Xtc: Chalkhills and Children

by Chris Twomey

The authorized account of the rise of the Swindon-based trio and the reasons behind their longevity and their decision to abandon live appearances.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[zed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t like music, I love it. I recall my aunty playing Beatles songs to me as a 5/6 year old in 1964. My dad loved jazz and my mum introduced me to classical. I could then and now listen to a rich variety. I was so into music I used to be able to discuss minor detail such as whom the engineer was on a specific album, such was my immersion. With music, though, I move on fast. What I once listened to, be that a genre, a specific band or album, I have found myself to be eventually bored with. I can move on from genre to genre quickly and have actually given away many albums I owned either on CD or vinyl. Once used, they took up precious space and time.

With this demand for new sounds to challenge my senses, streaming has been a godsend. But I do admit that I have selectively delved into the occasional listen from the past. I went on a Beatles re-listen and enjoyed it. I tried the Stones and gave up. They have passed me by.

One day I got talking to a fella about the underappreciated bands we had seen live in the past, I recalled XTC at Brisbane’s Festival Hall in 1980. This had me thinking how I had most of their albums and a good many singles. I had actually not given these away, but parked them at my sister's place because she had become part of the vinyl craze that seems to have taken off as of late. I recalled how wonderful Drums and Wires was, XTC's third album, was when released and how me and my pals thought it a work of genius. So I played it via Spotify for the first time this century.

It was still fresh and vital to me. Each song is a pop classic, with hooks and licks that went beyond the 3 chord thrash that was so prevalent with a lot of the Punk/New Wave scene of the times. “XTC? They were better than any of that.” I retrospectively decided. So let’s go another. Black Sea got a play for the first time since back then. Wow. This is just as good as I recalled. Track after track of sublimely catchy tunes that stick in your head. Next up was English Settlement. I had this on a numbered cassette that I played the hell out of, but again that was a long time ago. This has also stood the test of time, 3 in a row, how good is this! The production values had changed, and the slightly jangly pop was replaced with some really lush Beatles like complexity.

I recall that I did get the next album, Mummer, but never really took to it and failed to purchase The Big Express. Back then, they may have had their time for me? In this present binge of playing these two, they are at times very good but do not seem to have the songwriting panache of the previous trio.

Next came the XTC side project, The Dukes of Stratosphere. I never knew these recordings, but as a lover of Psychedelia, these are terrific. They are an absolute homage to that genre, great fun and hooks galore. At this point, I expected not much more. I had Skylarking, Oranges and Lemons and Nonesuch, but had hardly played them back in the day. Had I purchased them out of loyalty? I couldn’t recall. But I thought onwards and upwards, let hear how they sound.

I will state now that Skylarking is a masterpiece of pastoral pop genius, an album of the highest order and stands up with Drums and Wires, Black Sea and English Settlement. Read professional reviews, I have been devouring them for a couple of days now and agree with the praise. There is not a dud song, a dud note, a dull spot. It is for me just perfect. The little things just work, for example how the opening track, Summer's Cauldron segues into the second, Grass, seamlessly.
Interestingly, when I played Oranges and Lemons I had no memory of much of it. Nonsuch I did and think it is a fine album. I do need to give these a play further, as I do their first two recordings. As to the final two albums, Apple Venus Volume 1 and Wasp Star, I have no idea. They are not on any streaming service, and I don’t have a vinyl or CD player anymore.

Please excuse my fanboy drivelling above. I am just on an XTC kick and need to tell the world. As this is a book reading review site, I did indeed read Chalkhills and Children when released. I gave it away to a mate, but from memory I enjoyed it a fair bit. Based on the star rating, XTC are a 5 star band, though sadly underappreciated nowadays.

Is this book recommended? From what I recall, yes, if you appreciate XTC. Is their music recommended? If like me, you like snappy jangly pop melodies with snappy hooks and twists and turns then this is the band for you.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm halfway through my second read of this thing and I NEVER do that. Great book about this GENIUS band that got cut short right when they were going to hit the States BIG.

[Sam Forster · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a lifelong but not especially earnest fan of the band, I’ve recently been getting into XTC in a big way and I’m so pleased that I did. What a band they are, their music is nothing short of amazing, Skylarking has to be amongst the best albums ever made. I’m in awe of their talents and uniqueness. So this was always going to be an interesting read that gave me some greater insight into their career and the events that led to it flourishing and floundering in equal measure.

The only reason it doesn’t get five stars is because it’s a biography rather than an autobiography. I’d love to hear the individual stories of the band members, especially Andy Partridge who always comes across as a very entertaining, erudite chap. Overall, a good read about a great band.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb chronicle of one of the best rock/pop bands of all time. Great insight into the diverse personalities - both psychological and musical - that made XTC tick. Sad story the way young guys with such talent and spirit got trounced by a combination of inexperience, inner conflicts and the callous greed of the music biz. Still their resilience prevailed through incredible pieces of music over 20+ years as a band. Well written book, investigative, sympathetic and funny.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written biography of a unique and inventive band. Their long career produced mixed critical acclaim and only mild commercial success yet XTC music remains fresh and enduring. The book was refreshing in that it did not merely glorify the band as some sort of demi-gods but instead laid bare all facets of their successes, struggles, and petty selfish squabbles.

[Christian Carbone · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent depiction of a very messy career of a band of very talented English gentlemen. Maybe too smart for their on good (especially Mr. Partridge), but it's better than the alternative. In my opinion, "Black Sea" is the true masterpiece.

[Barkingstars · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly fine chronicle of XTC if a little workmanlike. It is very much a case of first this happened, then that, then something else. There's very little in the way of anecdotes or rich characterisation. But I'm being a bit churlish as a book of 250 pages could never satisfy and this is probably as good as I can hope for in a book about a cult band. Also, there are several great moments - I particularly enjoyed the small bits where Colin and Dave had something to say as, inevitably, Andy's is the voice we hear most usually. The sections on Apple Venus and Wasp Star are terribly sad but explain well why the band split just as they were making their way back.

Ultimately this is probably of little interest to the general fan of rock biographies but if you're an XTC fan and can pick it up for not too much money then it's an enjoyable read (especially while simultaneously listening to Coat of Many Cupboards).

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's something that this book has most definitely done right for me to have read it in its entirely in only two days.

This quite extensive biography will please even the most informed fan of the band. It gives intense, well written details about almost every aspect of XTC: the single upbringing of each member (with major focus on Andy Partridge's life for obvious reasons), their pre-"stardom" experiences and everything that lead the four/five of them to meet and give birth to each form that XTC has taken over the years.

While the first two decades of the bands are largely explored (with quotes and fragments directly reported from the sources) less is instead said for the recording years of the band. It is also true that on a biographical level with no touring the band wasn't as "busy" as they had been before, but the complexity of the songwriting (which definitely saw a major improvement after 1981) suggested a broader view that in my opinion was worth exploring a bit, revealing the true feelings of the main songwriters of the band.

A big element that definitely influenced my opinion on this biography is a perception of not integral objectivity spread across the book. There's definitely a misinterpreted portrayal of Andy Partridge's figure and I believe that works like this one are what eventually instigated in everyone's minds (even in the minds of the most hardcore fans) the idea of Mr Partridge as an inflexible, unbearable figure in the studio who dictated and ruled above everyone else. It's probably also the case of this book being outdated, but what is also true is that in the building of this picture lots of secondary factors weren't taken in consideration, such as for example that Colin Moulding himself often found touring difficult as it kept him away from his family, eventually showing large homesickness everytime the band had to record or play overseas.
While Andy Partridge is definitely the main head behind XTC (as co-founder, most prolific songwriter and creator behind the principal concepts surrounding their musical production) it is true that he never denied the existence of anyone who has ever played a note in the band, whether they were on stage or in the studio. His focus of course changed during the years as all of us mature in time - he aimed for success in the earlier days while staying true to himself. Once the touring "problem" was out of the door, he gave full dedication to the songwriting art - which meant accepting anything that would have served the song, a fact that in my opinion was twisted by the constant and sole mentions of the other two band members' frustration.
Had Colin and Dave been immensely unsatisfied with the "demonic process" of Andy they would have quit the band after either The Big Express or Skylarking, considering the collaborations they had with other musicians while developing those records. And yet that never happened.
An accusation could be thrown over the role of the producer, but it can't be all wrapped around the simple concept of Andy Partridge being unstable around producers who wanted to take a little bit more control of their activity. AP worked well with some producers and others found working with him quite an enjoyable experience. Even during the infamous Skylarking sessions when Todd Rundgren would propose an idea that would serve the song well Andy Partridge wouldn't insist pretending his one was better.
Obviously Andy has never been a piece of cake to work with, but he's often portrayed with the distorted image of a terrible impossible man while there are many facts going against this wave, probably the reason why he eventually had to step up and debunk many of the wrong accusations thrown towards him.

In relation to this aspect I also thought that the final considerations over the career of the band were a bit impartial. It felt as if the constant belief of the band to never fall into commercial schemes and staying true to their identiy was portrayed as a big mistake either than a quality to acclaim. Their "unpopularity" and "cult" status of course didn't do the band any good in economical terms - but I think that is exactly why they are so highly praised by the music community. A band that isn't afraid to venture themselves in roads they've never walked before, a band that goes against the wave of commerciality in an era where the pop image and stardom meant everything is an inspiration. As they often say it, The Beatles themselves stopped touring and gave the world some of the most influentials and incredible records music has ever seen, quite setting the example with their innovative solutions. XTC are no different.

Overall, this biography definitely provides an important element in any XTC fan's collection. The reader may have to be a bit more careful this time.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of those books regarding a band I have a limited knowledge of..having only the collected Dukes of Stratosphear CDs and a early XTC CD collection.
However ...and this remains true post book...I am aware this is a band I should delve into more...of course in many ways I was maybe able to connect more so with the 'dukes' section being a fan and more aware of that output but the possibilities of sounds hinted at in the book(especially post Dukes) does make me think I'm missing out on some good stuff.
As such this book has done as much as a music book should do...it's given me a overview of the personnel and the music and has entertained along the way.
From reading the book it seems XTC where maybe stilted in what they could have achieved due to their retirement from touring..however the studio experiments maybe wouldn't have been as interesting or as necessary if they were a touring band.
Anyhow good stuff...recommended for the casual ETC admirer..maybe the more hardcore one to ..but I can only speak of myself.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say I learned a ton but the things I did learn were insane. it's not like a brilliant book but I personally had loads of fun reading it. If anyone your parents' age in your life knows XTC tangentially you will be able to tell them some silly ass facts about those guys if you read this.

[Ralph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable bio but doesn't go into any particular depth

[Luke Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read about a great band, Twomey’s bio focuses mainly on background information on XTC’s core— Andy, Colin, Terry, Dave; and features a lot of production stories of their albums and singles up too Nonsuch, and anecdotes that place them well in the center of one of the most exciting times in music.

The Alt Rock Universe stuff is the most exciting thing for me. XTC was influenced by The Damned and the opening act at their Athens stop during their first tour was REM, a group of unabashed XTC fans. Brian Eno was in talks to produce early on in their career, The Stone Roses chose to work with producer John Leckie based on his work with The Dukes of the Stratosphear, and The Talking Heads also requested Steve Lillywhite based on his XTC work for their underrated final album Naked.

Yes, the production notes here are impressive— according to the book The Big Express is the quintessential XTC album in its cult-ness, probably (though not my favorite). Hailed by critics, it sold nothing, and was recorded by a producer who had declined to Beatles tracks with Paul McCartney because his classical leanings. But then there’s Skylarking and it’s hard-to-play-live stuff and harrowing recording process could be quintessential as well. Or, of course, The Dukes of the Stratosphear output, which is not only very good and original garage rock recorded on vintage instruments, but also, until reading this book, I didn’t understand how extremely important it was for the survival of the band.

C and C is very much a discussion of the people: Swindon is a small town, and XTC sort-of runs into each other playing all manner of pub gigs in a mosaic of bands. They’re all born, adolescent descent into music. Andy’s personality clashes with Colin, Terry and just about every producer take up a lot of the book. On the whole, I felt slighted by the discussion of the music. You find yourself wanting to hear the stuff as it’s being talked about, sure, but the pages allotted to the Drums and Wires / Black Sea / English Settlement period were criminally few, and that this is one of the greatest three album runs of any band, ever. Especially since Twomey consistently refers to Settlement so much later in the book— the band is constantly trying to top it, and rightfully so. There are some discussions of Andy’s favorite songs too, which are always interesting, but little mention of some I’ve read or heard considered his best (All of a Sudden), most taut-technical (That is the Way, Burning With Optimism’s Flames, Snowman) or glaringly medieval and English (Jason and the Argonauts, English Roundabout).

[Full disclosure, I play the drums.] Plus, Terry Chambers’s contributions are mentioned in passing, I felt, even though Drums and Wires’s sonic importance, both to XTC and 80s rock, is stated. Chambers is absolutely perfect on those three records and the two before it, all while coming up with beats, i.e. on Making Plans for Nigel for example, and listening to Partridge tell him what to play. Prairie Prince gets a mere one sentence, making him seem like an afterthought session musician, although the San Francisco sessions he recorded for Skylarking has to be one of the top performances of the 80s. XTCs songwriting duo of Partridge/Moulding are rightfully compared to Lennon/McCartney, but their rhythm section work in this heyday is underrated, a la The Smiths or the Happy Mondays.

At any rate, people were calling bomb threats into radio stations because of- and a kid brought a knife to school to force the Main Office to play Dear God, a song that is combination catchy and controversial. Both are good examples of XTCs output, summed up by Nonsuch producer Gus Dudgeon who “felt as if XTCs songs impressed people, but failed to touch them (p174),” and how much the cult of XTC touches some.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great insight into the history of XTC. Author uses a noticeably high amount of exclamation points! There is at least one per page and I don’t think I’m exaggerating.

[Steven Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book - somewhat sad story. one of the worlds best bands with one of the worlds worst recording contacts. they deserve to be treated a lot better than they have been. a great read for fans of XTC. excellent insight for those interested in the music business.

[Jeff Menter · Rating 4 out of 5]

ZOMG! A biography of one of my top three bands!

It's pretty good as a band biopic and I have no complaints. I guess I didn't realize that they were famous enough for a book!

[SirLordBaltimore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great biography of a great band.