sale in New York, it gives me precious few moments to think through the history of XTC, a group tagged with labels that range from “difficult” to “cute” to “coy” but who are actually in the vanguard of making a new pop. ;:
Ready? From Swindon, England, which is 80 miles due west of London, home of both Justin Hayward and Desmond Morris, XTC began in about 1973 as the Helium Kids, had long hair, considered themselved part of the glam underground and drove away the Swindon locals “by the hundreds” when they played live.
Then, through the years, the image changed. There were the white boiler suits with black belts—“Sound familiar?” inserted Partridge at this point—in 1976, and the name changed to XTC. And at this time, rising ingloriously to the east, punk emerged to cleanse, distort and renew, and the little group from Swindon was swept along for the passionate ride (In fact: “We had our 1977 in 1973,” he said).