Editing XTC (section)

{{short description|English rock band (1972–2006)}}
{{about|the band|the drug|MDMA|other uses|XTC (disambiguation)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist 
| name                = XTC
| background          = group_or_band
| image               = XTC bandphoto.jpg
| alt = XTC standing in a row in a black-and-white photo
| landscape           = yes
| caption             = XTC backstage in Toronto, Canada (October 1978), from left: [[Andy Partridge]], [[Colin Moulding]], [[Terry Chambers]] and [[Barry Andrews (musician)|Barry Andrews]]
| alias               = 
* Star Park (1972–1974)
* The Helium Kidz (1974–1975)
| origin              = [[Swindon]], [[Wiltshire]], England
| genre               = {{flat list|
*[[Pop music|Pop]]<ref name="XTCAMbio"/>{{sfn|Partridge|Bernhardt|2016}}<ref name="Trakin1981"/>
*[[art rock]]<ref name="Trakin1981">{{cite magazine|last1=Trakin|first1=Roy|title=The New English Art Rock|magazine=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]|date=February 1981|issue=30}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=McCormick|first=Moira|title=Continental drift|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13|date=22 August 1998|magazine=Billboard|page=13|issn=0006-2510}}</ref>
*{{nowrap|[[New wave music|new wave]]}}<ref name="XTCAMbio"/><ref name="PMSkylarking">{{cite web|last1=Mendehlson|first1=Jason|last2=Klinger|first2=Eric|title=XTC's 'Skylarking'|url=http://www.popmatters.com/post/192717-counterbalance-xtcs-skylarking/|website=PopMatters|date=24 April 2015|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>
*{{nowrap|[[post-punk]]}}<ref name="PMSkylarking"/><ref name="BennettStratton2013">{{cite book|last1=Bennett|first1=Andy|last2=Stratton|first2=Jon|title=Britpop and the English Music Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ts-hAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81|year=2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-9407-2|page=81}}</ref>
*{{nowrap|[[art punk]]}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Crandall|first=Bill|title=NO EXIT: XTC's Andy Partridge|magazine=Bam|date=8 August 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Klinge|first1=Steve|title=The Natural History – Beat Beat Heartbead|magazine=[[CMJ New Music Monthly]]|date=May 2003|issue=112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wSoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53|issn=1074-6978}}</ref>
*[[progressive pop]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Burdick|first1=John|title=The Best Guitarist in the World at Bearsville|url=http://www.hudsonvalleyalmanacweekly.com/2015/07/23/the-best-guitarist-in-the-world-at-bearsville/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811110353/http://www.hudsonvalleyalmanacweekly.com/2015/07/23/the-best-guitarist-in-the-world-at-bearsville/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=11 August 2015|website=Hudsonvalleyalmanacweekly.com|date=23 July 2015|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="LeoneCoat">{{cite web|last1=Leone|first1=Dominique|title=Coat of Many Cupboards|author-link=Dominique Leone|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8834-coat-of-many-cupboards/|website=Pitchfork.com|date=3 April 2002|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>
}}
| years_active        = 1972–2006
| label               = {{hlist|[[Virgin Records|Virgin]]|[[Cooking Vinyl]]|[[Idea Records|Idea]]}}
| spinoffs            = {{hlist|[[The Dukes of Stratosphear]]|[[TC&I]]}}
| website             = {{URL|ape.uk.net}}
| past_members        = 
* [[Andy Partridge]]
* [[Colin Moulding]]
* [[Terry Chambers]]
* [[Barry Andrews (musician)|Barry Andrews]]
* [[Dave Gregory (musician)|Dave Gregory]]
* See [[#Members|members section]] for others
}}
'''XTC''' were<!-- Per WP:ENGVAR, UK English uses the plural form for bands, groups, etc. Do not change "were" to "was". --> an English [[rock music|rock]] band formed in [[Swindon]] in 1972. Fronted by songwriters [[Andy Partridge]] (vocals, guitars) and [[Colin Moulding]] (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of [[punk rock|punk]] and [[New wave music|new wave]] in the 1970s, later playing in a variety of styles that ranged from angular [[guitar riff]]s to elaborately arranged [[pop music|pop]]. Partly because the group did not fit into contemporary trends, they achieved only sporadic commercial success in the UK and US, but attracted a considerable [[cult following]]. They have since been recognised for their influence on [[post-punk]], [[Britpop]] and later [[power pop]] acts.

Partridge and Moulding first met in the early 1970s and subsequently formed a [[glam punk|glam]] outfit with drummer [[Terry Chambers]]. The band's name and line-up changed frequently, and it was not until 1975 that the band was known as XTC. In 1977, the group debuted on [[Virgin Records]] and were subsequently noted for their energetic live performances and their refusal to play conventional punk rock, instead synthesising influences from [[ska]], 1960s pop, [[dub music]] and [[avant-garde music|avant-garde]]. The single "[[Making Plans for Nigel]]" (1979) marked their commercial breakthrough and heralded the [[gated reverb|reverberating drum sound]] associated with 1980s popular music.

Between 1979 and 1992, XTC had a total of 10 albums and 6 singles that reached the UK top 40, including "[[Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)]]" (1980) and "[[Senses Working Overtime]]" (1982). After 1982's ''[[English Settlement]]'', the band stopped [[concert tour]]ing and became a studio-based project centred on Partridge, Moulding and guitarist [[Dave Gregory (musician)|Dave Gregory]]. A spin-off group, [[the Dukes of Stratosphear]], was invented as a one-off excursion into 1960s-style [[psychedelic music|psychedelia]], but as XTC's music evolved, the distinctions between the two bands lessened. XTC continued to produce more [[progressive music|progressive]] records, including the albums ''[[Skylarking]]'' (1986), ''[[Oranges & Lemons (album)|Oranges & Lemons]]'' (1989) and ''[[Nonsuch (album)|Nonsuch]]'' (1992). In the US, "[[Mayor of Simpleton]]" (1989) was their highest-charting single, while "[[Dear God (XTC song)|Dear God]]" (1986) was controversial for its [[antireligion|anti-religious]] message.

Due to poor management, XTC never received a share of profits from record sales (of which there were millions), nor from touring revenue, forcing them into [[debt]] throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, they went on [[strike action|strike]] against Virgin, citing an unfair [[recording contract]], and soon extricated themselves from the label. Gregory left the band during the making of ''[[Apple Venus Volume 1]]'' (1999), after which the XTC name was used by the duo of Partridge and Moulding. In 2006, Partridge announced that his creative partnership with Moulding had disintegrated, leaving XTC "in the past tense". Moulding and Chambers briefly reunited as the duo [[TC&I (band)|TC&I]] in the late 2010s. Partridge and Gregory remain musically active. {{toclimit|3}}