I had a dream a few years ago that I was sat in the front row of the Royal Albert Hall to see a band play live that hadn’t been onstage together since 1982. XTC triumphantly strode out to roars of approval in the magnificent venue and proceeded to blow the minds of the thousands of fans who’d turned up, by taking us on a musical journey through one of the greatest back catalogues known to humankind. In the second half they were joined by a full orchestra. It was pretty mind-blowing. But it was just a dream.
The chances of XTC (Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding plus any two or three out of Barry Andrews, Dave Gregory and Terry Chambers) performing live are almost nil. Actually, it’s probably nil exactly but I like to be optimistic. However, there is some good news for fans of Swindon’s finest. Two of the original members (not Partridge, natch) have started working together again and will be playing at least four live dates later this month.
The Swindon Arts Centre may not boast anywhere near the capacity and grandeur of the RAH, but at the end of October something truly stupendous will be happening there. Colin Moulding and Terry Chambers, founding members of XTC, will stand their new group – ingeniously called TC&I – in front of a paying audience and play some songs. Some XTC songs. That’s if they don’t bottle it, of course. The ever softly-spoken Moulding, when I ask him how he is feeling about the shows, replies: “Well, the die is cast, so I’ve got to do it now… Walking to the scaffold.”
I spend a delightful afternoon in Moulding’s home studio in Wanborough with the bassist/songwriter and original drummer Chambers. It’s a shed, just like the one at the end of Partridge’s garden, only slightly bigger and certainly more crowded as, when I visit, they have somehow managed to cram a whole drum kit in there. It’s the hottest day of the year, and because I’m taping the chat (which was broadcast on 8 August on talkRADIO), I have to insist the small fan is turned off. It is a very warm 60 minutes.
The reunion between Chambers and Moulding happened last year when the drummer moved back from Australia following a divorce. He first went over there when he quit the band in 1982 after Partridge called an end to live shows. Partridge’s addiction to Valium, coupled with crippling stage fright, meant he would never again step onto a stage. The band were going to hunker down in the studio, like The Beatles after Candlestick Park, and make ever more beautiful and creative LPs. Chambers wasn’t convinced by the new no-touring policy, or the new songs.
“I felt some of the songs we were rehearsing at that time [for what would become 1983’s Mummer] weren’t quite as strong as the ones on [1982’s] English Settlement,” the drummer recalls. “So that and the combination of, ‘I’m never gonna tour again’ – these things started to add up and I’m thinking, ‘Is it time for me?’”
According to Chambers, Partridge went to extreme measures to keep the down-to-earth drummer on board, even offering to junk everything he had planned for the album.
“Andy actually rang me up and said, ‘Listen, if you’re worried about the songs, I’ll scrap the lot and start again.’
I said, ‘Look, they’re your songs, Andy. You’re not going to cut your arm off for me. I think it’s time I moved away.’”
There’s a hint of regret in Chambers’ voice, and when pushed he reveals that, if his time came again, he would do things differently. Both Chambers and Moulding bemoan the lack of understanding surrounding mental health in the early 80s and accept that, if they had understood Partridge’s condition better and had had a more sympathetic management, then perhaps Chambers would have stuck around. This is a band whose story is filled with “maybes”, “possiblys”, and “what ifs?”.
But move away Chambers did, to be replaced by a succession of studio drummers, some famous (including sticksmen for outfits as far-flung as The Glitter Band and Fairport Convention), while XTC carried on growing in the studio.
When Chambers returned to the UK in 2017 and stayed a little longer than was expected, Moulding’s brain started whirring. “I thought: would you be into recording some songs?” And in the tradition of all great band decisions, this one was made in a pub – for those of you compiling an XTC Magical Mystery Tour, you can add The White Horse to your route, because that’s where the two of them cemented their new group in booze and pizza.
The result was a delightful EP called Great Aspirations which kicks off with the incredibly Moulding-in-XTC-sounding Scatter Me, a beautiful, breezy pop tune, written in bed, about what to do with his remains when he passes. Somehow, he makes it all sound rather jolly.
Buoyed by the surprising success of this homebrew record, the two wondered what to do next. There was only one possible route, according to Moulding.
“We thought, ‘Should we do some shows?’ Having written all those songs for XTC over the years I thought, ‘My God, I’m never going to hear those songs in a concert hall. Now TC is here, what’s the chances of us doing some shows?’”
I’m struck by how matter-of-fact it all sounds. Yes, the logical conclusion for most bands is to write some songs and then play them in front of people. Yet after 1982, this thought never seemed to pop into Moulding’s head. There was never any serious conversation about replacing Partridge in the live band while he worked in the studio a la Brian Wilson, and Moulding looks genuinely confused when I ask him why he has never been out on his own or with a band. It’s almost as if, for the last
36 years, the thought never occurred.
Anyway, Swindon’s Arts Centre was booked for the “comeback” shows: four nights in total. Some way off the RAH of my dream gig, but a great little venue nonetheless. This is where it all began for the young XTC – too clever to be called punk, too angular for pop, certainly not rock’n’roll. A band that always seemed to defy definition. Each of their albums,
from 1978’s White Music onwards, was hugely different from the last, full of humour, consistently experimental but deliciously catchy.
It’s hard to fathom why they never became as big as their peers, such as Talking Heads and The Police. Chambers blames their cult status on a lack of sex appeal
(I disagree: look at Moulding in some of those early videos and live performances – very sexy) while Moulding is philosophical. “It’s nice being the best-kept secret in the world,” he decides.
It seems either Moulding or Chambers phoned up the Swindon venue themselves and booked the shows, not knowing if there would be any interest. Naturally, the 212-seater sold out within days, despite hardly any advertising. Most people seemed to learn about it from the TC&I Facebook page which, of course, is not run by TC&I – you won’t catch these two on social media.
I heard about the “reunion” when Partridge tweeted about the shows. He sounded surprised but said, “They should have done it years ago.” Partridge has also been quick to quash the idea of a slightly fuller reunion: “Just to nip any rumours in the bud, no, I won’t be going along in any capacity to these gigs. It’s their fish to fry. I’ll be out of town and out of gobbing/moshing range,” he wrote on Twitter.
I’ve often wondered if Moulding felt jealous of the attention Partridge received in XTC. Sure, he wrote the bulk of the material, but Moulding’s contributions can’t be overlooked: Generals And Majors, Grass, Making Plans For Nigel, King For
A Day, Life Begins At The Hop – all classics. Couple that with his majestic bass-playing
(I rank him in the Top 3 bassists in the world, with Macca at No 1 and Carol Kaye at No 3) and it becomes clear he is an integral part of the XTC sound. When I ask him about this, his already sluggish delivery becomes even more torpid as he carefully considers his reply.
“You feel sometimes that you don’t get your just desserts, I suppose,” he says, finally. “But I’ve never been one for hogging the limelight so, um, yeah. I just grin and bear it, really.”
And his current feelings towards Partridge, who is probably less than five miles away from us as we speak? Once
again, Moulding is diplomatic.
“We speak via email occasionally,” he offers. “Probably not as much as we did. I’ve got every respect for his talent but I suppose over the last 10 years there has been some animosity. And I probably like him less than I used to. But that’s bands, you know?”
That is bands, for sure. But it breaks my heart to hear these words. Of course, we all want our favourite groups to live together in a big house, having crazy adventures and being great buddies, just like The Monkees, but life and reality seem to get in the way. Sadly, the same goes for guitarist Dave Gregory. Moulding confesses that they, too, have had a falling out. “I seem to to be the anchor man,” Moulding admits. “It’s unfortunate but we all get a bit huffy with things. But if he was at my door I’d invite him in for a cup of tea.”
So what can we expect at the first “XTC” shows for 36 years? Nerves, definitely. The anxiety emanating from both players is palpable. Moulding breaks into nervous laughter and puns when I try and push him on the shows; understandable considering he hasn’t played his own songs in front of an audience since 1982. They’ll be joined by two local musicians: Steve Tilling on guitar and Gary Bamford on keyboards. I try and get a sense of the playlist but neither Chambers nor Moulding will reveal a thing. I sense Chambers is the weak link and, throughout the interview, I throw song-titles at him. Moulding remains inscrutable but Chambers’ poker-face sucks. Using this technique, I get Generals And Majors from him, with a question-mark over Grass. But that’s it.
The most surprising revelation talking to these two – and I’m going to use the “L” word here: legends – is that neither are aware of the affection out there for both XTC and the two of them. I wish they would look at the Facebook page run in their name
because they would get a sense of just how much people love them and are thrilled
by this event.
These shows, originally conceived as
a small, barely-noticeable event, have now become bigger than either ever anticipated. Hardly surprising, really: this is, after all, actual core members of XTC onstage, playing actual XTC songs.
Still, their humility, anxiety and desire to avoid the excitement that is inevitably building around these gigs merely add to their charm. As I’m getting ready to leave, they jokingly accuse me of trying to scare them (at least I think it’s a joke). In reality,
I want them to know they could stand onstage and read the phone book for an hour and people would still love them.
Explaining their reluctance to go into detail about the performances, Chambers says: “We’re still trying to get this stuff together with the other two guys,” before adding: “As well as ourselves! It’s sort of taking shape, but we’re still juggling where we’re going.”
Well, I know where I’m going: Swindon Arts Centre. I’ll be there on the Tuesday
(30 October), and you know what? I suspect I may get a little something in my eye when they stride onstage…
TC&I will appear at Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre and Arts Centre between 29 October and 1 November.
