Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #573315 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Synopsis
Written and compiled from hours of interviews with Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory, this biography offers an often moving account of the trials and tribulations that have beset the Swindon based art rockers since their emergence in 1977. As well as a biography of XTC, this is also a cautionary tale of how to balance on the thin line between success and failure in the rock business. It is a detailed account of the professional and personal lives of three modern musicians and of Andy Partridge's resolute determination to succeed on his own terms and against the odds.

Customer Reviews

Worth reading even if you're not much of a fan
You don't have to read a lot of rock biographies to know that most of them aren't much cop. XTC aren't really famous enough to attract cash-in cut-and-paste jobs, but authorised tomes are often dull advertising affairs. Thankfully, the three longest-serving members of XTC were genuinely co-operative with this project, entirely forthcoming about intra-band tensions and their own mistakes (personal as well as professional) as well as the music itself.
Chris Twomey isn't a particularly striking writer but with this material he doesn't need to be; frankly, if you published the band's history as a novel nobody would believe it. Surefire hit singles that failed to chart, surprise success in New Zealand, riots in South America - it's all here. 2002's updated edition omits the discography from the earlier version (despite what it says on the back) but has an extra ten years of implausible adventures; the departure of long-serving guitarist Dave Gregory is explored from both his his perspective and Andy Partridge's, and then there are protracted record company disputes, to say nothing of the time their master tapes were [allegedly] stolen by a member of Squeeze.
All in all, this is an essential purchase for any XTC fan - though in all honesty, they've probably all bought it by now - but also recommended to anyone who wants to know how strange the music business can be.