Andy Partridge – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

What a great-sounding band XTC has been for years. I was exposed to many bands in the 80s like The Replacements, REM (before they hit), and Big Star but not XTC. I didn’t find out about them until their 2002 release I’m The Man Who Murdered Love. When I heard that song I knew I had to find out about this band. Way back when I published that post I also looked up this song that a fellow blogger (run-sew-read) suggested. It’s only taken me 4 years but I’ve finally posted it!

This song was released in 1982 on the album English Settlement. The album peaked at #48 on the Billboard Album Chart, #15 in Canada, #12 in New Zealand, and #5 in the UK. The song peaked at #10 in the UK, #31 in Canada, #37 in New Zealand, and #38 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.

When they went on tour for this album… it would be their last. That didn’t exactly help them cross over to a mass audience. Andy Partridge had a fear of flying and severe stage fright that could have been heightened by withdrawing from valium that he had taken since childhood. On April 3, 1982, they performed their last show in San Diego. After that first night of the American tour, the rest of the tour was canceled. My friend Dave from A Sound Day has more info on this band and album.

I do think XTC would have broken through to a mass audience if they could have toured. At the time some people in America had thought that Partridge died and some bands held tribute shows.

Allmusic Stephen Thomas Erlewine: XTC was one of the smartest – and catchiest – British pop bands to emerge from the punk and new wave explosion of the late ’70s. … While popular success has eluded them in both Britain and America, the group has developed a devoted cult following in both countries that remains loyal over two decades after their first records. … XTC’s lack of commercial success isn’t because their music isn’t accessible – their bright, occasionally melancholy, melodies flow with more grace than most bands – it has more to do with the group constantly being out of step with the times. However, the band has left behind a remarkably rich and varied series of albums that make a convincing argument that XTC is the great lost pop band.

Drummer Terry Chambers on their last concert: “The audience was electric, everyone was on their feet and cheering throughout. It was the first date of our first major U.S. headlining tour, playing decent-sized venues, and the future looked good. I had no idea that Andy [Partridge, singer] was in such bad shape. Even after the gig, when we were traveling to LA, we had no clue that anything was wrong.”

Andy Partridge: “We were bullied back onto the road and that really started to wind me up, I’d be there onstage thinking: ‘I hate doing this.’ The anger towards being made to tour and the mental stress it was causing me began to manifest itself in stage fright, which I’d never had in my life. It didn’t help that my mental state was being exacerbated by the impact of Valium withdrawal, which I’d been on since my early teens.”

“And I had no concept of withdrawal, and I had no concept of what would happen to you if you stopped taking this stuff, which… your brain becomes dependent on it,” Partridge said in 2006. “And after 13 years of quite high doses, you’re really dependent on it. … I was losing my memory, I was getting bouts of amnesia, I was getting physical problems like pains in my stomach, I was getting weird events like I couldn’t move my legs. And my brain came unwound. I started having panic attacks.”

Senses Working Overtime

Hey, hey, the clouds are whey
There’s straw for the donkeys
And the innocents can all sleep safely
All sleep safely

My, my, sun is pie
There’s fodder for the cannons
And the guilty ones can all sleep safely
All sleep safely

Hey, hey, night fights day
There’s food for the thinkers
And the innocents can all live slowly
All live slowly

My, my, the sky will cry
Jewels for the thirsty
And the guilty ones can all die slowly
All die slowly

And all the world is biscuit-shaped
It’s just for me to feed my face
And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste
And I’ve got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime
Trying to take this all in
I’ve got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime
Trying to taste the difference ‘tween a lemon and a lime
Pain and pleasure, and the church bells softly chime

And birds might fall from black skies (Whoo-whoo)
And bullies might give you black eyes (Whoo-whoo)
And buses might skid on black ice (Whoo-whoo)
But to me they’re very, very beautiful (England’s glory)
Beautiful (A striking beauty)

And all the world is football-shaped
It’s just for me to kick in space
And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste
And I’ve got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime
Trying to take this all in
I’ve got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime
Trying to tell the difference ‘tween the goods and crimes
Dirt and treasure
And there’s one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime
Trying to take this all in
I’ve got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime
Trying to taste the difference ‘tween a lemon and a lime
Pain and pleasure, and the church bells softly chime

I got into XTC late into the game. I didn’t get to know them until they released I’m The Man Who Murdered Love. I liked this song right away because it has a nice power pop sound. The drums stand out on this song.

This song was XTC’s breakthrough single released in 1979. It was written by bassist Colin Moulding, who shared vocal and songwriting duties with guitarist Andy Partridge. It was on the third, breakthrough, album Drums And Wires.

The album peaked at #174 in the Billboard album charts, #15 in Canada, #34 in the UK, and #12 in New Zealand.

Making Plans For Nigel peaked at #12 in Canada, #17 in the UK, and #29 in New Zealand.

The lyrics are told from the point of view of parents who are certain that their son Nigel is happy in his work, affirming that his future in British Steel “is as good as sealed”, and that he “likes to speak and loves to be spoken to”. As a response to the song, British Steel reportedly gathered four Sheffield employees
named Nigel to talk about job satisfaction for the trade publication Steel News.

From Wiki: The first 20,000 pressings of the single came in a fold-out cover that created a fully playable gameboard of “Chutes and Ladders” adapted to details of Nigel’s “miserable life”, including the purchase of a scooter, job interviews, a holiday in Spain and an engagement to “a very nice girl.” There were two versions of the gameboard, one to be played by Nigel and the other to be played by his parents. As credited on the back cover, the illustrator was Steve Shotter and sleeve design was by Cooke Key.

Colin Moulding:

“Partly biographical, this one. My dad prompted me to write it. He wanted a university future for me and was very overpowering in trying to persuade me to get my hair cut and stay on at school. It got to the point where he almost tried to drag me down the barber’s shop by my hair. I know the song tells of a slightly different situation, but it all boils down to the same thing – parental domination.”

There were no Nigels at school. I wasn’t bullied, but I think I had a natural empathy for people that were. ‘Nigel’ was my song for the bullied, I suppose.

“British Steel was just a bit of naughtiness. What I hadn’t bargained on was the union boss later ringing me up and asking me to join the cause! I had the devil of a job to convince him it was an organization I chose at random.”

Andy Partridge: “Quite early on it had been decided that Making Plans For Nigel was going to be the single. We spent five times longer messing with that song than any of my tracks. At one point I was fuming because my songs were being ignored.”

From Songfacts

The Rembrandts, Primus and Robbie Williams all covered this.

This was covered by Nouvelle Vague, a bossa group, and included on a chillout compilation album known as Breakfast Club: Milan.

Andy Partridge told Uncut: “The things that sound like sheets of metal being struck, that’s a white noise patch on a monophonic Korg synth we had. We decided to do it with this industrial sound and glories, so it hinted that British Steel, which is where Nigel works.”

Making Plans For Nigel

We’re only making plans for Nigel
We only want what’s best for him
We’re only making plans for Nigel
Nigel just needs this helping hand

And if young Nigel says he’s happy
He must be happy
He must be happy in his work
We’re only making plans for Nigel

He has his future in a British steel
We’re only making plans for Nigel
Nigel’s whole future is as good as sealed
And if young Nigel says he’s happy

He must be happy
He must be happy in his work
Nigel is not outspoken
But he likes to speak

And loves to be spoken to
Nigel is happy in his work
We’re only making plans for Nigel

…

Tag: Andy Partridge

XTC – Senses Working Overtime ….Power Pop Friday

XTC – Making Plans For Nigel ….Power Pop Friday