Twang, Hmmm, click,
thunk.
When XTC finally
downed guitars after
the recording and
release of “Wasp
Star”, their last
album to date, one
of Andy’s ideas
about what to do
next, was to become
a songwriter in the
traditional sense,
writing songs for
others…
It was something he
had been asked to do
throughout the XTC
years, but never had
the time.
Songs were written.
Songs were sent.
Sometimes
speculatively, often
specifically
requested, many
tailor-made for an
artist's
requirements, but
then choppy waters
could still lay
ahead. Even where
everyone seemed to
think that newly
written song A would
be wonderful if
recorded by singer
B, whose manager C
had initiated the
request via music
publisher D for
album E on record
label F…
Well, you begin to
see the potential
problems of such an
approach – almost a
quarter of the way
through the alphabet
and not a note
recorded beyond
Andy's original
demo. That’s without
detailing the sort
of horrendous
politics that makes
a fresh batch of
alphabet spaghetti
of any of the above
as they interact.
Still, songs are
like children. A
songwriter gives
birth to them, feeds
them, watches them
grow before sending
them out into the
world. So it’s
unfair to abandon
them as orphans just
because their first
experience outdoors
might be a traumatic
one of being cold
shouldered.
As a loving parent,
Andy brought them
all back together,
re-Andy-fied them
and buffed them up
in his home studio,
et voila! Here is
the first selection
of song siblings
that resulted from
all of this work,
four brothers and
sisters, happily
reunited and
presented as a
family group aural
snapshot for your
entertainment and
delight.
It was something he
had been asked to do
throughout the XTC
years, but never had
the time.
