Preview: What Do You Call That Noise? – An XTC Discovery Book
“I was always quite envious of XTC because they weren’t put in the same pigeonhole as punk bands. They were regarded as a bit more arty than that. We always had to fight off this flag, being under the banner of punk… XTC never seemed to fall into that trap. They had that freedom.”
– Rick Buckler (The Jam)
Few bands were as quintessentially English as XTC. The Swindon band rose to prominence during the new-wave scene of the early eighties but like all the most interesting bands, they refused to be confined by such pigeonholing. After a fluttering of Top 40 hits, the Wiltshire act eased themselves out of mainstream consciousness almost as effortlessly as they had broken into it with songs like ‘Making Plans For Nigel’ and ‘Sgt Rock’. XTC effectively dropped out of the live circuit too after 1982’s English Settlement and shifted their focus to the studio from where they would hone their pop craft. They are widely recognised as one of the forerunners of Britpop. (see article via the link below)
What Do You Call That Noise? (An XTC discovery book) by Mark Fisher offers a fascinating insight into the band. Across 228 pages some of the world’s leading musicians and keenest fans come together to discuss what makes XTC so very special. Each member of the band makes an appearance including Andy Partridge Dave Gregory and Barry Andrews – not to mention an in-depth review of Colin Moulding and Terry Chambers playing live as TC&I for the first time in 36 years.
Mark Fisher was previously the editor of The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls and therefore already comes with a pedigree. There are contributions here from the likes of Rick Buckler (The Jam), Chris Difford (Squeeze) and Peter Gabriel. What Do You Call That Noise? is a musical exploration of one of the UKs greatest and most influential bands.
What Do You Call That Noise? – An XTC Discovery Book is published on March 4th.
[sic] guide to ‘alternative’ Britpop.