Editing Andy Partridge (section)

==XTC==
{{Main|XTC}}
{{See also|The Dukes of Stratosphear}}
[[File:XTC live.jpg|thumb|left|XTC performing live (from left: guitarist [[Dave Gregory (musician)|Dave Gregory]] and Partridge)]]

In late 1972, Partridge's Star Park was joined by bassist [[Colin Moulding]] and drummer [[Terry Chambers]]. The band became known as XTC in 1975 and signed to [[Virgin Records]] in 1977. Partridge wrote the majority of XTC's songs, was the band's frontman and de facto leader, and in Moulding's view, typically acted as an "executive producer" for their albums.<ref>{{cite book|last=Myers|first=Paul|title=A Wizard, a True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K1WFL1CgvDIC&pg=PA212|year=2010|publisher=Jawbone Press|isbn=978-1-906002-33-6|page=255}}</ref> His early XTC songs were marked by his distinct singing style, something he jokingly described as a "walrus" or "seal bark", but otherwise an amalgamation of [[Buddy Holly]]'s "hiccup", [[Elvis Presley]]'s vibrato, and "the howled mannerisms of [[Steve Harley]]."<ref name="Farmer" /> He later dismissed most of his initial output 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>

While XTC were a formative [[punk rock|punk]] group, Partridge's music drew heavily from [[British Invasion]] songwriters, and his style gradually shifted to more traditional [[pop music|pop]], often with [[pastoral]] themes.<ref name="APambio"/> Music critic [[John Harris (critic)|John Harris]] said that Partridge exemplified "a very English genre: rock music uprooted from the glamour and dazzle of the city, and recast as the soundtrack to life in suburbs, small towns, and the kind of places – like Swindon – that may be more sizeable, but are still held up as bywords for broken hopes and limited horizons."<ref name="Harris2010">{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=John|author-link1=John Harris (critic)|title=The sound of the suburbs and literary tradition|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/apr/03/suburbia-pop-betjeman-john-harris|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 April 2010}}</ref> He cited Partridge's 1981 song "[[Respectable Street]]" as one of the "most evocative items" in his catalog.<ref name="Harris2010"/>

{{Listen
|pos=right
|filename=Senses Working Overtime.ogg
|title="Senses Working Overtime" (1982)
|description= The band's only British top 10 hit, "[[Senses Working Overtime]]", was written and sung by Partridge.<ref name="APambio">{{cite web|last1=Ankeny|first1=Jason|title=Andy Partridge|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/andy-partridge-mn0000045903|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> 
}}

In 1982, as XTC were about to headline a tour of the United States in support of ''[[English Settlement]]'', they permanently withdrew from concert touring after Partridge suffered an onstage nervous breakdown and remained a studio-only band from then on.<ref name="Mojo1999">{{cite journal|last=Ingham|first=Chris|title=XTC – 'Til Death Do Us Part|journal=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=March 1999|url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/MOJO199903.html}}</ref> For a period afterward, it was rumoured among fans and industry insiders that the group had stopped performing because Partridge had died, and some American bands put on XTC tribute shows in his remembrance.<ref name="Milano84">{{cite news |last1=Milano |first1=Bret |title=An exclusive and revealing discussion with the band's eloquent frontman |url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/Fairfield19841107.html |newspaper=Fairfield County Advocate |date=7 November 1984}}</ref> The group ran into more problems once it was discovered that poor management led to them incurring hundreds of thousands in unpaid [[value-added tax]]es. Partridge said that he was eventually left with "about £300 in the bank, which is really heavy when you've got a family and everyone thinks you're 'Mr Rich and Famous'."<ref name="HuntPhaze">{{cite magazine |last1=Hunt |first1=Chris |title=Andy Partridge Interview |magazine=Phaze 1 |date=1989 |url=http://www.chrishunt.biz/features16.html}}</ref>

In December 1984, Partridge formed [[the Dukes of Stratosphear]], a [[Neo-psychedelia|neo-psychedelic]] XTC offshoot that he envisioned as a pastiche of "your favourite bands from 1967".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.10ft.it/dukes/notes.htm |title=About Dukes |website=10ft.it |access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref> They recorded the mini-album ''[[25 O'Clock]]'' (1985) and the LP ''[[Psonic Psunspot]]'' (1987), both of which outsold XTC's concurrent studio albums (''[[The Big Express]]'' and ''[[Skylarking]]'') in the UK.<ref name="HuntPhaze" /> Around this time, Partridge also established himself as a producer of other artists. However, Virgin Records refused to allow XTC to act as their own producers, which sometimes caused tensions between Partridge and whoever was assigned to produce the band.<ref name="Sailed2006" /> According to Partridge, he generally got along with the band's producers, except for [[Todd Rundgren]] on ''Skylarking'' and [[Gus Dudgeon]] on 1992's ''[[Nonsuch (album)|Nonsuch]]''.<ref name="RundgrenRadio-Andy">{{cite web|author1=Doug|title=Andy Partridge interview|url=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/runt/2008/02/17/rundgren-radio/|website=Rundgren Radio|access-date=5 January 2018|time=57:00–58:50, 1:45:00–1:46:25 |date=17 February 2008|type=Audio}}</ref>

In the 1990s, Partridge was regarded as "godfather" to the nascent [[Britpop]] movement due to his earlier work with XTC.<ref name="Morrish1999"/> They released several more albums on Virgin and two more on their own label, [[Idea Records]], before going on hiatus in 2006. In July 2008, Partridge wrote in the ''[[Swindon Advertiser]]'' that XTC had dissolved "for reasons too personal and varied to go into here, but we had a good run as they say and produced some real good work."<ref>{{cite web | title = What's happening with Colin? | author = Andy Partridge | url = http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/leisure/music/andysanswers/3558640.What_s_happening_with_Colin_/ | publisher = The Swindon Advertiser | date = 30 July 2008 | access-date = 12 October 2008 | author-link = Andy Partridge | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110929104107/http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/leisure/music/andysanswers/3558640.What_s_happening_with_Colin_/ | archive-date = 29 September 2011 }}</ref>

Partridge has stated that his favourite XTC album was ''[[Nonsuch (album)|Nonsuch]]'' (1992), and considered "Rook" and "[[Wrapped in Grey]]" from that album, along with "[[Easter Theatre]]" from ''[[Apple Venus Volume 1]]'' (1999), to be the "perfect songs" of his career.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Todd |date=27 June 2010 |title=Andy answers fans' questions about guitar playing and players – Part I |url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/XTCFans20100627.html |access-date=20 September 2017 |website=Chalkhills}}</ref> For many years, he also regarded "[[Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her]]" from ''The Big Express'' as his finest song.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Todd |last2=Partridge |first2=Andy |author-link2=Andy Partridge |date=8 July 2007 |title=Andy discusses 'Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her' |url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/XTCFans20070708.html |website=Chalkhills}}</ref>

Since XTC's breakup, Partridge has acted as curator to the band's legacy, overseeing reissues and remasters, and maintaining a web presence.<ref name="Nelson2016">{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Sean |title=Artistic Crap: Part One of a Serialized Interview with Andy Partridge of XTC |url=https://www.thestranger.com/music/2016/04/13/23950754/artistic-crap-part-one-of-a-serialized-interview-with-andy-partridge-of-xtc |website=The Stranger |access-date=17 May 2019 |date=13 April 2016}}</ref> The official XTC [[Twitter]] account @xtcfans (now defunct) was originally managed by writer Todd Bernhardt, but Partridge later "sort of took it over, because [he] thought it was weird that there was another person in the way."<ref name="Zaleski2016" /> In 2016, Partridge and Bernhardt released a book, ''Complicated Game: Inside the Songs of XTC'', that contains discussions between the two about 29 XTC songs, one Partridge solo track, and an overview of his approach to songwriting. It was published by Jawbone Press.<ref name="Zaleski2016">{{cite web |last1=Zaleski |first1=Annie |title="Music is so abused these days": XTC's Andy Partridge opens up about songwriting, painting and developing the "cruel parent gene" toward your own art |url=http://www.salon.com/2016/03/20/music_is_so_abused_these_days_xtcs_andy_partridge_opens_up_about_songwriting_painting_and_developing_the_cruel_parent_gene_toward_your_own_art/ |website=[[Salon magazine|Salon]] |date=20 March 2016|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>