Editing XTC (section)

==1972–1982: early years and touring==

===Formation===
[[File:David Murray John Tower, Swindon - geograph.org.uk - 281394.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A view of [[Swindon]] in 2007]]

[[Andy Partridge]] and [[Colin Moulding]] grew up on Penhill [[council estate]] in [[Swindon]]. Partridge jokingly characterised the community as being populated almost entirely by people with physical, mental or emotional defects.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=XTC: Ninjas of the Mundane|date=20 April 1989|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> In the 1960s, he was a fan of contemporary pop groups like [[the Beatles]], but was intimidated by the process of learning guitar. When [[the Monkees]] grew popular, he became interested in joining a music group. He recalled watching local guitarist [[Dave Gregory (musician)|Dave Gregory]] performing [[Jimi Hendrix]]-style songs at churches and youth clubs: "Sort of [[acid rock|acid]]-[[skiffle]]. I thought, 'Ah, one day I'll play guitar!' But I didn't think I would be in the same band as this kid on the stage."<ref name="Contrast1990" /> Partridge eventually obtained a guitar and taught himself how to play it with no formal training.<ref name="Contrast1990" /> At the age of 15, he wrote his first song, titled "Please Help Me",{{sfn|Rachel|2014|p=200}} and attracted the nickname "Rocky" for his early guitar mastery of the Beatles' "[[Rocky Raccoon]]" (1968).<ref name="Mojo1999">{{cite journal|last=Ingham|first=Chris|title=XTC – 'Til Death Do Us Part|journal=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=March 1999}}</ref> By the early 1970s, his music tastes had transitioned "from the Monkees to having a big binge on this Euro-avant-garde stuff. I got really in deep."<ref name="Contrast1990" /> One of his first bands was called "Stiff Beach", formed in August 1970.{{sfn|Gimarc|2005|pp=1, 10}} In early 1972, Partridge's constantly evolving group settled into "Star Park", a four-piece that featured himself with guitarist Dave Cartner, drummer Paul Wilson, and a bassist nicknamed "Nervous Steve".{{sfn|Twomey|1992|pp=37–39}}

In 1972, Partridge became closer acquainted with Gregory, a [[diabetes|diabetic]] then suffering from a bout of [[Mood disorder|depression]],<ref name="Mojo1999"/> while working as an assistant at the Bon Marche record shop in Swindon.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |number=1090237415409762304 |date=29 January 2019|title=WIKI CORRECTOR-"Gregory was playing the Mahavishnu Orchestra's album The Inner Mounting Flame (1971), which he later called "one of the watershed moments in my musical education." No, I played Dave G the album when he came into the record dept of Bon Marche, where I worked.}}</ref> Gregory was playing the [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]]'s album ''[[The Inner Mounting Flame]]'' (1971), which he later called "one of the watershed moments in my musical education."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Partridge met Colin Moulding at the Stage Bar on Swindon's Old Town's Union Row, later known as Long's.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090232147896659970|title=THE WIKI CORRECTOR "Partridge (guitar, vocals) and Moulding (bass, vocals) met at a record store in the early 1970s" No, I recall we met in the Stage bar on Swindon Old Town's Union Row. (now Long's).}}</ref> Moulding had been playing bass since 1970 "because I liked music [and] I thought that playing a bass, with four strings, would be infinitely easier than playing a guitar, with six strings. That was a horrible misconception!"<ref name="brenda">{{cite journal |last1=Brenda |first1=Herrmann |title=Colin Moulding: The Agony and the XTC  |journal=Bass Player |pages=14–16 |date=September 1992}}</ref> At the end of 1972, Moulding and drummer [[Terry Chambers]] joined Partridge's band, replacing Nervous Steve and Paul Wilson, and the group was renamed "Star Park (Mark II)".{{sfn|Twomey|1992|pp=37–39}} Other members would frequently join and leave the group.<ref name="Contrast1990" />

===Local popularity, rise of punk and label signing===
After Star Park opened for [[Thin Lizzy]] in May 1973,{{sfn|Rachel|2014|p=203}} the band renamed themselves the Helium Kidz.<ref name="Contrast1990"/> Partridge's musical conceptions were "blown away" upon hearing the [[New York Dolls]]: "I suddenly just wanted to play three chords again and get out my mum's makeup and stuff."<ref name="Contrast1990" /> He subsequently wrote hundreds of songs for the Helium Kidz, and some demo tapes were sent to [[Decca Records]].<ref name="Contrast1990">{{cite magazine |last1=Bookasta |first1=Randy |last2=Howard |first2=David |title=Season Cyclers |magazine=Contrast |issue=7 |date=1990}}</ref> ''[[NME]]'' ran a small profile on the "up and coming" band, which consisted of Partridge, Moulding, Chambers and guitarist Dave Cartner: "They aspire to attain the impossible dream of being able to throw a TV or two out of the window of an American hotel and have no one complain."{{sfn|Gimarc|2005|p=17}} This version of the group lasted until 1975, when the Helium Kidz decided to rebrand themselves and change their music to "three-minute pop songs that were fast and inventive."<ref name="Contrast1990" /> Gregory auditioned for the band at this juncture, but did not end up joining.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> His musicianship was determined to be "too good".{{sfn|Farmer|1998|p=60}}

It was decided that the band have another name change. "The Dukes of Stratosphear" was considered, but Partridge thought it was too "flowery" and "psychedelic".<ref name="Contrast1990" /> He derived "XTC" from [[Jimmy Durante]]'s exclamation upon discovering [[The Lost Chord|the lost chord]]: "That's it! I'm in ecstasy!"{{sfn|Rachel|2014|p=203}} The name was chosen mainly for its emphatic appearance in print.<ref name="Milano84">{{cite news |last1=Milano |first1=Bret |title=An exclusive and revealing discussion with the band's eloquent frontman |newspaper=Fairfield County Advocate |date=7 November 1984}}</ref> Meanwhile, owing to creative differences with Partridge, synthesizer player Jonathan Perkins quit the band.<ref name="Chicago2000">{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=J.R. |title=Too Much of a God Thing |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/too-much-of-a-god-thing/Content?oid=902571 |newspaper=[[Chicago Reader]] |date=12 June 2000}}</ref> In search of his replacement, Partridge found [[Barry Andrews (musician)|Barry Andrews]] through a "keyboard player seeks band" advertisement. Instead of a formal audition, the two went out drinking together.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Andrews was immediately hired. During the first band rehearsal, Partridge recalled, "He sounded like [[Jon Lord]] from [[Deep Purple]]; fuzz box, wah wah pedal, bluesy runs. I said, You don't have to play like that, you can play like us if you want. The next rehearsal, he was like a maniac, like if [[Joan Miró|Miró]] had played electric organ. Fantastic."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> December 1976 officially marked the beginning of the Partridge–Moulding–Chambers–Andrews line-up.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walley |first1=Chas de |title=XTC: 'Is there a place in rock'n'roll for a Princess Anne lookalike?' – a classic feature from the vaults |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jan/23/xtc-classic-feature |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London |date=23 January 2013}}</ref> The members cut their long hair and, for a time, wore "[[kung-fu]] mechanic" outfits on stage.<ref name="spin89"/>

{{Quote box
 | quote = I really didn't like the phrase 'punk'—it just seemed kind of demeaning. I didn't like '[[new wave music|new wave]]' either, because that was already the phrase used for [[French New Wave|French cinema of a certain period]]. ... [Our music was] blatantly just [[pop music]]. We were a [[New Pop|''new'' pop]] group. That's all.
 | source = —Andy Partridge elaborating on XTC's song "[[This Is Pop]]", 2007{{sfn|Partridge|Bernhardt|2016}}
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[[Ian Reid (manager)|Ian Reid]], owner of a Swindon club named The Affair, was their third manager<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090239988900470784|title=WC-"Ian Reid, owner of a Swindon club named The Affair, was their first manager..." No, actually he was our third manager. The previous two were firstly Dave Bennett, then Tony Gordon (later Culture Club manager).}}</ref> and brokered deals for the group to perform at more popular venues such as the Red Cow in [[Hammersmith]], The Nashville Rooms and [[Islington]]'s [[Hope and Anchor, Islington|Hope and Anchor]]. By this time, the [[punk rock]] movement had emerged, which opened an avenue for the group in terms of record label appeal, even though the band did not necessarily fit in the [[punk ideologies|punk dogma]].<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Partridge remembered hearing the [[Sex Pistols]]' "[[Anarchy in the U.K.]]" (1976) and feeling underwhelmed by its similarity to the Monkees or the Ramones: "That sort of spurred me on – watching this stuff that I thought was rather average."{{sfn|Partridge|Bernhardt|2016}} Soon, [[John Peel]] saw the band perform at Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's and asked them to appear on his [[BBC Radio 1]] block.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Partridge credited him as "responsible for us getting a recording contract. ... As soon as we recorded that session for the BBC, suddenly three or four record labels wanted to sign us up."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thodoris |first1=Από |title=Interview: Andy Partridge (XTC) |url=https://www.hit-channel.com/interview-andy-partridge-xtc/132778 |website=Hit Channel |date=23 November 2017|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> After declining [[CBS Records International|CBS]], [[Harvest Records|Harvest]] and [[Island Records|Island]], they signed with [[Virgin Records]].<ref name="Mojo1999"/>

===''White Music'' and ''Go 2''===
In August 1977, XTC made their first commercially released studio recordings with producer [[John Leckie]] at [[Abbey Road Studios|Abbey Road]], which appeared on their debut release ''[[3D EP]]'' in October.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Their first full-length record, ''[[White Music]]'', was then recorded in less than two weeks, and released for January 1978. Partridge characterized the album as "[[Captain Beefheart]] meets [[the Archies]]" shrouded in 1950s-style [[retrofuturism]]. He reflected that the album was the sum of everything the band enjoyed, including the Beatles, [[Sun Ra]], and [[Atomic Rooster]],<ref name="Mojo1999"/> but dismissed the contents as premature songs "built around this electric wordplay stuff".<ref name="agony1992">{{cite journal |last1=Friedman |first1=Roger |title=The Agony of XTC |journal=Guitar |date=October 1992}}</ref> ''White Music'' reached number 38 on the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref name="OCC" /> Although the album was well received by the press (''Melody Maker'', ''NME'', ''Sounds'', and ''Record Mirror'' all gave positive reviews{{sfn|Twomey|1992|p=74}}), none of its singles managed to chart.<ref name="Mojo1999"/><ref name="XTCAMbio"/> They rerecorded "[[This Is Pop]]" as a lead single. Its follow-up, "[[Statue of Liberty (song)|Statue of Liberty]]", was banned on [[BBC Radio]] due to the lyric "I sail beneath her skirt".<ref name="Mojo1999"/> With each member placed on a £25 weekly salary,<ref name="Mojo1999"/> the band toured for the next five years.<ref name="Dom2000">{{cite news |last1=Dominic |first1=Serene |title=XTC: Stupidly Happy Ever After |url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/xtc-stupidly-happy-ever-after-6417095 |newspaper=[[Phoenix New Times]]|date=11 May 2000}}</ref> The group also made appearances on the children's television shows ''[[Tiswas]]'' and ''[[Magpie (TV series)|Magpie]]'',<ref name="Mojo1999"/> which meant they would occasionally play for under-16 crowds on these early tours.{{sfn|Twomey|1992|pp=75–76}} Partridge enjoyed these early shows, but would later resent touring as the band's audience numbers grew and the performing experience became more impersonal.<ref name="Milano84" />

By August 1978, XTC were prepared to record their next album.{{sfn|DeRogatis|2003|p=341}} The band had contacted [[Brian Eno]] to produce after they learned that he was a fan, but he declined, telling them that they were good enough to produce themselves.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Virgin rejected Eno's advice, and the group instead returned to Abbey Road with Leckie. Andrews appeared at the sessions with several original songs, but Partridge did not feel they were right for the band. He began taking Moulding and Chambers out for drinks without inviting Partridge, allegedly in an attempt to take over the group. After most of Andrews' songs were dropped from the final track list, the keyboardist told journalists that he foresaw the band "explod[ing] pretty soon".<ref name="Mojo1999"/> ''[[Go 2]]'', a more experimental venture, was released in October to positive reviews and a number 21 chart peak.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Like ''White Music'', it was given praise in ''Sounds'', ''Melody Maker'', and the ''NME''.{{sfn|Twomey|1992|p=79}} One of the tracks, "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)", was written in tribute to Eno.{{sfn|DeRogatis|2003|p=341}} The album also included a bonus EP, ''Go+'', which consisted of five dub remixes of XTC songs.<ref name="Mojo1999"/>

Andrews left the band in December 1978, while they were on their first American tour,<ref name="Mojo1999"/> and went on to form [[The League of Gentlemen (band)|the League of Gentlemen]] with [[Robert Fripp]] of [[King Crimson]].<ref name="XTCAMbio"/> Partridge said: "He enjoyed undermining what little authority I had in the band. We were bickering quite a lot. But when he left I thought, Oh shit, that's the sound of the band gone, this space-cream over everything. And I did enjoy his brain power, the verbal and mental fencing."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> XTC went through a "silly half-hearted" process of auditioning another keyboardist.<ref name="Contrast1990" /> Although [[Thomas Dolby]] was rumoured as a replacement, Partridge said that Dolby was never actually considered.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |number=1090243249112076288|title=WC- Regarding auditioning others after Barry's departure..."Thomas Dolby was in the running, but he was rejected" No, this is a myth, Thomas was not considered. He had his own future to look after.|date=29 January 2019}}</ref>

[[File:XTC live.jpg|thumb|left|XTC performing live (pictured from left: Gregory and Partridge)]]

Rather than hiring a replacement keyboardist, Dave Gregory of the covers band Dean Gabber and His Gaberdines was invited to join as a second guitarist. Partridge remembered holding a "pretend audition" where Gregory was asked to play "This Is Pop", only for Gregory to inquire whether they wanted the album version or the single version: "We thought, 'Bloody oh, a real musician.' But he was in the band before he even knew."<ref name="Contrast1990" /> Gregory was anxious of whether the fans would accept him as a member, characterizing himself as "the archetypal [[Pub rock (United Kingdom)|pub-rocker]] in jeans and long hair. But the fans weren't bothered. Nobody was fashionable in XTC, ever."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> He grew more comfortable with the group after playing a few shows, he said, "and things got better and better".<ref name="Mojo1999"/>

===''Drums and Wires'' and ''Black Sea''===

XTC were impressed by [[Steve Lillywhite]]'s work on [[Ultravox]]'s [[Ultravox! (album)|1977 debut]],<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |number=1090243973887725568|title=WC- "XTC were impressed by Steve Lillywhite's work on Siouxsie and the Banshees' The Scream" No, he was hired because we liked the sound of the 1st Ultravox album he was involved with.|date=29 January 2019}}</ref> and [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]]' ''[[The Scream (album)|The Scream]]'',<ref>{{cite journal|first=Jérôme |last=Soligny |title=Discorama XTC [an interview with Partridge] |journal=[[Rock & Folk]] |date=May 1999 |pages=62–67 |quote=Rock&Folk : L'album sonne donc très arrangé pour guitares. Est-ce également dû à la présence de Steve Lillywhite à la console ? Andy Partridge : Il a surtout contribué au son de batterie, très Siouxsie, plus vaudou.}}</ref> and he was contacted to produce their third album with a drum sound that would "knock your head off".<ref name="Mojo1999" /> With engineer [[Hugh Padgham]], the band embarked to the newly built [[Townhouse Studios]], "with its now world-famous stone room"; Gregory later recalled that Padgham had "yet to develop his trade-mark '[[gated reverb|gated ambience]]' sound".<ref name="gregnigel">{{cite web |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Todd |title=Dave remembers 'Making Plans for Nigel' |url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/XTCFans20081214.html |website=Chalkhills|date=15 December 2008|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> Coinciding with Gregory's arrival, the band recorded "[[Life Begins at the Hop]]" (1979), a Moulding composition.<ref name="XTCAMbio"/> By this time, Moulding "wanted to ditch [our] quirky nonsense and do more straight-ahead pop."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> He was surprised to learn that the label chose his song as a single over Partridge's.<ref name="LBAT09">{{cite web |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Todd |title=Colin discusses 'Life Begins at the Hop' |url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/XTCFans20090510.html |website=Chalkhills |date=11 May 2009|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> Upon release, it was the first charting single for the band,<ref name="XTCAMbio"/> rising to number 54 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="OCC" /> For a period, most of the group's singles were not placed on their albums. Moulding explained that this was because of an industry convention in the 1960s and the 1970s, and that when "we wanted to shift albums later on, that approach got blown out of the water."<ref name="nigel08">{{cite web |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Todd |title=Colin discusses 'Making Plans for Nigel' |url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/XTCFans20081123.html |website=Chalkhills |date=24 November 2008|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>

{{Listen
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|title="Making Plans for Nigel" (1979)
|description= In 2016, "[[Making Plans for Nigel]]" was ranked number 143 on ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s list of the 200 best songs of the 1970s, where it was described as "more tender and complex than a straightforward anti-establishment tirade."<ref name="P4kSongs2016">{{cite web |author1=Pitchfork Staff |title=The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9935-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1970s/?page=3 |website=Pitchfork |date=22 August 2016|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>
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''[[Drums and Wires]]'', released in August 1979, was named for its emphasis on guitars and expansive drums.<ref name="AMDrums"/> [[AllMusic]] reviewer Chris Woodstra wrote that it signalled "a turning point ... with a more subdued set of songs that reflect an increasing songwriting proficiency. The aimless energy of the first two albums is focused into a cohesive statement with a distinctive voice that retains their clever humor, quirky wordplay, and decidedly British flavor. ... driven by the powerful rhythms and angular, mainly minimalistic arrangements."<ref name="AMDrums">{{cite web |last1=Woodstra |first1=Chris |title=Drums and Wires |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/drums-and-wires-mw0000691295 |publisher=AllMusic|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> The distinctive drum pattern of its lead single, Moulding's "[[Making Plans for Nigel]]", was an attempt to invert drum tones and accents in the style of [[Devo]]'s cover of [[the Rolling Stones]]' "[[(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction|Satisfaction]]".<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090245601617502209|title=WC-Re NIGEL..."distinctive drum pattern of its lead single, Moulding's "Making Plans for Nigel", was discovered by accident after a miscommunication between Partridge and Chambers" No, it was planned like that. We liked DEVO putting the wrong drums in right place on SATISFACTION}}</ref> The song became a number 17 hit<ref name="OCC"/> and helped propel the album to number 37 in the UK.<ref name="XTCAMbio"/> Before "Nigel", XTC had struggled to fill more than half the seats of the small club circuits they played.{{sfn|Twomey|1992|p=102}} Afterward, the single was playlisted at the BBC, which helped the band secure two appearances on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. When touring resumed in November, every date was sold out.<ref name="gregnigel"/> In later years, the album became the best-known of XTC's discography<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090235447207477248|title=WIKI CORRECTOR-"XTC's best-known album, Skylarking, is generally regarded as their finest." No, I would contend that our best known album is DRUMS AND WIRES. I would also disagree that SKYLARKING is the finest.}}</ref> and Moulding and Partridge would look back on this point as the symbolic start of the band's career.<ref name="Mojo1999"/>

[[File:XTC UK.jpg|thumb|right|XTC photographed with Canadian fans, 1980. From left: Moulding (holding cup), Partridge (in the background, wearing glasses), Gregory, and Chambers.|upright=1.3]]

To follow up "Nigel", the band released "Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down" (1980), a [[reggae]]-influenced Partridge song with production by [[Phil Wainman]] of [[Bay City Rollers]] fame. It was their lowest-selling single to date. Concurrently, Virgin issued Moulding's "Ten Feet Tall" as the band's first US single.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> According to Gregory, "Colin began to fancy himself as the 'writer of the singles'".<ref name="Filter2007"/> In response to "the fuss made over Colin's songs", Partridge attempted to exert more authority in the group: "I thought I was a very benevolent dictator." Gregory disagreed, recalling that the band was "pretty tired" and that Partridge "could be a little bit of a bully".<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Partridge at this point released a side project with [[Take Away / The Lure of Salvage|''Take Away'' / ''The Lure of Salvage'']] in early 1980; a one-off record that appeared without much notice,<ref name="XTCAMbio"/> except in Japan, where it was hailed as a work of "electronic genius" and outsold all other XTC albums.<ref name="George83">{{cite magazine|last1=George |first1=Harry |title=The Case of the Missing Andy Boy |magazine=[[Trouser Press]] |date=October 1983 |pages=26–29 }}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Although it was credited to "Mr Partridge", he does not personally consider it a solo album.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |number=446222514034053120|date=19 March 2014|title=THE CORRECTOR-TAKEAWAY/LURE OF SALVAGE was not a solo album, merely a dub record of XTC tracks, the band never attended}}</ref> Virgin rejected his request to issue it as XTC as it would have counted toward their record contract.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |number=1090247437124595712|title=WC-"Partridge made his solo debut with Take Away / The Lure of Salvage" Careful, it wasn't a 'solo album', it was a continuation of more dub experiments. Virgin didn't want it out as XTC, as it would have counted as a contractual album.|date= 29 January 2019}}</ref>}}

''[[Black Sea (XTC album)|Black Sea]]'', released in September 1980, reunited the group with Lillywhite and Padgham and was well-received critically.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Singles "[[Generals and Majors]]", "[[Towers of London (song)|Towers of London]]" and "[[Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)]]" returned them to the charts at numbers 32, 31 and 16, respectively.<ref name="OCC" /> "Sgt. Rock" provoked feminist hate-mail for the lyric "keep her stood in line". Partridge regretted the song, calling it "crass but not enjoyably crass".<ref name="Mojo1999"/> "[[Respectable Street]]" was banned from BBC radio due to its references to abortion and a "[[Sony|Sony Entertainment Centre]]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Todd |title=Andy discusses 'Respectable Street' |url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/XTCFans20070226.html |website=Chalkhills |date=26 February 2007|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> Partridge believed ''Black Sea'' was the closest the group had come to representing their live sound in the studio.{{sfn|Twomey|1992|pp=113–114}} It remains XTC's second-highest charting British album, placing at number 16,<ref name="OCC" /> and the most successful album in the U.S. of their career, peaking at number 41 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref name="XTCAMbio"/> That October, the documentary ''XTC at the Manor'', which featured the band faking a studio session for "Towers of London",<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090248450640408576|title=WC-".. documentary XTC at the Manor, which highlighted the studio recording of "Towers of London" Because BBC couldn't get it together to come to ACTUAL recording session in Townhouse, this was all faked later for the cameras. The recording was never used. Illegal I think now ?}}</ref> was broadcast on [[BBC Two|BBC2]].<ref name="Ramon">{{cite magazine |last=Ramon |first=Gary  |title=XTC Recording History |magazine=[[Record Collector]] |date=November 1990 |issue=130}}</ref>

===''English Settlement'' and Partridge's breakdown===
[[File:Uffington-White-Horse-sat.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Uffington White Horse]] served as the inspiration for ''[[English Settlement]]''{{'}}s cover artwork. Partridge "wanted to move in a more pastoral, more acoustic direction."<ref name="QuietusSettlement"/>]]

From 1980 to 1981, XTC toured Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US in support of ''Black Sea'' as the opening act for [[the Police]]. At this point, they were playing in arena stadiums while Partridge's mental state was beginning to deteriorate, and he requested to cease touring, but was opposed by Virgin, his bandmates, and the band's management.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> He would occasionally experience moments of memory lapse to the extent that he would forget who he was.{{sfn|Twomey|1992|p=3}} His then-wife Marianne blamed his illness on his longtime dependency on [[Valium]],<ref name="Sailed2006" /> which he had been prescribed since the age of 12.{{sfn|Partridge|Bernhardt|2016}} She threw away the tablets,<ref name="Sailed2006" /> and over the next year, he experienced intense withdrawal effects that he later described as "brain melt".<ref name="teamrock16"/>

XTC became their own producers for their next album project.<ref name="RB2002">{{cite journal|title=XTatiCally Yours |journal=Record Buyer |date=April 2002}}</ref> Until this point, Partridge had insisted that every part of the band's arrangements on record could be replicated live.{{sfn|Twomey|1992|pp=110, 124}} He believed that "if I wrote an album with a sound less geared towards touring then maybe there would be less pressure to tour."<ref name="QuietusSettlement">{{cite news|last1=Keoghan|first1=Jim|title=A Watershed Moment: XTC's Andy Partridge on English Settlement|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/07896-xtc-andy-partridge-english-settlement|work=[[The Quietus]]|date=6 February 2012}}</ref> As such, the new music showcased more complex and intricate arrangements,<ref name="XTCAMbio"/><ref name="AMES">{{cite web |last1=Woodstra |first1=Chris |title=English Settlement |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/english-settlement-mw0000652650 |publisher=AllMusic|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> song lengths were longer, and subject matter covered broader social issues.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/05/03/the-xtc-legacy-an-appraisal/ |title=The XTC Legacy: An Appraisal |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=3 May 1992 |access-date=22 June 2016 |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot}}</ref> Much of the new material also featured acoustic instruments.<ref name="AMES"/> Gregory bought a [[Rickenbacker]] 12-string and began contributing to the records as a keyboardist.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> In February 1982, ''[[English Settlement]]'' was released as the group's first double album.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> The hook of its lead single, "[[Senses Working Overtime]]", was based on [[Manfred Mann]]'s "[[5-4-3-2-1]]" (1964),{{sfn|Partridge|Bernhardt|2016}} Both the album and single became the highest-charting records they would ever have in the UK, peaking at number five and number 10, respectively.<ref name="XTCAMbio"/><ref name="Mojo1999"/> In several territories outside the UK, the album was released as only a single LP.<ref name="Ramon"/>

The group scheduled television appearances and an international tour in support of ''English Settlement''. During a live-broadcast gig in Paris on 18 March, Partridge stopped playing and ran off the stage during the opening song 'Respectable Street', and afterward, took a flight back to Swindon for treatment, which amounted to [[hypnotherapy]]. He described feeling nausea and stomach pains while on stage: "My body and brain said, You're hating this experience I'm going to make it bad for you. When you go on stage I'm going to give you panic attacks and stomach cramps. You're not enjoying this and you haven't got the heart to tell anyone you can't carry on so I'm gonna mess you up."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> The band's remaining tour dates in England were cancelled.<ref name="Sailed2006" /> After recovering from the episode, Partridge rejoined the group for their first tour of the US as a headlining act.<ref name="Sailed2006" /> The band played the first date in San Diego. Gregory said that they were "totally unrehearsed" during the performance because "we'd not played together for two weeks. ... It was obvious that he was ill, but exactly what it was, no-one knew."<ref name="Ramon"/>

On 4 April 1982, XTC were scheduled to headline a sold-out show at the [[Hollywood Palladium]] in Los Angeles.<ref>Kristine McKenna, "XTC and the ABC's of Topical Pop", ''Los Angeles Times'', 4 April 1982. Retrieved via Newspapers.com.</ref> Partridge woke up that morning, he said, and "couldn't get off the bed. My legs wouldn't function. Walked to [[Ben Frank's]] coffee shop, where we'd all agreed to meet, in slow motion like I had both legs in plaster, trying not to throw up. I got in there, they knew what I was going to say."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> The tour ceased. He continued his hypnotherapy treatment, fearing that he was turning into the archetypal rock burn-out (such as [[Syd Barrett]]). "It got to the point where if I touched the front door knob, I wanted to throw up."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> For a period afterward, it was rumoured among fans and industry insiders that the group stopped performing because Partridge had died, and some American bands put on XTC tribute shows in his remembrance.<ref name="Milano84" />