A story from 1992 … It's fair to assume that some people hate their names. But what about rock bands? You can practically hear XTC’s Andy Partridge groan over the phone.
"I picked the name because I thought it was a pictogram for the group in 1975," says Partridge. "It was short, sharp, shocking. It was immediate gratification and wonderfulness. The letters were the right shape, it leapt out in print."
Alas, over time, Partridge says he realized that "we were stuck with one of those classic punny names that are great fun for a week and then you think, `Why did we choose that name?' You sober up and go, `Oh no! We're called that?' "
Nevertheless, XTC has carved out a reputation as an eclectic, clever pop band that tosses a lot of spicy ingredients into its sonic stew. And the English band currently has the biggest US hit of its career with "Nonsuch," the country's No. 1 college rock album.
"We do write catchy songs -- that's a disease with us," says singer-guitarist-songwriter Partridge. "But I have no concept of why anything on this record should be more in the public eye than anything on the last one. It's an enormous mystery to me. It keeps me wide-eyed, an ongoing naif. I'd kind of given up attempting to be popular a long time ago."
The album features "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead," a catchy tune about heroism and martyrdom and, like all XTC efforts, there are more than a few bits of pop brilliance on the disc. He appreciates the accolades, but none have gone to his head.
XTC - The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead
"I'm certainly out of my desire for fame, I'm rather out of the desire for fortune. I've realized that any fortune that might come my way will be like an accidental dollop of jam. I don't know what compels me because I've lost the 13-year-old's drive to be a Beatle-Monkee-Rolling Stone. Certainly, I've lost the hair that goes with the drive.
"All that kind of rock 'n' roll youth gang stuff has completely left me, and mix that with the other stuff that's left and it leaves a strange, smoky ghost in my life. Where one time I knew what I was chasing, now I don't, and the silly thing is I think the songs are actually getting better as the years go on."
"I feel no more like a rock 'n' roller than I do a brain surgeon," says Partridge. "When we were playing live, I felt as if we were howling out in the wilderness and no one was particularly listening. You can stir into that discontent a big pinch of stage fright that got worse and worse. I think my subconscious was telling me, `Look, you don't want to be doing this, so I'm going to make it difficult for you to do.' Also, there's the physicality of it. I'm not an athlete and I think you have to have an athlete's temperament to tour well. And I don't like reproducing old stuff over and over again for entertainment's sake. I think that's crass.
"I see nothing wrong with just being a record-making group," he continues. "I figure, you go into a store and buy a slice of our soul on disc. Why on earth would you want to see our carcass for any worship purposes or whatever?"
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