Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:09,667 --> 00:00:13,709
Oh, rock
documentaries, rockumentaries,
2
00:00:13,709 --> 00:00:16,375
I really dislike them.
3
00:00:16,375 --> 00:00:18,875
They get these old farts
waffling on,
4
00:00:18,875 --> 00:00:20,875
"The amount of drugs
we took on the road,
5
00:00:20,875 --> 00:00:23,917
the amount of women we shagged.
It was great, weren't it?"
6
00:00:23,917 --> 00:00:27,000
It's just a long procession
of talking heads,
7
00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:28,750
"Oh, I used to be
their roadie."
8
00:00:28,750 --> 00:00:32,125
"Oh, I used to live next door
to the bass player's cousin."
9
00:00:32,125 --> 00:00:36,375
They always have that
lugubrious keyboard player
10
00:00:36,375 --> 00:00:38,166
from that prog rock group.
11
00:00:38,166 --> 00:00:40,542
Oh, yeah, XTC, I remember XTC.
12
00:00:40,542 --> 00:00:42,750
Don't you dare
have him in this documentary!
13
00:00:42,750 --> 00:00:45,041
It's always the same faces,
it's always the same tales.
14
00:00:45,041 --> 00:00:47,083
It never has a good ending.
15
00:00:47,083 --> 00:00:49,834
They always fall out
with each other.
16
00:00:49,834 --> 00:00:52,041
They're always suing
each other.
17
00:00:52,041 --> 00:00:55,709
One of them dies, or two
of them dies, or they all die
18
00:00:55,709 --> 00:01:00,083
and they all can't stand the
sight of each other anymore,
19
00:01:01,542 --> 00:01:02,208
Stop!
20
00:01:02,208 --> 00:01:05,041
"Making Plans For Nigel"
21
00:01:05,041 --> 00:01:07,291
The only thing that's worthy
22
00:01:07,291 --> 00:01:10,375
of making a documentary
about XTC
23
00:01:10,375 --> 00:01:15,709
is it's not about
the rock and roll bollocks
24
00:01:15,709 --> 00:01:18,458
that constitute
99% of other bands.
25
00:01:18,458 --> 00:01:22,667
We weren't into any of
that rock and roll stuff.
26
00:01:22,667 --> 00:01:24,291
We're not rock and roll people.
27
00:01:24,291 --> 00:01:30,000
We made gently,
exploratory pop music,
28
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,000
and I actually think
we started pretty damn good
29
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:34,917
and then got a lot better.
30
00:01:34,917 --> 00:01:38,417
And there's not too many bands
can say that's their arc.
31
00:01:38,417 --> 00:01:41,667
♪ We're only making plans
for Nigel ♪
32
00:01:44,083 --> 00:01:46,625
The journey that they went on
is extraordinary
33
00:01:46,625 --> 00:01:49,750
in terms of, you know,
musical evolution.
34
00:01:49,750 --> 00:01:51,667
You have to look at a band
like The Beatles
35
00:01:51,667 --> 00:01:52,959
to find anyone
that's even comparable
36
00:01:52,959 --> 00:01:56,750
in the sense of reinventing
themselves over and over again.
37
00:01:56,750 --> 00:01:58,041
"Senses Working Overtime"
38
00:01:58,041 --> 00:02:00,875
♪ And all the world
is football-shaped ♪
39
00:02:00,875 --> 00:02:02,458
I thought these guys
ascended to...
40
00:02:02,458 --> 00:02:06,625
You know, from great punk roots
to a whole other level.
41
00:02:06,625 --> 00:02:10,417
The leap forward they'd made
to just gorgeous songwriting
42
00:02:10,417 --> 00:02:11,166
and gorgeous record-making.
43
00:02:11,166 --> 00:02:16,458
♪ Senses working overtime ♪
44
00:02:16,458 --> 00:02:19,959
He's probably one of
the most unique songwriters
45
00:02:19,959 --> 00:02:22,959
this country's ever produced.
46
00:02:22,959 --> 00:02:24,959
He's got this thing
47
00:02:24,959 --> 00:02:27,083
of just taking these melodies
that soar, you know.
48
00:02:27,083 --> 00:02:28,917
It was kind of mind-blowing.
49
00:02:28,917 --> 00:02:30,959
"Wrapped In Grey"
50
00:02:30,959 --> 00:02:35,792
♪ Awaken, you dreamers ♪
51
00:02:37,625 --> 00:02:40,458
♪ Adrift in your bed ♪
52
00:02:40,458 --> 00:02:42,000
Each song
is different to the next,
53
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,125
let alone each album.
54
00:02:44,125 --> 00:02:45,125
It's hard to make one album
different to the next,
55
00:02:45,125 --> 00:02:47,250
and they do it
from song to song.
56
00:02:47,250 --> 00:02:48,000
And I think
that's one of the reasons
57
00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,500
why they should be relevant,
58
00:02:50,500 --> 00:02:53,375
because they have never done
anything that's expected,
59
00:02:53,375 --> 00:02:55,250
and that's really rare.
60
00:02:55,250 --> 00:02:56,500
"Easter Theatre"
61
00:02:56,500 --> 00:02:59,750
♪ Enter Easter and
she's dressed in yellow yolk ♪
62
00:03:01,083 --> 00:03:04,417
One of the things I love about
them is that you can sort of...
63
00:03:04,417 --> 00:03:07,041
You can just sort of sit back
and enjoy the musicianship
64
00:03:07,041 --> 00:03:09,792
and the beautiful sounds
and these melodies.
65
00:03:09,792 --> 00:03:12,208
It's songwriting
at its highest level.
66
00:03:15,166 --> 00:03:20,875
♪ Enter Easter and
she's dressed in yellow yolk ♪
67
00:03:20,875 --> 00:03:25,667
♪ Now the son has died,
the father can be born ♪
68
00:03:25,667 --> 00:03:31,542
♪ If we'd all breathe in and
blow away the smoke... ♪
69
00:03:32,834 --> 00:03:34,917
"This Is Pop"
70
00:03:34,917 --> 00:03:36,959
♪ Yeah, yeah, this is pop ♪
71
00:03:36,959 --> 00:03:40,291
♪ Yeah, yeah, this is ♪
72
00:03:42,709 --> 00:03:44,875
♪ Pop! ♪
73
00:03:49,542 --> 00:03:52,500
Well, I never thought
I was any good at anything
74
00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:57,417
until I got more and more
into drawing and painting.
75
00:04:00,834 --> 00:04:03,709
Comics were a big influence.
I loved them,
76
00:04:03,709 --> 00:04:06,333
and I thought,
"Do you know, I can draw.
77
00:04:06,333 --> 00:04:10,125
Maybe when I grow up
I can be a cartoon artist."
78
00:04:10,125 --> 00:04:14,875
I was a kid that always made
my own entertainment.
79
00:04:14,875 --> 00:04:15,959
For me,
it went with the territory
80
00:04:15,959 --> 00:04:17,583
of being an only child.
81
00:04:17,583 --> 00:04:23,458
It went with a very, very
controlling, OCD mother
82
00:04:23,458 --> 00:04:26,417
who wouldn't allow other kids
to come into the house to play.
83
00:04:26,417 --> 00:04:28,542
I could go round
other kids' houses,
84
00:04:28,542 --> 00:04:32,083
but for some reason
they couldn't come in mine.
85
00:04:32,083 --> 00:04:34,250
This was her, "Oh, I don't want
any filth on the floor."
86
00:04:34,250 --> 00:04:37,083
You could go
in everyone else's house
87
00:04:37,083 --> 00:04:39,000
and you'd know
there were kids living there,
88
00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:40,417
there'd be toys around.
89
00:04:40,417 --> 00:04:41,875
You'd go in our house -
90
00:04:41,875 --> 00:04:43,834
"No, there's no child
lives here," you know.
91
00:04:43,834 --> 00:04:47,208
And she would constantly
throw my toys away.
92
00:04:47,208 --> 00:04:50,709
It was like the OCD
control thing, you know.
93
00:04:50,709 --> 00:04:53,291
It was a constant hurt
to have your...
94
00:04:53,291 --> 00:04:55,125
You know, you had
no brothers and sisters,
95
00:04:55,125 --> 00:04:56,333
you weren't close
to your parents.
96
00:04:56,333 --> 00:05:00,291
The only things you kind of
felt any connection with
97
00:05:00,291 --> 00:05:02,458
was your toys, and they
were always got rid of.
98
00:05:02,458 --> 00:05:07,458
So I fought this
de-childification of the house.
99
00:05:07,458 --> 00:05:10,625
Maybe it's why I love toys
so much now.
100
00:05:10,625 --> 00:05:12,041
I'm trying to say,
101
00:05:12,041 --> 00:05:15,041
"You ain't gonna throw them
out now," you know.
102
00:05:15,041 --> 00:05:17,458
I was a real Jonny No Mates.
103
00:05:17,458 --> 00:05:20,083
I had to make up games,
I would design stuff,
104
00:05:20,083 --> 00:05:21,792
I would always be drawing.
105
00:05:21,792 --> 00:05:24,625
I was always
a self-entertainer.
106
00:05:25,333 --> 00:05:27,500
And then I was the right age
107
00:05:27,500 --> 00:05:31,417
that psychedelia kicked in,
'66, '67.
108
00:05:31,417 --> 00:05:34,750
Pop music starts getting
very colorful,
109
00:05:34,750 --> 00:05:35,875
and right about that time
110
00:05:35,875 --> 00:05:38,834
music starts to loom
really heavily in my life.
111
00:05:38,834 --> 00:05:43,625
And suddenly I was just opening
up the age of, you know,
112
00:05:43,625 --> 00:05:45,417
your balls start dropping,
113
00:05:45,417 --> 00:05:47,500
the opposite sex
stop being embarrassing
114
00:05:47,500 --> 00:05:49,834
and start becoming
intensely interesting.
115
00:05:49,834 --> 00:05:53,250
It was all hand-in-hand with...
I was just the right age.
116
00:05:53,250 --> 00:05:56,959
Girls are getting bigger,
music's getting bigger, kapow.
117
00:05:57,583 --> 00:05:58,542
And it's that thing of,
118
00:05:58,542 --> 00:06:01,834
If I'm gonna get off
this council estate,
119
00:06:01,834 --> 00:06:04,500
I don't think I'm gonna do
it by being a graphic artist.
120
00:06:04,500 --> 00:06:07,208
I don't wanna
have to join the Navy
121
00:06:07,208 --> 00:06:09,250
to see the world like my dad.
122
00:06:09,250 --> 00:06:12,083
What way is it
that I can get out of here?
123
00:06:12,083 --> 00:06:13,333
It's gotta be music!
124
00:06:13,333 --> 00:06:15,875
It can't be hard writing songs.
125
00:06:15,875 --> 00:06:18,208
The girls love them all.
This is great.
126
00:06:18,208 --> 00:06:20,792
How do you learn to do it?
I'm gonna teach myself.
127
00:06:23,875 --> 00:06:25,000
I was struggling.
128
00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:26,875
I was copying
as many records as I could,
129
00:06:26,875 --> 00:06:28,333
pulling that stylus back:
"How does that bit go?
130
00:06:28,333 --> 00:06:29,875
Oh, no, what's that chord?
131
00:06:29,875 --> 00:06:34,041
I don't know what that
chord is, I can't find it."
132
00:06:34,041 --> 00:06:37,166
But I very, very quickly,
for all the wrong reasons,
133
00:06:37,166 --> 00:06:39,834
quickly got into writing
my own songs.
134
00:06:39,834 --> 00:06:41,250
And it's for the wrong reasons
135
00:06:41,250 --> 00:06:45,208
because I wasn't good enough
to learn other people's songs.
136
00:06:45,208 --> 00:06:47,208
So, "Okay,
You need to write your own."
137
00:06:47,208 --> 00:06:48,875
And that's how it grew.
138
00:06:48,875 --> 00:06:52,250
It grew, because I couldn't
work out other people's stuff.
139
00:06:58,333 --> 00:06:59,333
Andy and I grew up on
140
00:06:59,333 --> 00:07:02,250
the Penhill council estate.
141
00:07:02,250 --> 00:07:03,417
He was the next school year
up from me,
142
00:07:03,417 --> 00:07:06,250
but we went to the same school.
143
00:07:06,250 --> 00:07:08,667
He was the guy
that used to draw caricatures
144
00:07:08,667 --> 00:07:09,583
of the teachers
in the playground,
145
00:07:09,583 --> 00:07:12,083
so he always had
a crowd around him.
146
00:07:12,083 --> 00:07:13,709
He was
a good draftsman even then.
147
00:07:13,709 --> 00:07:16,458
And then I didn't see him
for a couple of years.
148
00:07:16,458 --> 00:07:19,166
I think I met him
in a music shop, Kempster's.
149
00:07:19,166 --> 00:07:21,417
And he was the guy
150
00:07:21,417 --> 00:07:24,083
that used to take the
expensive guitars off the wall,
151
00:07:24,083 --> 00:07:27,250
much to
the proprietor's dismay.
152
00:07:27,250 --> 00:07:29,834
You know, we'd go in and
kind of turn on an amplifier
153
00:07:29,834 --> 00:07:34,083
and get a cable that somebody
had left from trying a guitar,
154
00:07:34,083 --> 00:07:35,750
and when nobody was looking,
155
00:07:35,750 --> 00:07:38,250
take a guitar off the wall
and plug it in, you know.
156
00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:40,291
Then the pair of us
would be showing each other
157
00:07:40,291 --> 00:07:41,667
licks and riffs and things.
158
00:07:41,667 --> 00:07:43,417
Hey, you're Andy Partridge.
159
00:07:43,417 --> 00:07:46,208
You write good songs
and play the guitar well.
160
00:07:46,208 --> 00:07:49,625
That's right. Who are you,
mystery bass man?
161
00:07:49,625 --> 00:07:52,500
I'm Colin Moulding,
and this is Terry Chambers.
162
00:07:52,500 --> 00:07:55,041
You must be Terry,
the drum player.
163
00:07:55,041 --> 00:07:56,917
Yes, I am. I play the drums.
164
00:07:56,917 --> 00:07:57,834
Hey, let's go to the pub
165
00:07:57,834 --> 00:08:00,959
and talk about
being in a group, then.
166
00:08:00,959 --> 00:08:01,709
Let's get pissed first.
167
00:08:05,625 --> 00:08:07,458
By the time we met,
when we were about 17,
168
00:08:07,458 --> 00:08:10,917
we still hadn't mastered
our instruments.
169
00:08:10,917 --> 00:08:14,041
So, we basically
sort of learnt along together,
170
00:08:14,041 --> 00:08:16,917
but I think Andy was a little
bit more advanced musically
171
00:08:16,917 --> 00:08:17,375
than what we were.
172
00:08:17,375 --> 00:08:22,083
"Adrenalin"
173
00:08:23,250 --> 00:08:25,709
Well, he was a bolshy bugger
even then, you know.
174
00:08:25,709 --> 00:08:27,834
Very confident,
obviously very talented,
175
00:08:27,834 --> 00:08:31,875
so we were happy to go along
with his ideas, really.
176
00:08:33,709 --> 00:08:36,166
The stuff I wrote
for The Helium Kidz
177
00:08:36,166 --> 00:08:38,750
I thought had its own sound,
because I was taking my love
178
00:08:38,750 --> 00:08:43,083
of American comics
and science fiction,
179
00:08:43,083 --> 00:08:44,458
and I thought,
"I'll write songs
180
00:08:44,458 --> 00:08:47,333
about those kind of subjects."
181
00:08:47,333 --> 00:08:48,917
The songs they were playing
182
00:08:48,917 --> 00:08:51,333
were all about two,
two and a half minutes long
183
00:08:51,333 --> 00:08:53,667
and no-one locally
was doing that.
184
00:08:53,667 --> 00:08:56,375
We were all kind of
underground blues bands.
185
00:08:56,375 --> 00:08:58,834
That's really what was
going on in the mid-70s,
186
00:08:58,834 --> 00:09:00,625
But this was some kind of...
187
00:09:00,625 --> 00:09:02,625
It was almost like
cartoon pop music,
188
00:09:02,625 --> 00:09:04,875
but there was something
about it that I hadn't seen
189
00:09:04,875 --> 00:09:06,125
in any other local band.
190
00:09:06,125 --> 00:09:09,792
I didn't seriously imagine they
were gonna get anywhere,
191
00:09:09,792 --> 00:09:12,750
because who's gonna take
a band from Swindon seriously?
192
00:09:12,750 --> 00:09:13,959
It just wasn't gonna happen.
193
00:09:15,542 --> 00:09:19,667
Swindon has this reputation
for being a comedy place,
194
00:09:19,667 --> 00:09:21,458
a backward place,
195
00:09:21,458 --> 00:09:24,500
that anything that comes from
it is considered to be a joke.
196
00:09:24,500 --> 00:09:28,208
It's designated
"the comedy town"
197
00:09:28,208 --> 00:09:30,709
and everything
associated with Swindon
198
00:09:30,709 --> 00:09:34,875
must be stupid
and comical and worthless.
199
00:09:34,875 --> 00:09:38,458
Which is terrible
when you're trying to...
200
00:09:38,458 --> 00:09:40,750
instigate a band from Swindon.
201
00:09:40,750 --> 00:09:44,250
"They must be terrible
and comical and worthless."
202
00:09:44,250 --> 00:09:45,083
"Neon Shuffle"
203
00:09:45,083 --> 00:09:46,291
Locally, he was viewed
204
00:09:46,291 --> 00:09:49,542
as being a bit out there
for local tastes, you know.
205
00:09:49,542 --> 00:09:50,750
But we thought he was great,
206
00:09:50,750 --> 00:09:53,917
because he was
a larger-than-life character
207
00:09:53,917 --> 00:09:55,208
and he was very funny.
208
00:09:55,208 --> 00:09:58,000
And he was making music
that was unusual,
209
00:09:58,000 --> 00:09:59,750
so we were
kinda drawn to that.
210
00:10:02,417 --> 00:10:05,083
So the three of us, that was
the nucleus of the band,
211
00:10:05,083 --> 00:10:06,375
me, Andy and Terry.
212
00:10:06,375 --> 00:10:09,417
And the fourth member
always seemed to be changing.
213
00:10:09,417 --> 00:10:13,083
By the time
The Helium Kidz became XTC,
214
00:10:13,083 --> 00:10:16,417
we found a keyboard player
by the name of Barry Andrews
215
00:10:16,417 --> 00:10:19,375
and we went out drinking
one night and got awfully sick.
216
00:10:19,375 --> 00:10:21,583
So it was like,
"Okay, he's one of the gang.
217
00:10:21,583 --> 00:10:23,750
He can hold his beer better
than I can, you know,
218
00:10:23,750 --> 00:10:24,792
so he's in."
219
00:10:24,792 --> 00:10:26,417
I had no idea
what he played like.
220
00:10:26,417 --> 00:10:27,959
And the first rehearsal
we had with him
221
00:10:27,959 --> 00:10:30,458
I thought, "Oh, my God,
we've said he's in the band
222
00:10:30,458 --> 00:10:32,875
and I can't stand his playing.
223
00:10:32,875 --> 00:10:35,959
It's like Deep Purple
or something," you know.
224
00:10:35,959 --> 00:10:39,291
And I took him to one side
halfway through this rehearsal
225
00:10:39,291 --> 00:10:43,000
and I said, "Do you really
wanna play like that?
226
00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:47,458
Feel free to play any way
you really want to play."
227
00:10:47,458 --> 00:10:49,166
And the second half
of the rehearsal
228
00:10:49,166 --> 00:10:50,583
it was, "My God!"
229
00:10:50,583 --> 00:10:52,667
It was like
the sound of somebody
230
00:10:52,667 --> 00:10:55,458
repairing
a flying saucer engine.
231
00:10:55,458 --> 00:10:56,959
It was just so odd
232
00:10:56,959 --> 00:11:01,458
and it was so many
beautiful wrong notes.
233
00:11:01,458 --> 00:11:03,750
"He is so in this group."
234
00:11:05,667 --> 00:11:08,542
♪
When you do it,
it ain't no disgrace ♪
235
00:11:08,542 --> 00:11:10,875
We heard that there was a buzz
about XTC. "You gotta see XTC."
236
00:11:10,875 --> 00:11:13,834
So we went down there,
and sure enough
237
00:11:13,834 --> 00:11:18,250
they were one of the
few bands of that era
238
00:11:18,250 --> 00:11:23,333
that dared to break
the very strict rules of punk.
239
00:11:23,333 --> 00:11:26,917
XTC actually had complex
chords, complex rhythms,
240
00:11:26,917 --> 00:11:31,291
lyrics that were outside
that very narrow frame
241
00:11:31,291 --> 00:11:34,333
and it was actually
very heartening for us
242
00:11:34,333 --> 00:11:37,709
to see a band just
throwing of that strait jacket.
243
00:11:40,917 --> 00:11:43,125
Hello, my name is John Peel.
244
00:11:43,125 --> 00:11:45,792
On tonight's program I'll be
playing tracks by The Sloots,
245
00:11:45,792 --> 00:11:49,333
The Slots, The Groan,
Exploding Truss,
246
00:11:49,333 --> 00:11:50,875
The Blues Bastards
247
00:11:50,875 --> 00:11:53,375
one from The Geckos,
Hubert And His Pile Tones,
248
00:11:53,375 --> 00:11:55,542
The Ear, The Nose, The Throat,
249
00:11:55,542 --> 00:11:59,542
The Cassowaries from Hell
are here, and Inevitable Groin
250
00:11:59,542 --> 00:12:02,041
I think Andy
sent a tape off to John Peel
251
00:12:02,041 --> 00:12:03,750
and got us on the show.
252
00:12:03,750 --> 00:12:06,375
That was about four months
before we were signed to Virgin
253
00:12:06,375 --> 00:12:09,000
and that was our first
appearance on the radio.
254
00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,375
So,
on to tonight's first guests,
255
00:12:11,375 --> 00:12:14,000
and they're XTC.
See what you think.
256
00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,041
At the time, the music industry
was a bit of a closed shop.
257
00:12:17,041 --> 00:12:20,500
There wasn't really any way in.
But when punk came along,
258
00:12:20,500 --> 00:12:23,667
it kind of swept
everything aside.
259
00:12:23,667 --> 00:12:25,667
And we got in
on the punk ticket, I think.
260
00:12:25,667 --> 00:12:27,542
But I think we were more akin
to the New York Dolls,
261
00:12:27,542 --> 00:12:30,208
we weren't really punk as such.
262
00:12:30,208 --> 00:12:31,834
We weren't political
in any way.
263
00:12:31,834 --> 00:12:32,834
♪ I have a feeling ♪
264
00:12:32,834 --> 00:12:36,583
♪ Something's
looking in-in-in-in-in ♪
265
00:12:36,583 --> 00:12:38,792
Why don't we go to London
and be famous, kids?
266
00:12:38,792 --> 00:12:41,083
Punk rock is just starting up
and they'll swallow anything.
267
00:12:43,583 --> 00:12:46,709
♪ Science friction
burns my fingers ♪
268
00:12:48,208 --> 00:12:49,583
The floodgates were opened
269
00:12:49,583 --> 00:12:52,500
after the whole so-called
punk new wave scene.
270
00:12:52,500 --> 00:12:55,208
And, you know, as time went on,
the labels kind of dropped away
271
00:12:55,208 --> 00:12:59,291
for a band like Blondie or for
a band like XTC, you know.
272
00:12:59,291 --> 00:13:01,959
You just really... They were
just like a great band.
273
00:13:01,959 --> 00:13:04,458
I mean, their music
was innovative,
274
00:13:04,458 --> 00:13:08,583
lyrically interesting and
a bit eccentric, I suppose.
275
00:13:08,583 --> 00:13:10,250
And I think as time went on,
276
00:13:10,250 --> 00:13:12,750
they kinda proved
that to be true.
277
00:13:12,750 --> 00:13:16,834
By the time
XTC got signed up in '77 -
278
00:13:16,834 --> 00:13:20,166
and who didn't get signed up
in '77, it was like a disease.
279
00:13:20,166 --> 00:13:25,583
Record companies were
so scared of missing the boat,
280
00:13:25,583 --> 00:13:27,208
"Ah, there's this thing
called punk, new wave,
281
00:13:27,208 --> 00:13:28,917
whatever it is,
we don't know what it's called.
282
00:13:28,917 --> 00:13:30,291
Quick, sign everything!"
283
00:13:30,291 --> 00:13:31,959
They just signed everything.
284
00:13:31,959 --> 00:13:35,000
So they looked at XTC
and, "Right, you're signed."
285
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,125
That first record
is the one that, to this day,
286
00:13:39,125 --> 00:13:41,250
I love it so much.
287
00:13:41,250 --> 00:13:44,458
And I love the way
it's like post-punky
288
00:13:44,458 --> 00:13:46,959
and I really love
his guitar playing.
289
00:13:46,959 --> 00:13:51,166
It's like that fast,
erratic playing,
290
00:13:51,166 --> 00:13:53,125
and his singing,
it's so cool.
291
00:13:53,125 --> 00:13:56,417
♪ Science friction
burns my fingers ♪
292
00:13:56,417 --> 00:13:58,500
So the first XTC album
293
00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:02,750
was some of the dregs
of the comic stuff,
294
00:14:02,750 --> 00:14:05,250
like Neon Shuffle,
Science Friction.
295
00:14:05,250 --> 00:14:07,166
But there were
other things as well
296
00:14:07,166 --> 00:14:10,291
that were happening to me
at the time, like This Is Pop.
297
00:14:10,291 --> 00:14:12,500
Where people
are trying to work out
298
00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:14,542
what this new music is called.
299
00:14:14,542 --> 00:14:16,750
Is it punk
300
00:14:16,750 --> 00:14:18,500
And to me,
it was just pop music.
301
00:14:18,500 --> 00:14:22,166
It was short, sharp,
slightly futuristic pop music.
302
00:14:22,166 --> 00:14:23,792
I thought,
"Come on, you idiots,
303
00:14:23,792 --> 00:14:26,500
don't bother with putting it
into yet another sub ghetto.
304
00:14:26,500 --> 00:14:27,667
It's just pop music."
305
00:14:27,667 --> 00:14:31,333
♪ What do you call that noise ♪
306
00:14:31,333 --> 00:14:34,625
♪ That you put on? ♪
307
00:14:34,625 --> 00:14:36,583
♪ This is pop ♪
308
00:14:36,583 --> 00:14:38,834
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
309
00:14:38,834 --> 00:14:40,875
♪ This is pop ♪
310
00:14:40,875 --> 00:14:41,709
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
311
00:14:41,709 --> 00:14:43,709
♪ This is pop ♪
312
00:14:43,709 --> 00:14:45,875
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
313
00:14:45,875 --> 00:14:47,083
♪ This is ♪
314
00:14:47,083 --> 00:14:49,875
His singing voice, of course,
on the first record,
315
00:14:49,875 --> 00:14:52,000
it was kinda yelping, really.
316
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,583
He was always trying to,
"Urgh,"
317
00:14:53,583 --> 00:14:57,625
trying to get above the row
of the instruments, you know.
318
00:14:57,625 --> 00:15:00,083
It was probably the style
of the music and the time,
319
00:15:00,083 --> 00:15:03,083
where people thought
to sing was to shout.
320
00:15:04,291 --> 00:15:06,083
♪ This is ♪
321
00:15:06,083 --> 00:15:06,667
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
322
00:15:06,667 --> 00:15:09,041
♪ This is pop ♪
323
00:15:09,041 --> 00:15:12,458
I very quickly realized that
I can't find another singer
324
00:15:12,458 --> 00:15:15,083
who's delivering my songs
how I want them delivered.
325
00:15:15,083 --> 00:15:17,291
So I'm reluctantly
gonna have to sing them,
326
00:15:17,291 --> 00:15:18,834
and I'm not a good singer.
327
00:15:18,834 --> 00:15:20,959
At best, in the early years,
328
00:15:20,959 --> 00:15:22,792
I managed an entertaining
seal bark of a noise,
329
00:15:22,792 --> 00:15:25,500
"Arrrhh, arrrhh," you know.
330
00:15:25,500 --> 00:15:28,458
It was like a wounded
Lassie or something.
331
00:15:28,458 --> 00:15:31,083
And if Colin writes some songs
then he's gonna sing them.
332
00:15:31,083 --> 00:15:32,917
I'm not gonna do his songs.
333
00:15:32,917 --> 00:15:34,917
So it was that kind of
unwritten agreement
334
00:15:34,917 --> 00:15:37,250
that you write it, you sing it.
335
00:15:38,208 --> 00:15:40,667
♪ Are you receiving me? ♪
336
00:15:40,667 --> 00:15:43,917
♪ You are deceiving me,
I know ♪
337
00:15:43,917 --> 00:15:45,583
I had no
ambition to write.
338
00:15:45,583 --> 00:15:47,959
I think it was one of the
roadies that said, you know,
339
00:15:47,959 --> 00:15:49,417
"Colin, you ought to write,
340
00:15:49,417 --> 00:15:51,583
because otherwise
you'll miss out," you know.
341
00:15:51,583 --> 00:15:54,208
So I made a contribution
to the first album.
342
00:15:54,208 --> 00:15:55,667
And then on the second album
343
00:15:55,667 --> 00:15:58,291
Barry said it would be
better all-round
344
00:15:58,291 --> 00:16:00,125
if we all made a contribution,
345
00:16:00,125 --> 00:16:02,375
and he started to write songs,
as well.
346
00:16:02,375 --> 00:16:05,500
By the time we got to
doing the second record, Go 2,
347
00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:09,625
there was Barry's songs
that had to be done, you know.
348
00:16:09,625 --> 00:16:11,125
Give him a chance
kind of thing.
349
00:16:11,125 --> 00:16:13,041
And, of course,
they stuck out, you know.
350
00:16:13,041 --> 00:16:16,417
They weren't really band songs,
XTC songs.
351
00:16:16,417 --> 00:16:18,917
Barry and I were
sniping at each other terribly
352
00:16:18,917 --> 00:16:20,291
during the recording of that,
353
00:16:20,291 --> 00:16:23,834
'cause I was seeing that
he was kind of in danger
354
00:16:23,834 --> 00:16:25,166
of stealing my band away,
355
00:16:25,166 --> 00:16:27,625
or was trying to do that
from under my nose.
356
00:16:27,625 --> 00:16:30,125
From suddenly
not writing any songs,
357
00:16:30,125 --> 00:16:32,917
he had suddenly written
seven songs.
358
00:16:32,917 --> 00:16:34,250
But he was very upset
359
00:16:34,250 --> 00:16:35,959
that he didn't get them
all on the album.
360
00:16:35,959 --> 00:16:37,583
But then you can't
waltz into a band
361
00:16:37,583 --> 00:16:39,583
and say,
"Okay, Mr. Songwriter,
362
00:16:39,583 --> 00:16:41,458
we're not having
any of your songs.
363
00:16:41,458 --> 00:16:43,375
Half of the album
is gonna be my songs,
364
00:16:43,375 --> 00:16:45,250
which I've just started writing
and you have to use them all."
365
00:16:45,250 --> 00:16:48,166
So I thought,
"No, let's give it a few albums
366
00:16:48,166 --> 00:16:50,834
and then we can start to
introduce your songs."
367
00:16:50,834 --> 00:16:53,542
But no, Barry, being the
lone wolf, had to leave.
368
00:16:53,542 --> 00:16:56,375
♪ Are you receiving me? ♪
369
00:16:56,375 --> 00:16:59,166
♪ You are deceiving me ♪
370
00:16:59,166 --> 00:17:01,166
I thought, "Ah,
we can't stop our career now.
371
00:17:01,166 --> 00:17:02,417
It's just taking off.
372
00:17:02,417 --> 00:17:05,000
Who do I know
that we can get in the band?
373
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:06,250
I know, maybe the person
374
00:17:06,250 --> 00:17:07,959
we should have had
in the first place:
375
00:17:07,959 --> 00:17:09,667
local guitarist Dave Gregory."
376
00:17:09,667 --> 00:17:13,417
A friend of mine
and a fantastic guitarist.
377
00:17:13,417 --> 00:17:16,125
And, yeah, I think
he liked the opportunity
378
00:17:16,125 --> 00:17:18,583
to come and be in a band
that was on its way up.
379
00:17:18,583 --> 00:17:23,166
♪ I have learned there's
a magical spot at the hop ♪
380
00:17:23,166 --> 00:17:24,250
♪ Ooh-whoo! ♪
381
00:17:24,250 --> 00:17:26,542
I think he just
wanted to find someone
382
00:17:26,542 --> 00:17:29,083
who he could relate to
on a personal level,
383
00:17:29,083 --> 00:17:32,542
who'd do what he asked
without squabbling too much.
384
00:17:32,542 --> 00:17:35,709
But he certainly broadened
my mind as to, you know,
385
00:17:35,709 --> 00:17:36,917
how I should approach...
386
00:17:36,917 --> 00:17:38,125
For example, if he heard
387
00:17:38,125 --> 00:17:40,417
even the slightest hint
of a blues cliché
388
00:17:40,417 --> 00:17:44,625
in anything I was doing,
he'd just say, "Don't do that!"
389
00:17:45,875 --> 00:17:51,083
So he got me thinking
in a completely different way.
390
00:17:51,083 --> 00:17:53,834
On my audition, we were just
jamming on something
391
00:17:53,834 --> 00:17:54,709
and I think
at one point I went...
392
00:17:57,834 --> 00:18:01,125
..and he went,
"Stop! Stop Ernieing"
393
00:18:01,125 --> 00:18:02,792
And I said "What?"
394
00:18:02,792 --> 00:18:05,875
"Stop Ernieing! Don't Ernie.
Don't do that."
395
00:18:05,875 --> 00:18:08,208
♪ Ernie, Ernie, Ernie ♪
396
00:18:08,208 --> 00:18:09,208
He hated that,
so I had to sort of...
397
00:18:09,208 --> 00:18:11,792
Straight away,
that was the last time
398
00:18:11,792 --> 00:18:13,917
I ever played a phrase
like that in an XTC song.
399
00:18:13,917 --> 00:18:18,291
♪ Life begins at the hop ♪
400
00:18:18,291 --> 00:18:23,709
♪ Boys and girls ♪
401
00:18:23,709 --> 00:18:26,041
When Barry left, it seemed
to trigger something, you know.
402
00:18:26,041 --> 00:18:29,041
The dynamic of the band
changed
403
00:18:29,041 --> 00:18:32,417
and I was writing
more for myself, you know.
404
00:18:32,417 --> 00:18:36,083
Colin brought this guitar to
the rehearsal room and said,
405
00:18:36,083 --> 00:18:38,583
"I've written this song,
fellas, and it goes like this."
406
00:18:38,583 --> 00:18:40,166
And he played
the three or four chords
407
00:18:40,166 --> 00:18:42,792
that constitute
Making Plans For Nigel.
408
00:18:42,792 --> 00:18:44,750
And we liked the melody,
409
00:18:44,750 --> 00:18:46,583
thought the melody
was really nice.
410
00:18:46,583 --> 00:18:49,000
♪ Da-da-da-da-da-duh,
da-duh-da-duh ♪
411
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,166
You know, it's a very
old-fashioned melody.
412
00:18:51,166 --> 00:18:52,750
It could be Gilbert O'Sullivan,
413
00:18:52,750 --> 00:18:55,291
could be, you know,
a show tune or something.
414
00:18:55,291 --> 00:18:59,291
♪ We're only
making plans for Nigel ♪
415
00:19:03,250 --> 00:19:07,625
♪ We only want
what's best for him ♪
416
00:19:07,625 --> 00:19:10,333
But he's strumming it to us
on a classic guitar,
417
00:19:10,333 --> 00:19:13,291
and it was, "Oh, my God.
We can't do it like that.
418
00:19:13,291 --> 00:19:16,959
He's like Julie Felix or
Joan Baez or something.
419
00:19:16,959 --> 00:19:19,125
You know, nobody's...
420
00:19:19,125 --> 00:19:21,834
We're not gonna take that,
let alone our audience.
421
00:19:21,834 --> 00:19:24,375
And so we just pulled it
totally apart.
422
00:19:26,917 --> 00:19:29,333
I got Terry to play in
an upside-down drum rhythm,
423
00:19:29,333 --> 00:19:32,500
where he moved
at quite a conventional rhythm
424
00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:33,834
around to other drums.
425
00:19:33,834 --> 00:19:36,208
And if you're a drummer,
426
00:19:36,208 --> 00:19:38,500
try playing that rhythm
on Making Plans For Nigel.
427
00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:39,500
It takes some
upside-down thinking.
428
00:19:42,583 --> 00:19:45,000
I'm just doing these
sort of stabbing chords.
429
00:19:47,458 --> 00:19:50,667
Over the top of that,
Andy's got this little...
430
00:19:54,166 --> 00:19:57,375
Colin is copying what is
being played on the tom-tom,
431
00:19:57,375 --> 00:19:58,834
which is this tribal thing,
432
00:19:58,834 --> 00:20:00,083
'cause we wanna get
into that tribal area
433
00:20:00,083 --> 00:20:02,417
with drums, you know.
434
00:20:02,417 --> 00:20:05,583
So the whole song is this big
tribal-sounding behemoth.
435
00:20:05,583 --> 00:20:06,959
And, damn it, it was a hit.
436
00:20:07,834 --> 00:20:10,500
♪ We're only making plans
for Nigel ♪
437
00:20:13,375 --> 00:20:17,750
♪ Nigel just needs
that helping hand ♪
438
00:20:20,500 --> 00:20:24,333
♪ And if young Nigel says
he's happy ♪
439
00:20:24,333 --> 00:20:26,208
♪ He must be happy ♪
440
00:20:26,208 --> 00:20:27,709
♪ He must be happy ♪
441
00:20:27,709 --> 00:20:32,291
♪ He must be happy
in his work ♪
442
00:20:33,542 --> 00:20:34,542
I knew by that album,
443
00:20:34,542 --> 00:20:37,125
the album that became
Drums And Wires,
444
00:20:37,125 --> 00:20:42,792
that I wanted to take the band
in a more drum-heavy direction
445
00:20:42,792 --> 00:20:44,500
And so we found a producer,
an engineer,
446
00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:47,750
that I felt would be good
for this new sound,
447
00:20:47,750 --> 00:20:49,917
which was Hugh Padgham
engineering
448
00:20:49,917 --> 00:20:52,291
and Steve Lillywhite
being the producer.
449
00:20:52,291 --> 00:20:53,917
And it was a case of,
450
00:20:53,917 --> 00:20:56,291
"Well, let's get you
in a live-sounding studio,
451
00:20:56,291 --> 00:20:59,792
where there's plenty of stone
and brick and wood and glass
452
00:20:59,792 --> 00:21:00,959
to reflect the sound."
453
00:21:00,959 --> 00:21:03,041
So we went to the brand-new
Virgin Town House,
454
00:21:03,041 --> 00:21:04,542
which had just been built.
455
00:21:04,542 --> 00:21:07,750
The great thing with this room
at The Town House
456
00:21:07,750 --> 00:21:10,625
was that it was all sort of
stone and bricks,
457
00:21:10,625 --> 00:21:12,917
so when you stand next to
somebody playing the drums,
458
00:21:12,917 --> 00:21:14,375
it's loud.
459
00:21:14,375 --> 00:21:18,959
And there had become
a phenomenon in the '70s,
460
00:21:18,959 --> 00:21:23,834
where records tended to have
a very sort of dead sound
461
00:21:23,834 --> 00:21:26,083
on, well,
particularly the drums,
462
00:21:26,083 --> 00:21:29,375
and they often
didn't sound very big.
463
00:21:29,375 --> 00:21:32,208
Now, recording them
in this big room,
464
00:21:32,208 --> 00:21:35,542
and the technique
that I sort of discovered,
465
00:21:35,542 --> 00:21:40,125
made the drums sound loud,
even when they were quiet.
466
00:21:41,291 --> 00:21:42,750
That was the drum...
467
00:21:42,750 --> 00:21:44,917
The drum sound of the 1980s.
468
00:21:44,917 --> 00:21:49,500
That everybody now knows
was made famous by Phil Collins
469
00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:53,041
and the big drum break in
In The Air Tonight.
470
00:21:53,041 --> 00:21:55,834
It was a new sound.
It was a new thing.
471
00:21:55,834 --> 00:21:58,000
And people were saying to us,
you know,
472
00:21:58,000 --> 00:21:59,834
like we're touring with
The Police and,
473
00:21:59,834 --> 00:22:02,291
"Partsy, man, how are you
getting that sound
474
00:22:02,291 --> 00:22:04,208
like, with the big drums?
475
00:22:04,208 --> 00:22:06,917
Who's doing
your engineering, man?"
476
00:22:06,917 --> 00:22:09,291
"Well, it's a young fella
called Hugh Padgham."
477
00:22:09,291 --> 00:22:10,959
"Right,
have you got his number?
478
00:22:10,959 --> 00:22:12,792
We'll have a bit of that
on The Police."
479
00:22:12,792 --> 00:22:14,291
Hugh Padgham came to us
480
00:22:14,291 --> 00:22:16,917
because of his
unbelievable credentials.
481
00:22:16,917 --> 00:22:19,625
He had recorded the albums
482
00:22:19,625 --> 00:22:24,166
that everybody held up as the
sound that every band wants.
483
00:22:24,166 --> 00:22:27,166
The combination of the size
and clarity,
484
00:22:27,166 --> 00:22:28,917
everybody wanted that sound.
485
00:22:28,917 --> 00:22:33,083
♪ We're only making plans
for Nigel ♪
486
00:22:33,083 --> 00:22:36,166
Drums And Wires
just changed the game for us.
487
00:22:36,166 --> 00:22:38,000
Reinvented the band.
488
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,166
Easy to tour.
Easy to play on stage.
489
00:22:41,166 --> 00:22:42,667
Just put us another notch
up the ladder, I guess.
490
00:22:42,667 --> 00:22:46,291
It was
a double-edged sword for me,
491
00:22:46,291 --> 00:22:48,625
because certainly in Britain
492
00:22:48,625 --> 00:22:53,000
we'd had no chart success
with this odd music.
493
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,750
You know,
these strange Herberts
494
00:22:55,750 --> 00:22:58,291
from a council estate
in Swindon.
495
00:22:58,291 --> 00:23:01,500
"It's too odd for me.
That's punky, ain't it?
496
00:23:01,500 --> 00:23:03,000
That's, well, you know..."
497
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,542
So by the time that Colin came
up with Making Plans For Nigel
498
00:23:07,542 --> 00:23:09,583
Virgin Records said, "Hey,
that good-looking bass player,
499
00:23:09,583 --> 00:23:12,417
he's come up with one
and it's in the charts,
500
00:23:12,417 --> 00:23:14,542
so, okay,
he's the one to look at,
501
00:23:14,542 --> 00:23:17,709
and we thought
it was Andy's group."
502
00:23:17,709 --> 00:23:19,709
From then on,
for quite a few years,
503
00:23:19,709 --> 00:23:21,083
certainly in the eyes
of Virgin Records,
504
00:23:21,083 --> 00:23:22,750
it became Colin's group.
505
00:23:22,750 --> 00:23:27,208
I think he was a little
bit pissed off, to be honest,
506
00:23:27,208 --> 00:23:29,333
as you can imagine,
because, you know,
507
00:23:29,333 --> 00:23:33,667
he had been the song writer,
you know, the sole song writer.
508
00:23:33,667 --> 00:23:35,417
He was the face of the band,
509
00:23:35,417 --> 00:23:37,542
so it all felt
a little bit odd.
510
00:23:37,542 --> 00:23:39,542
Essentially, I was
the bass player,
511
00:23:39,542 --> 00:23:41,417
but, all of a sudden,
I was thrust forward.
512
00:23:41,417 --> 00:23:44,458
♪ Generals and Majors, ah-ha ♪
513
00:23:44,458 --> 00:23:45,417
♪ They're never too far ♪
514
00:23:45,417 --> 00:23:48,250
♪ From battlefields
so glorious ♪
515
00:23:48,250 --> 00:23:50,542
To be fair, he's the one
516
00:23:50,542 --> 00:23:52,208
who looked most like
a pop star.
517
00:23:52,208 --> 00:23:54,792
You know, all his songs
were melodic and simple.
518
00:23:54,792 --> 00:23:57,709
They're very easy, easy on the
ear, listener-friendly songs.
519
00:23:57,709 --> 00:24:00,750
So the record company
would always look to Colin
520
00:24:00,750 --> 00:24:01,375
for the singles first.
521
00:24:01,375 --> 00:24:02,417
So you can understand
522
00:24:02,417 --> 00:24:04,917
why Andy might have
had his nose
523
00:24:04,917 --> 00:24:07,291
put out of joint a little bit
because of that.
524
00:24:07,291 --> 00:24:09,083
But, you know,
he got on with it okay.
525
00:24:09,083 --> 00:24:10,417
He still had the lion's share
of the writing,
526
00:24:10,417 --> 00:24:12,125
and he was still in charge.
527
00:24:12,125 --> 00:24:15,542
♪ Generals ♪
528
00:24:15,542 --> 00:24:17,750
♪ And Majors ♪
529
00:24:17,750 --> 00:24:20,709
It was kind of
good for him as well,
530
00:24:20,709 --> 00:24:23,333
because it kind of spurred
both of us on, you know.
531
00:24:23,333 --> 00:24:25,667
Virgin rule was
after the next hit.
532
00:24:25,667 --> 00:24:29,333
So in a way,
it was healthy after a while.
533
00:24:29,333 --> 00:24:31,542
I had that thing
where I thought it was my band.
534
00:24:31,542 --> 00:24:33,041
You know. And...
535
00:24:33,041 --> 00:24:35,667
But I realized it was our
band.
536
00:24:35,667 --> 00:24:38,583
The fact that Colin was writing
good songs,
537
00:24:38,583 --> 00:24:40,041
I was writing good songs,
538
00:24:40,041 --> 00:24:43,667
Dave was playing great
instrumentation orchestration,
539
00:24:43,667 --> 00:24:47,208
Terry was whacking seven bells
out of that kit beautifully,
540
00:24:47,208 --> 00:24:48,166
it all made it stronger.
541
00:24:48,166 --> 00:24:50,625
♪ Towers of London ♪
542
00:24:50,625 --> 00:24:53,000
♪ When they had built you ♪
543
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,625
♪ Did you watch over
the men who fell? ♪
544
00:24:56,625 --> 00:25:00,125
Andy was getting
a reputation by this time
545
00:25:00,125 --> 00:25:01,792
as being,
you know, a songwriter,
546
00:25:01,792 --> 00:25:05,625
as opposed to being, you know,
a punk guitar player.
547
00:25:05,625 --> 00:25:09,083
Both guys were writing
much better songs.
548
00:25:09,083 --> 00:25:12,166
I think the two of them
complimented each other really.
549
00:25:12,166 --> 00:25:14,000
They never actually ever
wrote together.
550
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,917
They were never a Lennon and
McCartney type of partnership.
551
00:25:17,917 --> 00:25:19,000
They never
wrote songs together.
552
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,125
There was his songs,
and his songs, and that was it.
553
00:25:22,125 --> 00:25:23,875
♪ Need assisting ♪
554
00:25:23,875 --> 00:25:25,000
Colin had less
555
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,500
of the kind of bite
and perversity of Andy.
556
00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:32,625
Andy has this kind
of strange world
557
00:25:32,625 --> 00:25:34,542
that he kinda retreats into,
558
00:25:34,542 --> 00:25:39,750
that's kind of a mixture of
nostalgia and sexual tension,
559
00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:41,625
and the fact that it's
quintessentially English.
560
00:25:41,625 --> 00:25:45,583
♪ If I could only be tough
like him ♪
561
00:25:45,583 --> 00:25:51,291
♪ Then I could win my own
small battle of the sexes ♪
562
00:25:51,291 --> 00:25:53,959
For me,
more and more of the influences
563
00:25:53,959 --> 00:25:58,959
was the British pop group stuff
came out more and more,
564
00:25:58,959 --> 00:26:01,458
i.e. The Beatles,
Rolling Stones,
565
00:26:01,458 --> 00:26:02,875
The Small Faces, The Kinks.
566
00:26:02,875 --> 00:26:07,542
The way that Ray Davies
wrote these little mini plays
567
00:26:07,542 --> 00:26:10,667
about life in England.
You know, I loved that.
568
00:26:10,667 --> 00:26:14,041
And I sort of
gravitated naturally
569
00:26:14,041 --> 00:26:14,834
towards wanting
to do that myself.
570
00:26:17,625 --> 00:26:20,041
You're not stealing,
it's just you can't help it.
571
00:26:20,041 --> 00:26:21,375
It's in your DNA.
572
00:26:21,375 --> 00:26:22,667
You live in
a little English town.
573
00:26:22,667 --> 00:26:25,500
Just the very fact that you're
reporting what's going on
574
00:26:25,500 --> 00:26:26,875
in that little English town,
575
00:26:26,875 --> 00:26:27,959
it's gonna be a bit like
anybody else
576
00:26:27,959 --> 00:26:31,542
who wrote about small things
in small towns.
577
00:26:31,542 --> 00:26:34,750
♪ Heard the neighbor
slam his car door ♪
578
00:26:34,750 --> 00:26:39,125
♪ Don't you realize,
this is Respectable Street? ♪
579
00:26:39,125 --> 00:26:40,583
With Respectable Street,
580
00:26:40,583 --> 00:26:43,583
it's this really mundane,
supposedly uninteresting story
581
00:26:43,583 --> 00:26:46,834
of this suburban, boring life,
582
00:26:46,834 --> 00:26:50,291
but they paint this
really vivid picture of it.
583
00:26:50,291 --> 00:26:52,500
And you can completely see Andy
just poking out the curtains,
584
00:26:52,500 --> 00:26:54,834
watching it all go on.
585
00:26:54,834 --> 00:26:57,041
He's such a character, and
that comes out in the lyrics,
586
00:26:57,041 --> 00:26:57,834
that comes out in the songs.
587
00:26:57,834 --> 00:27:01,709
♪ Avon lady fills the creases ♪
588
00:27:01,709 --> 00:27:05,834
♪ When she manages to
squeeze in past the caravans ♪
589
00:27:05,834 --> 00:27:09,500
♪ That never move
from their front gardens ♪
590
00:27:09,500 --> 00:27:11,667
So long as
the four of us were together,
591
00:27:11,667 --> 00:27:12,875
we were in this little
Swindon bubble,
592
00:27:12,875 --> 00:27:16,667
we were protected,
we were among friends.
593
00:27:16,667 --> 00:27:18,875
Some of the weird people
we met on the road, you know,
594
00:27:18,875 --> 00:27:21,500
you just think, "Well, at least
we can laugh about it."
595
00:27:21,500 --> 00:27:24,875
Because the rock and roll
lifestyle is pretty absurd.
596
00:27:24,875 --> 00:27:26,583
Particularly on the road.
597
00:27:26,583 --> 00:27:28,500
But, you know, Andy,
he never stopped.
598
00:27:28,500 --> 00:27:30,792
He was always joking
and larking around,
599
00:27:30,792 --> 00:27:32,250
keeping us happy.
600
00:27:32,250 --> 00:27:33,291
It was just his personality.
601
00:27:33,291 --> 00:27:35,875
It wasn't something
he felt he had to do,
602
00:27:35,875 --> 00:27:38,458
he's just a natural,
comical person.
603
00:27:39,875 --> 00:27:42,458
Humor is an important part
of every band's life,
604
00:27:42,458 --> 00:27:43,625
and we got on great with XTC.
605
00:27:43,625 --> 00:27:46,458
Andy was much more comfortable
606
00:27:46,458 --> 00:27:48,625
the further he was
away from the show.
607
00:27:48,625 --> 00:27:51,458
After the show, Andy is a hoot.
608
00:27:51,458 --> 00:27:52,625
We actually shared
a tour bus with them,
609
00:27:52,625 --> 00:27:55,125
which is two bands on a bus,
610
00:27:55,125 --> 00:27:56,834
which is pretty darn
neighborly.
611
00:27:56,834 --> 00:27:58,458
But we got along really well.
612
00:27:58,458 --> 00:28:00,208
You know, XTC and The Police
613
00:28:00,208 --> 00:28:02,834
were two similar bands
of the same age,
614
00:28:02,834 --> 00:28:04,750
and we just, you know,
we were in the pocket.
615
00:28:05,917 --> 00:28:09,166
♪ Bang the wall
for me to turn, turn, turn ♪
616
00:28:09,166 --> 00:28:11,792
I think we were
generally pretty good live.
617
00:28:11,792 --> 00:28:15,792
Being tight as a band
was important.
618
00:28:15,792 --> 00:28:18,417
But I kinda quickly found out
619
00:28:18,417 --> 00:28:22,667
that I didn't enjoy
the business of live so much.
620
00:28:22,667 --> 00:28:26,709
For the travel,
the sound checks,
621
00:28:26,709 --> 00:28:28,875
all the assholes
you have to deal with
622
00:28:28,875 --> 00:28:32,083
in agencies and managers.
623
00:28:32,083 --> 00:28:33,917
So I hated all that side of it
624
00:28:33,917 --> 00:28:37,250
I mean, actually being on stage
was the nicest bit of the day.
625
00:28:37,250 --> 00:28:41,667
♪ ..he realize, this is
Respectable Street? ♪
626
00:28:41,667 --> 00:28:43,792
After we'd finished
touring Black Sea,
627
00:28:43,792 --> 00:28:45,041
which was most of 19...
628
00:28:45,041 --> 00:28:46,667
the second half of 1980,
629
00:28:46,667 --> 00:28:48,709
we were all ready
to do something new.
630
00:28:48,709 --> 00:28:50,875
It was time to sort of expand
631
00:28:50,875 --> 00:28:53,750
the two guitars,
bass and drums line-up.
632
00:28:53,750 --> 00:28:56,750
Maybe add some piano
here and there
633
00:28:56,750 --> 00:29:01,458
and just think about, maybe,
different guitar textures.
634
00:29:02,375 --> 00:29:05,917
So we went in
and rehearsed songs
635
00:29:05,917 --> 00:29:08,291
for the album that would
become English Settlement.
636
00:29:13,208 --> 00:29:16,625
Virgin are telling us,
"Yeah, nice material, lads,
637
00:29:16,625 --> 00:29:17,959
you don't have a single."
638
00:29:17,959 --> 00:29:19,667
And so I sat down
and tried to write a single.
639
00:29:19,667 --> 00:29:22,083
"Let me see. What's good?
640
00:29:22,083 --> 00:29:24,542
What do people want?
Like, nursery rhymes.
641
00:29:24,542 --> 00:29:26,750
Yeah, it's gotta be
a kind of simple melody.
642
00:29:26,750 --> 00:29:27,333
Counting's always good."
643
00:29:27,333 --> 00:29:29,333
That's...
644
00:29:29,333 --> 00:29:32,667
♪ Five, four, three, two, one ♪
645
00:29:32,667 --> 00:29:33,959
♪ Da-da-da, da-da-da ♪
646
00:29:33,959 --> 00:29:35,500
♪ Five, four, three, two, one ♪
647
00:29:35,500 --> 00:29:37,083
"Yeah that was a big hit.
Yeah, I can do counting.
648
00:29:37,083 --> 00:29:40,667
Well, flip it the other way.
One, two, three, four, five.
649
00:29:40,667 --> 00:29:41,792
What's about that?
What have we got five of?
650
00:29:41,792 --> 00:29:44,583
Five legs?
No, we don't have five legs.
651
00:29:44,583 --> 00:29:46,875
Five arms
652
00:29:46,875 --> 00:29:48,667
No, it's four fingers
and a thumb.
653
00:29:48,667 --> 00:29:50,000
Five senses. Okay.
654
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:53,000
So it's gonna be about
your senses. Right.
655
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:54,083
We got where...
So it's a counting song.
656
00:29:54,083 --> 00:29:57,083
I'm counting,
"One, two, three, four, five."
657
00:29:57,083 --> 00:29:58,834
And it's gonna be stamp, stamp.
You're gonna get this."
658
00:29:58,834 --> 00:30:01,291
♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪
659
00:30:01,291 --> 00:30:05,333
"Great, that's all working.
I don't have a verse."
660
00:30:05,333 --> 00:30:08,041
And so I was thinking,
"Okay, maybe the verse...
661
00:30:08,041 --> 00:30:10,709
Maybe the verse
should be an E as well."
662
00:30:10,709 --> 00:30:13,291
And I threw my hands
on the guitar,
663
00:30:13,291 --> 00:30:14,625
but instead of throwing them...
664
00:30:15,667 --> 00:30:17,083
..there...
That's a nice E.
665
00:30:17,083 --> 00:30:21,417
..I threw them on
kind of an E-flat place
666
00:30:23,709 --> 00:30:25,917
And I didn't throw
all my fingers on.
667
00:30:25,917 --> 00:30:28,417
I just threw two of them on.
I wasn't thinking.
668
00:30:30,291 --> 00:30:31,083
And I ended up with that.
669
00:30:31,083 --> 00:30:33,041
And I thought,
"Ah, what's that?
670
00:30:33,041 --> 00:30:35,458
That's an interesting chord,
non-chord."
671
00:30:38,625 --> 00:30:40,834
I thought, "Wow.
I wonder what that's like
672
00:30:40,834 --> 00:30:43,834
if I move my fingers
and go the other way as well?"
673
00:30:46,875 --> 00:30:51,792
"Ooh, that's very nice.
This sounds medieval.
674
00:30:51,792 --> 00:30:56,125
This is like somebody
in a field, tilling.
675
00:30:56,125 --> 00:30:59,166
This is a little fella and his
ox and he's tilling a field."
676
00:30:59,166 --> 00:31:00,333
You know.
677
00:31:00,333 --> 00:31:02,625
And so I started to sing
678
00:31:02,625 --> 00:31:03,458
with the nursery rhyme
thing in mind.
679
00:31:03,458 --> 00:31:05,500
I thought,
680
00:31:05,500 --> 00:31:08,125
"Well, what would this
person tilling the fields be...
681
00:31:08,125 --> 00:31:09,125
He'd be singing,
682
00:31:09,125 --> 00:31:11,875
♪ Hey, hey,
the clouds are whey ♪
683
00:31:11,875 --> 00:31:13,083
Yeah, I like that.
684
00:31:13,083 --> 00:31:15,458
I'm liking that he's looking up
at the clouds, you know."
685
00:31:15,458 --> 00:31:16,709
And so the whole verse
686
00:31:16,709 --> 00:31:18,834
was made out of this
kind of medieval...
687
00:31:18,834 --> 00:31:20,500
Bloody evil!
688
00:31:20,500 --> 00:31:24,625
..this medieval thing,
which I then jammed on.
689
00:31:24,625 --> 00:31:25,542
"I'm gonna make this work."
690
00:31:25,542 --> 00:31:28,291
I then jammed
on to the other bits.
691
00:31:28,291 --> 00:31:31,208
♪ Hey, hey,
the clouds are whey ♪
692
00:31:31,208 --> 00:31:32,750
♪ The straw for the donkeys ♪
693
00:31:32,750 --> 00:31:36,959
♪ And the innocents
can all sleep safely ♪
694
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,166
♪ All sleep safely ♪
695
00:31:42,792 --> 00:31:45,875
♪ My, my, sun is pie ♪
696
00:31:45,875 --> 00:31:47,709
♪ There's fodder
for the cannons ♪
697
00:31:47,709 --> 00:31:51,000
♪ And the guilty ones
can all sleep safely ♪
698
00:31:52,709 --> 00:31:55,875
♪ All sleep safely ♪
699
00:31:57,709 --> 00:32:01,417
♪ And all the world
is football-shaped ♪
700
00:32:01,417 --> 00:32:05,291
♪ It's just for me
to kick in space ♪
701
00:32:05,291 --> 00:32:08,917
♪ And I can see, hear, smell,
touch, taste ♪
702
00:32:08,917 --> 00:32:11,875
♪ And I've got
one, two, three, four, five ♪
703
00:32:11,875 --> 00:32:16,125
♪ Senses working overtime ♪
704
00:32:17,500 --> 00:32:19,083
♪ Trying to take this all in ♪
705
00:32:19,083 --> 00:32:22,917
♪ I've got
one, two, three, four, five ♪
706
00:32:22,917 --> 00:32:27,083
♪ Senses working overtime ♪
707
00:32:28,417 --> 00:32:29,917
♪ Trying to taste
the difference ♪
708
00:32:29,917 --> 00:32:32,000
♪ 'Tween a lemon
and a lime ♪
709
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:33,750
♪ Pain and pleasure ♪
710
00:32:33,750 --> 00:32:40,166
♪ And the church bells
softly chime ♪
711
00:32:40,166 --> 00:32:44,208
Halfway through
an American tour,
712
00:32:44,208 --> 00:32:46,125
the woman
I was married to at the time
713
00:32:46,125 --> 00:32:51,458
looked at a big tub
of Valium I had.
714
00:32:51,458 --> 00:32:53,291
And when I finished
a gig one night
715
00:32:53,291 --> 00:32:57,041
and went out drinking with
some people in Los Angeles,
716
00:32:57,041 --> 00:33:00,959
she thought to herself, "What's
he taking this shit for?
717
00:33:00,959 --> 00:33:03,625
He doesn't need it.
It doesn't do anything for him
718
00:33:03,625 --> 00:33:05,667
I'm gonna get rid of him.
We're..."
719
00:33:05,667 --> 00:33:08,291
Ooh, Freudian slip!
"I'm gonna get rid of it."
720
00:33:08,291 --> 00:33:12,834
She tipped all these Valium
down the toilet.
721
00:33:12,834 --> 00:33:14,125
I came home drunk
722
00:33:14,125 --> 00:33:18,709
to this grotty hotel room
in Los Angeles.
723
00:33:18,709 --> 00:33:22,125
So I'm going in,
I'm gonna to need my Valium.
724
00:33:22,125 --> 00:33:23,417
"Where's my Valium?"
725
00:33:23,417 --> 00:33:24,417
She said,
"I've tipped it all away,
726
00:33:24,417 --> 00:33:28,166
I don't want you taking
this crap anymore.
727
00:33:28,166 --> 00:33:30,083
You've gotta stop this stuff."
728
00:33:31,458 --> 00:33:33,667
I freaked out. I thought,
"Ah, that's my crutch!
729
00:33:33,667 --> 00:33:35,125
What are you doing? I take
that every day of my life.
730
00:33:35,125 --> 00:33:38,291
I've taken that every day
since I was 12, 13,"
731
00:33:38,291 --> 00:33:39,667
which I had done.
732
00:33:41,750 --> 00:33:43,041
I was on it in the first place
733
00:33:43,041 --> 00:33:44,625
because my mother had
a lot of mental problems,
734
00:33:44,625 --> 00:33:49,834
and the fallout from that was
really fucking me up as a kid.
735
00:33:49,834 --> 00:33:51,208
Big time.
736
00:33:51,208 --> 00:33:52,834
And it was the '60s.
737
00:33:52,834 --> 00:33:55,041
And the new wonder drug,
Valium!
738
00:33:55,041 --> 00:33:57,583
"Yeah. Oh, his mother's crazy.
739
00:33:57,583 --> 00:34:00,834
We're putting her in
a loony bin for a while.
740
00:34:00,834 --> 00:34:02,041
Poor kid's upset.
He's only 12.
741
00:34:02,041 --> 00:34:06,000
Tell you what,
stick him on Valium."
742
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:09,583
I was on Valium, addicted
to this stuff since then,
743
00:34:09,583 --> 00:34:15,041
and here I am 13 years later,
not registering I'm addicted
744
00:34:15,041 --> 00:34:17,875
and thinking I can just stop.
745
00:34:17,875 --> 00:34:23,041
I had no idea
how Valium addiction gets you,
746
00:34:23,041 --> 00:34:24,792
and I had no concept
of getting off of it.
747
00:34:24,792 --> 00:34:28,291
No concept of cold turkey.
748
00:34:28,291 --> 00:34:30,041
No concept of,
749
00:34:30,041 --> 00:34:32,542
"This is gonna destroy you
if you do it like this."
750
00:34:32,542 --> 00:34:35,667
So, like two naive idiots,
she tipped it all away,
751
00:34:35,667 --> 00:34:37,291
and I said, "Okay.
752
00:34:37,291 --> 00:34:39,166
It doesn't do anything
for me in any case.
753
00:34:39,166 --> 00:34:41,291
Doesn't give me a high,
doesn't do anything.
754
00:34:41,291 --> 00:34:43,375
What does it do? Nothing.
755
00:34:43,375 --> 00:34:46,125
Great. I'm fine.
I'm now off of Valium."
756
00:34:46,125 --> 00:34:49,875
Oh, what a fool.
What a pair of fools, you know.
757
00:34:52,333 --> 00:34:57,250
Over the following year,
I went into slow brain melt.
758
00:34:57,250 --> 00:35:01,250
I developed panic attacks.
I had no idea what they were.
759
00:35:01,250 --> 00:35:03,667
Memory loss.
My limbs were seizing up.
760
00:35:03,667 --> 00:35:06,917
This was...
My whole world was going wrong
761
00:35:06,917 --> 00:35:09,083
because of
this Valium addiction,
762
00:35:09,083 --> 00:35:12,959
coming off of Valium,
stopping dead.
763
00:35:12,959 --> 00:35:15,000
I didn't think
to go to talk to specialists
764
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,917
and say, "How do you do this?"
765
00:35:16,917 --> 00:35:19,166
Since, people have said,
766
00:35:19,166 --> 00:35:22,750
"Hey, you come off of
13 years of Valium addiction,
767
00:35:22,750 --> 00:35:24,625
it's worse than heroin,
768
00:35:24,625 --> 00:35:27,291
and you try doing cold turkey
on heroin."
769
00:35:27,291 --> 00:35:30,166
I knew he was having
these night terrors.
770
00:35:30,166 --> 00:35:33,417
I knew that he was
very, very nervous.
771
00:35:33,417 --> 00:35:38,208
Before every show in the
dressing room, you know,
772
00:35:38,208 --> 00:35:40,792
he would be so tense,
and you'd just think,
773
00:35:40,792 --> 00:35:43,875
"Well, if that's what it takes
to get him on stage,
774
00:35:43,875 --> 00:35:45,834
then that's what he has to do."
775
00:35:45,834 --> 00:35:49,625
But you never imagine that it's
anything seriously amiss,
776
00:35:49,625 --> 00:35:51,875
other than just the natural,
you know,
777
00:35:51,875 --> 00:35:54,125
tension of stage nerves.
778
00:35:54,125 --> 00:35:56,291
We would get to
just before the gig
779
00:35:56,291 --> 00:35:59,041
and he'd have feelings of being
sick and all the rest of it,
780
00:35:59,041 --> 00:36:01,291
you know, "No, I can't go on.
I feel sick."
781
00:36:01,291 --> 00:36:03,375
But it was just...
It was just nerves, you know,
782
00:36:03,375 --> 00:36:07,041
which manifested itself
in a physical, you know,
783
00:36:07,041 --> 00:36:10,000
psychosomatic way.
784
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:11,500
Just things came unwound.
785
00:36:11,500 --> 00:36:13,125
I was getting agoraphobia,
I couldn't go out.
786
00:36:13,125 --> 00:36:15,291
I was getting panic attacks.
787
00:36:15,291 --> 00:36:17,333
No concept
of what panic attack was.
788
00:36:17,333 --> 00:36:19,500
And I'm on stage
and I'm getting a panic attack.
789
00:36:19,500 --> 00:36:20,792
"Ah! Ah! Why?
790
00:36:20,792 --> 00:36:23,333
Why am I afraid of everything
in the known universe?"
791
00:36:23,333 --> 00:36:24,333
You know?
792
00:36:24,333 --> 00:36:26,500
No concept of what was
happening to me.
793
00:36:26,500 --> 00:36:29,458
And I found myself going
on tour, touring around Europe
794
00:36:29,458 --> 00:36:32,125
and then it was
a tour of The States,
795
00:36:32,125 --> 00:36:34,291
then it would have been
Japan, Australia,
796
00:36:34,291 --> 00:36:35,500
blah-blah-blah, wherever.
797
00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:41,667
Doing this with my brain
dribbling out of my skull.
798
00:36:41,667 --> 00:36:45,625
All these things going wrong
in my mind and in my life,
799
00:36:45,625 --> 00:36:48,000
and me not knowing
what they are.
800
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:52,792
And I found myself
onstage in Paris
801
00:36:52,792 --> 00:36:56,000
having the mother
of all panic attacks
802
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:57,542
and thinking,
"That's it. I'm going mad.
803
00:36:57,542 --> 00:37:02,166
I've got to stop the world.
I wanna get off." You know.
804
00:37:02,166 --> 00:37:04,083
I'm getting all emotional
saying this.
805
00:37:07,375 --> 00:37:08,625
Yeah...
806
00:37:10,375 --> 00:37:11,500
Yeah.
807
00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:14,041
"It's Nearly Africa"
808
00:37:30,041 --> 00:37:33,333
We knew he was unhappy
on that particular tour,
809
00:37:33,333 --> 00:37:36,250
and when he walked off,
immediately we just thought,
810
00:37:36,250 --> 00:37:38,083
"Well, this is Andy
being petulant
811
00:37:38,083 --> 00:37:41,417
and just doing this
to make a point."
812
00:37:41,417 --> 00:37:43,166
Even when that happened,
813
00:37:43,166 --> 00:37:46,041
and I regret this, you know,
looking back at it now,
814
00:37:46,041 --> 00:37:47,917
we should have paid
more attention
815
00:37:47,917 --> 00:37:50,875
to what he was...
how he was feeling.
816
00:37:50,875 --> 00:37:53,333
We just figured,
"Well, let's get him home.
817
00:37:53,333 --> 00:37:54,542
Rest for a month.
818
00:37:54,542 --> 00:37:57,250
And then we'll go back out
when he's all better."
819
00:37:57,250 --> 00:37:59,250
We'd had this tour
set up in America,
820
00:37:59,250 --> 00:38:03,083
and we had to
get out of town fast,
821
00:38:03,083 --> 00:38:04,792
because once the promoters knew
822
00:38:04,792 --> 00:38:06,625
that we weren't going to play,
you know,
823
00:38:06,625 --> 00:38:09,500
they were saying, "We want
a doctor to come round."
824
00:38:09,500 --> 00:38:12,250
And I remember Andy and I
were just packed on a plane,
825
00:38:12,250 --> 00:38:14,667
and we shot back to England.
826
00:38:14,667 --> 00:38:18,125
But financially, we lost
hand over fist, you know,
827
00:38:18,125 --> 00:38:19,500
because we weren't sued
828
00:38:19,500 --> 00:38:22,792
but we had to pay
a good deal of money over
829
00:38:22,792 --> 00:38:25,709
in order to pacify
the promoters, you know.
830
00:38:25,709 --> 00:38:30,291
I probably reacted a bit
unsympathetically towards him,
831
00:38:30,291 --> 00:38:32,625
I suppose.
I was the youngest fella there,
832
00:38:32,625 --> 00:38:36,709
and, jeez, you know,
to pull out of an American tour
833
00:38:36,709 --> 00:38:38,667
is pretty...pretty big stuff.
834
00:38:39,667 --> 00:38:43,000
And, yeah, I wasn't aware of...
835
00:38:44,291 --> 00:38:45,333
..like it was like an illness.
836
00:38:45,333 --> 00:38:47,125
Like, you know,
I wasn't aware of that.
837
00:38:47,125 --> 00:38:49,291
I just thought, you know,
838
00:38:49,291 --> 00:38:51,083
"He's just going through
a bit of a bad patch
839
00:38:51,083 --> 00:38:52,333
and he'll get over it."
840
00:38:52,333 --> 00:38:56,000
My brother Ian was our agent
and their agent,
841
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,000
and the first I learned
of the stage fright issue
842
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:00,709
was my brother Ian
freaking out,
843
00:39:00,709 --> 00:39:02,375
saying, "I can't believe it.
844
00:39:02,375 --> 00:39:04,834
We have the best tour.
They're starting their tour."
845
00:39:04,834 --> 00:39:05,709
I think it...
846
00:39:06,625 --> 00:39:08,125
Madison Square Garden
or something.
847
00:39:08,125 --> 00:39:10,083
It was just the
tour.
848
00:39:10,083 --> 00:39:11,417
"Boys, you've worked hard.
849
00:39:11,417 --> 00:39:15,667
This is your payoff.
You've landed."
850
00:39:15,667 --> 00:39:17,250
And then a phone call
from England
851
00:39:17,250 --> 00:39:20,291
is that Andy just can't.
852
00:39:20,291 --> 00:39:21,709
Won't.
853
00:39:21,709 --> 00:39:23,000
The sad bit is
854
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,625
I think that he went from
not being able to do it
855
00:39:25,625 --> 00:39:26,959
to not wanting...
856
00:39:26,959 --> 00:39:31,291
Well, that was his story,
that he said he didn't want to.
857
00:39:31,291 --> 00:39:34,166
I mean, Andy being one
for not allowing anything
858
00:39:34,166 --> 00:39:37,750
to kind of say he can't do,
859
00:39:37,750 --> 00:39:39,500
I think he turned it
round a bit,
860
00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:41,709
to say,
"Well, I don't want to do."
861
00:39:41,709 --> 00:39:44,375
But maybe if he'd
have got counselling for it,
862
00:39:44,375 --> 00:39:47,792
it may have changed things,
you know.
863
00:39:47,792 --> 00:39:51,125
♪ I put on a fake smile ♪
864
00:39:51,125 --> 00:39:53,667
♪ And start the evening show ♪
865
00:39:55,375 --> 00:39:59,542
♪ The public is laughing ♪
866
00:39:59,542 --> 00:40:04,208
♪ I guess by now they know ♪
867
00:40:04,208 --> 00:40:07,291
I was just at the end
of my tether with everything.
868
00:40:07,291 --> 00:40:10,041
I was at the end of my tether
869
00:40:10,041 --> 00:40:14,333
with being a performing monkey
for management.
870
00:40:14,333 --> 00:40:17,625
I was sick of not seeing
any money for all of this.
871
00:40:17,625 --> 00:40:21,750
In all those years of touring,
the band never saw a penny.
872
00:40:21,750 --> 00:40:23,875
I know who the villain
in all this.
873
00:40:23,875 --> 00:40:25,500
I'm not gonna get into
all that,
874
00:40:25,500 --> 00:40:27,166
'cause it's too rockumentary.
875
00:40:27,166 --> 00:40:28,750
But I know
who the villains are.
876
00:40:28,750 --> 00:40:32,709
But we never saw any money,
and I was sick of that.
877
00:40:32,709 --> 00:40:36,333
We never saw any time off to
be normal, I was sick of that.
878
00:40:36,333 --> 00:40:38,500
Sick of hotels.
The whole thing.
879
00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:43,583
I was trapped, and I
wanted off that treadmill.
880
00:40:43,583 --> 00:40:46,959
♪ Dear Madam Barnum ♪
881
00:40:46,959 --> 00:40:48,125
♪ I resign as clown ♪
882
00:40:48,125 --> 00:40:50,959
♪ Dear Madam Barnum ♪
883
00:40:50,959 --> 00:40:52,959
♪ I resign as clown ♪
884
00:40:52,959 --> 00:40:54,417
♪ Dear Madam Barnum ♪
885
00:40:58,667 --> 00:41:00,291
I just wanted a normal life.
886
00:41:00,291 --> 00:41:03,500
I thought, "No, I need to get
away from this touring crap.
887
00:41:03,500 --> 00:41:07,291
If my music's gonna get better,
and therefore XTC's music,
888
00:41:07,291 --> 00:41:08,542
we need better-quality songs
889
00:41:08,542 --> 00:41:14,208
and I need more time to write
more and better-quality songs."
890
00:41:14,208 --> 00:41:16,583
Virgin took it so badly.
891
00:41:17,083 --> 00:41:19,083
So badly.
892
00:41:19,083 --> 00:41:20,583
Everybody did.
893
00:41:20,583 --> 00:41:23,750
You know, the manager.
I think the band did, as well.
894
00:41:23,750 --> 00:41:25,709
They thought, "Oh, that's
the end of us," you know.
895
00:41:25,709 --> 00:41:29,333
It got very frustrating
for me and for Terry,
896
00:41:29,333 --> 00:41:30,875
because we...
897
00:41:30,875 --> 00:41:34,458
Well, Terry just loves the
road, he loves performing.
898
00:41:34,458 --> 00:41:36,125
He loves playing his drums.
899
00:41:37,041 --> 00:41:38,417
And me, too.
900
00:41:38,417 --> 00:41:42,625
I don't really understand why a
musician wouldn't want to work.
901
00:41:42,625 --> 00:41:47,166
You know, wouldn't want to go
out and tour and play.
902
00:41:47,166 --> 00:41:49,834
He never really wanted
to pursue the live thing again,
903
00:41:49,834 --> 00:41:52,750
you know, which
really went against
904
00:41:52,750 --> 00:41:54,667
everything
I sort of stood for, really.
905
00:41:54,667 --> 00:41:57,125
I mean,
if you're a musician, to me,
906
00:41:57,125 --> 00:41:59,125
playing is what it's all about.
907
00:41:59,125 --> 00:42:01,834
Besides that,
my sort of circumstances
908
00:42:01,834 --> 00:42:03,166
had changed, as well.
909
00:42:03,166 --> 00:42:06,291
And my wife was Australian,
and we had a small child.
910
00:42:06,291 --> 00:42:08,500
So that, on top of the
911
00:42:08,500 --> 00:42:11,542
non-touring situation,
I thought,
912
00:42:11,542 --> 00:42:15,041
"Well, jeez, you know, maybe
it's time for me to move out."
913
00:42:21,083 --> 00:42:23,959
I totally
and utterly felt freed up
914
00:42:23,959 --> 00:42:25,709
from stopping live.
915
00:42:25,709 --> 00:42:28,917
It was like
"Hey, let's get in the studio
916
00:42:28,917 --> 00:42:32,375
and use it for what it is,
this creative tool.
917
00:42:32,375 --> 00:42:35,208
Let's use every tool
in the studio box.
918
00:42:35,208 --> 00:42:37,709
We want some brass,
we hire a brass player.
919
00:42:37,709 --> 00:42:39,834
We want this organ,
we just get this organ in.
920
00:42:39,834 --> 00:42:41,917
We want Mellotron,
let's get a Mellotron.
921
00:42:41,917 --> 00:42:43,750
We wanna overdub this, change
the speed of that, let's...
922
00:42:43,750 --> 00:42:46,500
We can do anything
we want, for God's sake.
923
00:42:46,500 --> 00:42:48,542
Why were we restricting
ourselves
924
00:42:48,542 --> 00:42:51,959
to two colors on the palette
just so we could do it live?
925
00:42:51,959 --> 00:42:54,875
That's insane, fellas.
That's not how you grow."
926
00:42:54,875 --> 00:42:57,625
The arrangements of the
songs became more complex.
927
00:42:57,625 --> 00:42:59,875
We were able to use
strings and stuff
928
00:42:59,875 --> 00:43:03,458
without fear of trying
to reproduce it on stage.
929
00:43:03,458 --> 00:43:05,792
We didn't have that problem.
930
00:43:05,792 --> 00:43:09,583
We could go to town, really,
you know, and we did.
931
00:43:09,583 --> 00:43:11,250
For me, it was wonderful.
932
00:43:11,250 --> 00:43:12,875
It was like
the blinkers came off.
933
00:43:12,875 --> 00:43:14,041
That's live.
934
00:43:14,041 --> 00:43:15,166
That's...
935
00:43:16,500 --> 00:43:18,500
"Wow! There are all those other
colors! I wanna use them."
936
00:43:18,500 --> 00:43:23,542
♪ Awaken, you dreamers ♪
937
00:43:25,417 --> 00:43:29,583
♪ Adrift in your beds ♪
938
00:43:31,542 --> 00:43:35,583
♪ Balloons and streamers ♪
939
00:43:35,583 --> 00:43:38,083
♪ Decorate the ♪
940
00:43:38,083 --> 00:43:42,375
♪ Inside of your heads ♪
941
00:43:42,375 --> 00:43:46,667
♪ Please let some out ♪
942
00:43:46,667 --> 00:43:49,291
♪ Do it today ♪
943
00:43:49,291 --> 00:43:53,000
♪ But don't let the
loveless ones ♪
944
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:56,291
♪ Sell you a world
wrapped in gray ♪
945
00:43:56,291 --> 00:43:58,500
♪ Da, da ♪
946
00:43:58,500 --> 00:44:00,959
♪ Da, da, hm ♪
947
00:44:00,959 --> 00:44:03,875
How I wrote a lot of
the songs is I'll find a chord
948
00:44:03,875 --> 00:44:08,041
or a chord change on a guitar,
or on a keyboard,
949
00:44:08,041 --> 00:44:10,959
and I'm playing those,
but I'm not hearing music.
950
00:44:10,959 --> 00:44:14,959
I'm seeing pictures.
That's how I write songs.
951
00:44:14,959 --> 00:44:18,959
It comes, usually, from
the synesthesic level.
952
00:44:18,959 --> 00:44:23,500
Synesthesia is where
you get stuff mixed up.
953
00:44:23,500 --> 00:44:26,959
Someone will say a number
and you'll hear a noise.
954
00:44:26,959 --> 00:44:29,458
Or someone
will show you a color
955
00:44:29,458 --> 00:44:32,041
and you'll think of a number.
956
00:44:32,041 --> 00:44:36,834
Or you'll hear
a piece of music or a chord,
957
00:44:36,834 --> 00:44:40,792
and, to me, it makes a picture.
958
00:44:40,792 --> 00:44:44,750
I'm gonna just see if I can do
the exercise live, as it were.
959
00:44:46,834 --> 00:44:51,083
Let me find a chord that
I've never played in my life.
960
00:44:51,500 --> 00:44:53,291
Let me see.
961
00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:57,834
No, that's a bit rotten.
962
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:06,000
Ooh.
963
00:45:14,291 --> 00:45:16,959
You see, that, to me,
suggests a pool of...
964
00:45:16,959 --> 00:45:21,375
Like a puddle.
Like a pool of muddy water.
965
00:45:21,375 --> 00:45:25,250
[continues to play
guitar chords]
966
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:30,458
So if was working from
the synesthesia point,
967
00:45:30,458 --> 00:45:34,709
the song would have to be
involving this muddy water
968
00:45:34,709 --> 00:45:36,083
in some way.
969
00:45:36,083 --> 00:45:38,542
I've never done this before
in my life.
970
00:45:38,542 --> 00:45:39,959
Okay, so it's...
971
00:45:39,959 --> 00:45:41,041
Not this song,
972
00:45:41,041 --> 00:45:44,083
or what I'm about to sing
or anything, or say,
973
00:45:44,083 --> 00:45:46,291
or the words or anything,
but...
974
00:45:51,291 --> 00:45:59,417
♪ There is the muddiest
of water ♪
975
00:45:59,417 --> 00:46:06,417
♪ There is the deepest
of pools ♪
976
00:46:06,417 --> 00:46:08,875
So, to me, it suggests...
977
00:46:08,875 --> 00:46:10,917
That's a lovely chord,
actually.
978
00:46:10,917 --> 00:46:12,041
I'm not gonna forget that.
But that's...
979
00:46:12,041 --> 00:46:14,417
I have no idea
what that chord is called,
980
00:46:14,417 --> 00:46:16,959
I've never played it before,
but it suggests muddy water.
981
00:46:18,959 --> 00:46:20,000
That's how I write songs.
982
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:25,417
It comes usually from
the synesthesic thing.
983
00:46:25,417 --> 00:46:29,500
"Love On A Farmboy's Wages"
984
00:46:29,500 --> 00:46:32,125
I wrote this song,
Love On A Farmboy's Wages,
985
00:46:32,125 --> 00:46:35,667
sort of about the romance
of my grandfather,
986
00:46:35,667 --> 00:46:38,792
and, to some extent,
my father working on farms.
987
00:46:38,792 --> 00:46:41,208
I mean, they had terrible lives
on these farms.
988
00:46:42,333 --> 00:46:45,959
I was just messing around
with a note of E and...
989
00:46:48,458 --> 00:46:51,792
"Oh, yeah. That's nice.
That's like the countryside.
990
00:46:51,792 --> 00:46:53,542
You know, we're on the farm."
991
00:46:53,542 --> 00:46:59,959
♪ Tonight,
when my work is done ♪
992
00:46:59,959 --> 00:47:01,125
It's so important
993
00:47:01,125 --> 00:47:04,166
that you paint
the musical scenery, to me.
994
00:47:04,166 --> 00:47:07,959
Then you can find the right
lines for the actors to say.
995
00:47:07,959 --> 00:47:11,291
But if you don't get
the correct scenery,
996
00:47:11,291 --> 00:47:12,750
you can't stage this.
997
00:47:12,750 --> 00:47:14,291
But it's a very personal song
for me, because it,
998
00:47:14,291 --> 00:47:19,333
certainly to me, it references
my grandfather and my father.
999
00:47:19,333 --> 00:47:21,917
♪ Shilling for the fellow
who brings the sheep in ♪
1000
00:47:23,208 --> 00:47:27,041
♪ Shilling for the fellow
who milks the herd ♪
1001
00:47:27,041 --> 00:47:29,500
♪ Shilling for the fellow
with a wife for keeping ♪
1002
00:47:29,500 --> 00:47:35,166
♪ How can we feed love
on a farmboy's wages? ♪
1003
00:47:35,166 --> 00:47:36,750
Somebody said,
"You've gotta hear this song,
1004
00:47:36,750 --> 00:47:39,041
Love On A Farmboy's Wages."
1005
00:47:39,041 --> 00:47:42,166
And I just thought, as good as
XTC had been up till then,
1006
00:47:42,166 --> 00:47:46,500
it was like a revelation of the
leap forward they had made,
1007
00:47:46,500 --> 00:47:49,166
you know, out of their punk
roots into, you know,
1008
00:47:49,166 --> 00:47:53,500
just gorgeous songwriting
and gorgeous record making.
1009
00:47:53,500 --> 00:47:55,333
And from then on,
I was just a total fan.
1010
00:47:55,333 --> 00:47:57,542
♪ Shilling for the fellow
with a wife for keeping ♪
1011
00:47:57,542 --> 00:48:01,000
♪ How can we feed love
on a farmboy's ♪
1012
00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:03,208
♪ Love on a farmboy's ♪
1013
00:48:03,208 --> 00:48:08,500
♪ Love on a farmboy's wages? ♪
1014
00:48:08,500 --> 00:48:10,792
By that time,
the hits had dried up,
1015
00:48:10,792 --> 00:48:12,375
and I think we did
a couple of albums
1016
00:48:12,375 --> 00:48:14,542
that weren't
particularly successful.
1017
00:48:14,542 --> 00:48:17,375
And the scene was changing,
so we were...
1018
00:48:17,375 --> 00:48:19,959
It was kind of the wilderness
years for us, you know,
1019
00:48:19,959 --> 00:48:21,375
just for two or three years.
1020
00:48:26,375 --> 00:48:30,583
There's a long tradition
of whatever media you're in,
1021
00:48:30,583 --> 00:48:34,291
writers do it all the time,
but musicians do it, as well,
1022
00:48:34,291 --> 00:48:37,667
where you wanna not be you.
1023
00:48:37,667 --> 00:48:41,291
To go to like a costume ball
as some other character,
1024
00:48:41,291 --> 00:48:42,417
a masked ball.
1025
00:48:42,417 --> 00:48:43,917
Wouldn't that be great fun?
1026
00:48:43,917 --> 00:48:48,542
So in our case, "Let's make
an album by a different band."
1027
00:48:48,542 --> 00:48:52,208
♪ I'm the mole
from the ministry ♪
1028
00:48:54,208 --> 00:48:58,041
♪ And you'll all
bow down to me ♪
1029
00:48:59,083 --> 00:49:03,917
♪ I'm the mole
in your potting shed ♪
1030
00:49:05,709 --> 00:49:09,709
♪ I'm the bad thoughts
inside your head ♪
1031
00:49:09,709 --> 00:49:14,709
So in two weeks
we wrote, recorded and mixed
1032
00:49:14,709 --> 00:49:17,709
the Dukes Of Stratosphear's
first record.
1033
00:49:17,709 --> 00:49:19,542
It was so much fun,
I'll tell you.
1034
00:49:19,542 --> 00:49:22,166
So much fun
not having to be yourself.
1035
00:49:22,166 --> 00:49:24,333
♪ 25 o'clock ♪
1036
00:49:24,333 --> 00:49:26,125
We had more fun
in those two weeks, I think,
1037
00:49:26,125 --> 00:49:29,959
than I'd ever had
in a studio with anybody.
1038
00:49:29,959 --> 00:49:32,625
We just put ourselves
in the mind-set
1039
00:49:32,625 --> 00:49:34,542
of bands from the mid-'60s,
1040
00:49:34,542 --> 00:49:37,709
and just find as much
vintage gear as we can,
1041
00:49:37,709 --> 00:49:39,083
so we can get it sounding
as authentic as possible.
1042
00:49:41,458 --> 00:49:43,125
It was very relaxing
for the band,
1043
00:49:43,125 --> 00:49:45,542
because there was no pressure
on them to be here.
1044
00:49:45,542 --> 00:49:47,375
There was no pressure
to do a hit single.
1045
00:49:47,375 --> 00:49:50,208
And it was all their fantasies
in making music,
1046
00:49:50,208 --> 00:49:51,667
to be psychedelic.
1047
00:49:51,667 --> 00:49:55,125
♪ ..thirty-four ♪
1048
00:49:55,125 --> 00:49:57,333
It was very good fun,
and it did surprisingly well.
1049
00:49:57,333 --> 00:50:01,250
The Dukes probably sold
more than The Big Express
,
1050
00:50:01,250 --> 00:50:04,000
which was the XTC album
of around that time.
1051
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:06,709
Of course, it was all
meant to be hush, hush,
1052
00:50:06,709 --> 00:50:08,834
"Don't tell anyone it's XTC."
1053
00:50:08,834 --> 00:50:11,750
Everyone loved it. And people
still do today, you know.
1054
00:50:11,750 --> 00:50:14,000
When I met The Stone Roses
1055
00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:16,709
and they asked me to do their
record, they kind of said,
1056
00:50:16,709 --> 00:50:17,834
"You are the John Leckie
1057
00:50:17,834 --> 00:50:20,500
that did the Dukes Of
Stratosphear, aren't you?"
1058
00:50:20,500 --> 00:50:21,834
And I went, "Yeah, yeah."
1059
00:50:21,834 --> 00:50:23,834
And they said, "Oh,
'cause that's why we asked you.
1060
00:50:23,834 --> 00:50:25,667
We loved that record."
1061
00:50:25,667 --> 00:50:26,834
Dukes of Stratosphear
1062
00:50:26,834 --> 00:50:30,125
was probably a direct
predecessor to Britpop.
1063
00:50:30,125 --> 00:50:32,667
Creating that
sort of psychedelic
1064
00:50:32,667 --> 00:50:34,458
'60s-influenced music
1065
00:50:34,458 --> 00:50:37,750
was, yeah,
very unusual for the time.
1066
00:50:37,750 --> 00:50:41,750
I think that album came out
in the early-'80s or something,
1067
00:50:41,750 --> 00:50:42,875
so that record was, yeah,
1068
00:50:42,875 --> 00:50:44,125
definitely a precursor
to Britpop, for sure.
1069
00:50:44,125 --> 00:50:47,417
It opened us up
to a new audience.
1070
00:50:47,417 --> 00:50:50,542
It was a lot of kids that were
sort of starting to get into...
1071
00:50:50,542 --> 00:50:53,709
Well, they were calling it,
like, a Paisley Underground,
1072
00:50:53,709 --> 00:50:54,834
or, you know, whatever.
1073
00:50:54,834 --> 00:50:56,417
It was
this new feeling of, "Hey,
1074
00:50:56,417 --> 00:50:57,792
maybe '60s music is okay."
1075
00:50:59,041 --> 00:51:01,291
And I think
it gave us the feeling
1076
00:51:01,291 --> 00:51:06,291
that we could tap into
what we liked as schoolkids.
1077
00:51:06,291 --> 00:51:10,375
I think we all felt more
comfortable in ourselves,
1078
00:51:10,375 --> 00:51:11,417
and we felt more comfortable
1079
00:51:11,417 --> 00:51:16,875
in being this bridge
from the '60s to the '80s.
1080
00:51:16,875 --> 00:51:20,166
And hey, that's fine, you know.
This is why...
1081
00:51:20,166 --> 00:51:22,583
We were then at that point
where it was like,
1082
00:51:22,583 --> 00:51:25,625
"We're not gonna deny
any of our influences anymore,
1083
00:51:25,625 --> 00:51:27,750
we're just gonna
let them all free."
1084
00:51:27,750 --> 00:51:31,792
♪ Season cycle
moving round and round ♪
1085
00:51:31,792 --> 00:51:35,166
♪ Pushing life up
from a cold, dead ground ♪
1086
00:51:35,166 --> 00:51:36,375
♪ It's growing green ♪
1087
00:51:37,917 --> 00:51:42,291
♪ It's growing green ♪
1088
00:51:42,291 --> 00:51:47,750
♪ Well, darling,
don't you ever stop to wonder ♪
1089
00:51:47,750 --> 00:51:51,792
♪ About the clouds,
about the hail and thunder? ♪
1090
00:51:51,792 --> 00:51:55,709
♪ About the baby
and its umbilical? ♪
1091
00:51:55,709 --> 00:51:59,709
♪ Who's pushing the pedals
on the season cycle? ♪
1092
00:51:59,709 --> 00:52:03,834
By the time we had got
to making the Skylarking album
1093
00:52:03,834 --> 00:52:06,458
which I think personally
is the next Dukes record,
1094
00:52:06,458 --> 00:52:11,625
Virgin really wanted us
to break big in The States
1095
00:52:11,625 --> 00:52:13,000
and did actually say,
1096
00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:16,000
"If you don't let an American
produce your next album-to-be,
1097
00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:18,333
you're off the label,
1098
00:52:18,333 --> 00:52:21,166
because you are not selling
enough records in America."
1099
00:52:21,166 --> 00:52:25,291
And they said, "You're gonna
need a US producer,
1100
00:52:25,291 --> 00:52:27,834
somebody who knows
what Americans like
1101
00:52:27,834 --> 00:52:30,208
and can find that
in your music."
1102
00:52:30,208 --> 00:52:32,792
'Cause I thought our music
was pretty British.
1103
00:52:34,083 --> 00:52:35,458
"Okay, good luck."
1104
00:52:35,458 --> 00:52:38,542
And they sent me a list
of all these producers.
1105
00:52:38,542 --> 00:52:40,917
You know,
Arnie Dinkelberger IX,
1106
00:52:40,917 --> 00:52:43,792
and Ronnie Dangleheimer
XIV, and all that.
1107
00:52:43,792 --> 00:52:46,166
I didn't know
who all these people were.
1108
00:52:46,166 --> 00:52:47,792
I'd never heard of them.
1109
00:52:47,792 --> 00:52:50,750
So right near the bottom
of this list was Todd Rundgren.
1110
00:52:50,750 --> 00:52:52,750
I thought, "Ah!
I know who he is.
1111
00:52:52,750 --> 00:52:55,083
I had an album of his
one time.
1112
00:52:55,083 --> 00:52:57,000
He's American.
Yeah. Right, oh, okay.
1113
00:52:57,000 --> 00:52:58,166
So he produces, does he?
1114
00:52:58,166 --> 00:53:00,750
Alright, well,
that might be fun.
1115
00:53:00,750 --> 00:53:03,583
He's a musician. He knows
what musicians are about."
1116
00:53:03,583 --> 00:53:06,375
And I said to Dave, "You know
Todd Rundgren, right?"
1117
00:53:06,375 --> 00:53:09,250
"Todd? Yeah, I'm a big fan.
Of course I am."
1118
00:53:09,250 --> 00:53:11,625
"Well, how would you think
if he produced an album?"
1119
00:53:11,625 --> 00:53:13,834
"Yeah, let's go for it."
1120
00:53:13,834 --> 00:53:16,250
I was in my element.
I couldn't believe it.
1121
00:53:16,250 --> 00:53:18,375
Just being flown from Swindon
1122
00:53:18,375 --> 00:53:22,250
over to the wilds
of New York State.
1123
00:53:22,250 --> 00:53:26,417
Up in the Catskill Mountains
there, surrounded by nature,
1124
00:53:26,417 --> 00:53:27,959
working with a legend.
1125
00:53:27,959 --> 00:53:29,542
That's the dream, you know.
1126
00:53:29,542 --> 00:53:32,250
How much better
do you want it to get?
1127
00:53:32,250 --> 00:53:35,500
♪ That's really super,
Supergirl ♪
1128
00:53:38,083 --> 00:53:39,333
♪ How you saved yourself
in seconds flat ♪
1129
00:53:39,333 --> 00:53:41,625
♪ And your friends,
they're gonna say ♪
1130
00:53:41,625 --> 00:53:44,959
He was a fantastic
arranger. Fantastic.
1131
00:53:44,959 --> 00:53:47,583
His arranging skills
are really top notch.
1132
00:53:47,583 --> 00:53:49,583
Which we needed, I think.
1133
00:53:49,583 --> 00:53:52,625
But he and I
just butted heads terribly.
1134
00:53:52,625 --> 00:53:54,375
♪ Don't mean to be rude ♪
1135
00:53:54,375 --> 00:53:57,709
♪ But I don't feel super ♪
1136
00:53:57,709 --> 00:53:59,625
I think on this album
he really met his nemesis,
1137
00:53:59,625 --> 00:54:04,542
because here was someone
who was as sarcastic as he was,
1138
00:54:04,542 --> 00:54:05,375
probably even more so.
1139
00:54:05,375 --> 00:54:08,667
And Andy likes
his pound of flesh
1140
00:54:08,667 --> 00:54:10,208
when you're recording with him.
1141
00:54:10,208 --> 00:54:12,125
If you haven't done
six or seven takes,
1142
00:54:12,125 --> 00:54:13,917
and he's wrung everything
out of you,
1143
00:54:13,917 --> 00:54:16,000
then he's not had a good time,
you know.
1144
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:18,250
Whereas Todd likes
first or second take,
1145
00:54:18,250 --> 00:54:20,083
otherwise forget it, you know.
1146
00:54:20,083 --> 00:54:22,792
It was just two different
philosophies had met.
1147
00:54:22,792 --> 00:54:25,583
I have a problem
with authority.
1148
00:54:25,583 --> 00:54:31,166
"And this is my band and you're
not telling us what to do."
1149
00:54:31,166 --> 00:54:33,709
But all the time
this ghost voice saying,
1150
00:54:33,709 --> 00:54:36,750
"If you don't be produced
by an American,
1151
00:54:36,750 --> 00:54:37,750
you're off the label."
1152
00:54:37,750 --> 00:54:43,000
So I just had to bear it
as much as possible.
1153
00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:44,834
I would have liked
Andy and Todd
1154
00:54:44,834 --> 00:54:47,750
to have seen eye-to-eye
and got along as friends,
1155
00:54:47,750 --> 00:54:50,041
but, you know, you've got
the irresistible force
1156
00:54:50,041 --> 00:54:51,500
and the immovable object.
1157
00:54:51,500 --> 00:54:53,625
That's really what
the problem was.
1158
00:54:55,125 --> 00:54:58,291
But Todd did the job
he was given, you know:
1159
00:54:58,291 --> 00:54:59,625
he produced a record.
1160
00:54:59,625 --> 00:55:01,250
It was a hit record.
It saved our career.
1161
00:55:01,250 --> 00:55:03,500
No question about it.
1162
00:55:03,500 --> 00:55:06,125
♪ Laying on the grass ♪
1163
00:55:06,125 --> 00:55:09,625
♪ My heart,
it flares like fire ♪
1164
00:55:12,125 --> 00:55:15,125
♪ The way you slap my face ♪
1165
00:55:15,125 --> 00:55:19,125
♪ Just fills me with desire ♪
1166
00:55:19,125 --> 00:55:22,083
In The States,
they put the single out, Grass,
1167
00:55:22,083 --> 00:55:24,500
which is a Colin song,
1168
00:55:24,500 --> 00:55:27,917
then on the B-side
they stuck Dear God.
1169
00:55:27,917 --> 00:55:30,458
DJs around American radio
stations, they'd play Grass,
1170
00:55:30,458 --> 00:55:33,834
"Yeah, okay,"
and then they'd flip over.
1171
00:55:33,834 --> 00:55:36,083
"Oh, Dear God,
what's this about?"
1172
00:55:36,083 --> 00:55:40,291
And some DJs started playing,
in preference to Grass,
1173
00:55:40,291 --> 00:55:41,333
they started playing Dear God.
1174
00:55:41,333 --> 00:55:44,166
♪ Dear God,
hope you got the letter ♪
1175
00:55:44,166 --> 00:55:49,333
♪ And I pray you can
make it better down here ♪
1176
00:55:49,333 --> 00:55:53,667
♪ I don't mean a big reduction
in the price of beer ♪
1177
00:55:53,667 --> 00:55:57,291
♪ But all the people
that you made in your image ♪
1178
00:55:57,291 --> 00:56:00,000
♪ See them starving
on their feet ♪
1179
00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:01,959
♪ 'Cause they don't
get enough to eat ♪
1180
00:56:01,959 --> 00:56:06,834
♪ From God ♪
1181
00:56:06,834 --> 00:56:11,750
♪ Can't believe in you ♪
1182
00:56:13,834 --> 00:56:15,959
♪ Dear God,
sorry to disturb you ♪
1183
00:56:15,959 --> 00:56:21,208
♪ But I feel that I
should be loud and clear ♪
1184
00:56:21,208 --> 00:56:26,375
♪ We all need a big reduction
in the amount of tears ♪
1185
00:56:26,375 --> 00:56:28,709
♪ And all the people that
you made in your image ♪
1186
00:56:28,709 --> 00:56:31,834
♪ See them fighting
in the street ♪
1187
00:56:31,834 --> 00:56:38,625
♪ 'Cause they can't make
opinions meet about God ♪
1188
00:56:38,625 --> 00:56:42,375
♪ I can't believe in you ♪
1189
00:56:42,375 --> 00:56:43,709
It was the old corny,
1190
00:56:43,709 --> 00:56:47,458
"Our radio station's lit up
like a Christmas tree!"
1191
00:56:47,458 --> 00:56:49,542
You know, "The calls in
have just been phenomenal!"
1192
00:56:49,542 --> 00:56:52,583
People would ring in,
inevitably,
1193
00:56:52,583 --> 00:56:56,458
with either they felt exactly
like that about religion,
1194
00:56:56,458 --> 00:56:57,542
"This is all bullshit,"
1195
00:56:57,542 --> 00:57:01,041
or, you know,
"You're gonna burn in hell.
1196
00:57:01,041 --> 00:57:02,625
Take this trash out of here,
1197
00:57:02,625 --> 00:57:07,417
this English homo and his
anti-God music," you know.
1198
00:57:07,417 --> 00:57:10,250
Some stations
were threatened with bombing
1199
00:57:10,250 --> 00:57:12,917
and stopped playing it.
1200
00:57:12,917 --> 00:57:15,709
Some kid in an American school
was so affected by it,
1201
00:57:15,709 --> 00:57:20,625
he took his teacher hostage
with a knife
1202
00:57:20,625 --> 00:57:23,041
and insisted
this record be played
1203
00:57:23,041 --> 00:57:26,750
over the school PA system to
all the classrooms continuously
1204
00:57:26,750 --> 00:57:28,667
until this
hostage situation ended.
1205
00:57:28,667 --> 00:57:30,417
Because this record said...
1206
00:57:30,417 --> 00:57:32,750
It spoke for
what he wanted to say.
1207
00:57:32,750 --> 00:57:35,291
And I got a hell of a lot
of hate mail for that.
1208
00:57:35,291 --> 00:57:37,291
I was gonna burn in hell,
1209
00:57:37,291 --> 00:57:39,792
And I was just
a god-dang limey faggot.
1210
00:57:41,583 --> 00:57:44,792
Well, it's ironic that
that song broke them through.
1211
00:57:44,792 --> 00:57:46,500
Any record company
worth its salt,
1212
00:57:46,500 --> 00:57:48,959
which none of them are,
by the way, would have said,
1213
00:57:48,959 --> 00:57:51,959
"Well, you know,
that's great for England,
1214
00:57:51,959 --> 00:57:53,333
but don't try that
in The States.
1215
00:57:53,333 --> 00:57:54,625
We're a God-fearing country.
1216
00:57:56,709 --> 00:57:58,875
So it was remarkable.
1217
00:58:00,125 --> 00:58:03,750
It got banned some places.
1218
00:58:03,750 --> 00:58:06,458
Which I guess helped them!
As it always does.
1219
00:58:06,458 --> 00:58:08,625
But, yeah, there didn't seem
to be anything
1220
00:58:08,625 --> 00:58:09,834
he wouldn't write about.
1221
00:58:09,834 --> 00:58:12,291
♪
I won't be in believe in
heaven in hell ♪
1222
00:58:12,291 --> 00:58:15,041
♪ No saints, no sinners,
no devil as well ♪
1223
00:58:15,041 --> 00:58:17,709
Their Englishness
probably made them
1224
00:58:17,709 --> 00:58:20,166
a bit exotic
to the American market
1225
00:58:20,166 --> 00:58:21,792
and to American audiences.
1226
00:58:21,792 --> 00:58:23,625
And there's plenty of
Anglophiles
1227
00:58:23,625 --> 00:58:24,834
in the United States,
1228
00:58:24,834 --> 00:58:28,250
so maybe their Englishness
worked in their favor.
1229
00:58:28,250 --> 00:58:30,917
It became
a student hit, I think,
1230
00:58:30,917 --> 00:58:32,417
on the campuses and stuff,
1231
00:58:32,417 --> 00:58:34,667
and radio stations, you know,
across America.
1232
00:58:34,667 --> 00:58:39,875
So, yeah,
it saved our career, basically.
1233
00:58:39,875 --> 00:58:43,875
So, suddenly our career
in America really took off,
1234
00:58:43,875 --> 00:58:45,333
but it was all accidental.
1235
00:58:45,333 --> 00:58:49,625
It was because the B-side
pissed people off royally.
1236
00:58:52,500 --> 00:59:00,667
♪ It's you-u-u-u-u-u ♪
1237
00:59:00,667 --> 00:59:02,250
♪ Dear God ♪
1238
00:59:03,500 --> 00:59:07,041
By the time we get
to doing Oranges And Lemons,
1239
00:59:07,041 --> 00:59:09,542
they're all saying, "Wow,
where's the next XTC thing?
1240
00:59:09,542 --> 00:59:10,875
"This is really exciting.
1241
00:59:10,875 --> 00:59:11,875
That record, Dear God,
was really...
1242
00:59:11,875 --> 00:59:14,834
"We really want
the next thing," you know.
1243
00:59:14,834 --> 00:59:18,709
And Geffen, our label in the
States, are now reluctantly,
1244
00:59:18,709 --> 00:59:22,375
"Ooh, they're selling records.
They might be good after all."
1245
00:59:23,542 --> 00:59:25,834
So we had a big budget
shoved our way.
1246
00:59:25,834 --> 00:59:29,041
And it was
a very LA kind of...
1247
00:59:29,041 --> 00:59:31,834
Not an LA album musically,
so much,
1248
00:59:31,834 --> 00:59:35,667
but an LA album in kind of
sunshine and citrus fruits.
1249
00:59:35,667 --> 00:59:39,041
And it plugged me straight into
the sort of pop art vibe.
1250
00:59:44,041 --> 00:59:46,500
We were working in Hollywood.
1251
00:59:46,500 --> 00:59:48,417
It's a big Hollywood
production.
1252
00:59:48,417 --> 00:59:49,750
And it sounds that way.
1253
00:59:49,750 --> 00:59:51,834
It's got bells,
it's got whistles.
1254
00:59:51,834 --> 00:59:53,792
And we had plenty of time,
you know.
1255
00:59:53,792 --> 00:59:55,875
Again, you see,
five months in a studio,
1256
00:59:55,875 --> 00:59:56,750
there's an awful lot
you can do.
1257
00:59:56,750 --> 00:59:59,375
We probably did
a little too much
1258
00:59:59,375 --> 01:00:03,291
on one or two of the songs,
but again, it's a great album.
1259
01:00:03,291 --> 01:00:05,834
A really great
collection of songs.
1260
01:00:05,834 --> 01:00:08,333
And I can say that
as a non-song-writer,
1261
01:00:08,333 --> 01:00:09,583
I can say that in all modesty,
1262
01:00:09,583 --> 01:00:13,041
'cause I had nothing to do with
the actual writing process.
1263
01:00:13,041 --> 01:00:16,250
Quite a lot to do with the
arrangements and the overdubs.
1264
01:00:16,250 --> 01:00:17,959
But to come up with
that many good songs,
1265
01:00:17,959 --> 01:00:22,250
how many bands can you think of
that had that ability?
1266
01:00:22,250 --> 01:00:26,250
♪ Well, the way
that we're living ♪
1267
01:00:26,250 --> 01:00:30,333
♪ Is all take and no give ♪
1268
01:00:30,333 --> 01:00:34,208
♪ There's nothing
to believe in ♪
1269
01:00:34,208 --> 01:00:38,750
♪ The loudest mouth
will hail the new-found way ♪
1270
01:00:40,333 --> 01:00:43,083
♪ To be king for a day ♪
1271
01:00:43,083 --> 01:00:46,709
I just think we learnt
how to make records.
1272
01:00:46,709 --> 01:00:49,250
We didn't know
all about that when we started.
1273
01:00:49,250 --> 01:00:50,291
And because we didn't tour,
1274
01:00:50,291 --> 01:00:53,625
we found out more about
what the studio could do.
1275
01:00:54,792 --> 01:00:55,917
And how to arrange.
1276
01:00:55,917 --> 01:00:58,792
And it was just learning,
really.
1277
01:00:58,792 --> 01:01:00,500
It's bound to change, you know
1278
01:01:00,500 --> 01:01:01,917
♪ That wave ♪
1279
01:01:04,333 --> 01:01:07,250
♪ Pulled me right overboard ♪
1280
01:01:07,917 --> 01:01:09,500
♪ Into permanent orgasm ♪
1281
01:01:09,500 --> 01:01:13,750
♪ Emotional action... ♪
1282
01:01:13,750 --> 01:01:15,667
That was one of
our favorite songs.
1283
01:01:15,667 --> 01:01:18,417
It's so complex, completely
overflowing with ideas.
1284
01:01:18,417 --> 01:01:21,000
It's wave-like.
It pushes and pulls you in.
1285
01:01:21,000 --> 01:01:22,375
And I think we thought
1286
01:01:22,375 --> 01:01:24,959
that would be a challenge
for us to cover it.
1287
01:01:24,959 --> 01:01:27,125
The lyrics are beautiful.
1288
01:01:27,125 --> 01:01:30,000
The way
the vocal rises and falls,
1289
01:01:30,000 --> 01:01:32,542
and we felt we had
a deeper take on a cover
1290
01:01:32,542 --> 01:01:34,417
than most people
usually give a cover.
1291
01:01:35,667 --> 01:01:38,834
♪ I was in heaven ♪
1292
01:01:38,834 --> 01:01:41,875
♪ Address, Cloud 11 ♪
1293
01:01:41,875 --> 01:01:45,333
We wanted to pay our
respects to, one, that album,
1294
01:01:45,333 --> 01:01:46,291
but also that song,
1295
01:01:46,291 --> 01:01:48,834
because that song
was buried in, I mean,
1296
01:01:48,834 --> 01:01:49,709
among other really great songs.
1297
01:01:49,709 --> 01:01:52,542
Hang on, The Cure's version.
1298
01:01:52,542 --> 01:01:53,542
♪ That wave ♪
1299
01:01:53,542 --> 01:01:57,709
♪ Pulled me into your hair ♪
1300
01:01:57,709 --> 01:02:03,542
♪ I'm so unhappy, I think
I'm going to kill myself ♪
1301
01:02:03,542 --> 01:02:08,375
He likes to play the jokester,
and does it very, very well.
1302
01:02:08,375 --> 01:02:14,417
His grasp of accents
is pretty damn good.
1303
01:02:14,417 --> 01:02:15,333
The Smiths' version.
1304
01:02:15,333 --> 01:02:16,375
♪ That wa-a-ave ♪
1305
01:02:16,375 --> 01:02:19,041
♪ That wa-a-ave ♪
1306
01:02:19,041 --> 01:02:23,250
♪ That wave pulled me
into your h-h-hair
♪
1307
01:02:23,250 --> 01:02:24,917
♪ H-h-h-hair ♪
1308
01:02:24,917 --> 01:02:25,458
That's his two notes.
1309
01:02:25,458 --> 01:02:26,917
♪ That wave ♪
1310
01:02:29,542 --> 01:02:31,709
♪ Pulled me out of your hair ♪
1311
01:02:31,709 --> 01:02:33,625
♪ Where I bathed
in the promises ♪
1312
01:02:33,625 --> 01:02:35,917
♪ Busy with plants cascading ♪
1313
01:02:35,917 --> 01:02:39,083
That was always
going on in the studio.
1314
01:02:39,083 --> 01:02:41,750
That was part of studio banter.
1315
01:02:41,750 --> 01:02:44,333
Again, you can't shut him up,
Andy, once he's on a roll,
1316
01:02:44,333 --> 01:02:45,959
just being idiotic and silly
1317
01:02:45,959 --> 01:02:47,709
and, you know,
he never stops, Andy.
1318
01:02:47,709 --> 01:02:50,166
He never stops entertaining.
1319
01:02:50,166 --> 01:02:52,834
Right, then, I'm gonna try
and look like Bryan Adams.
1320
01:02:52,834 --> 01:02:54,333
As much as possible.
1321
01:02:54,333 --> 01:02:55,750
Try and look like Robin Hood.
1322
01:02:55,750 --> 01:02:57,667
- Gomez Addams!
1323
01:02:59,208 --> 01:03:00,250
And...
1324
01:03:00,250 --> 01:03:03,625
One, two, a'one, two, three...
1325
01:03:03,625 --> 01:03:06,417
♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪
1326
01:03:06,417 --> 01:03:11,166
Well, it's no doubt who's in
charge. Andy's editor-in-chief.
1327
01:03:11,166 --> 01:03:13,041
But, I mean,
what the other guys...
1328
01:03:13,041 --> 01:03:16,125
What Colin, obviously,
with his songs,
1329
01:03:16,125 --> 01:03:18,500
and what Dave...
1330
01:03:18,500 --> 01:03:21,458
Dave's musicianship
is ridiculous, it's stellar.
1331
01:03:21,458 --> 01:03:24,375
♪ The disappointed ♪
1332
01:03:24,375 --> 01:03:26,083
But it's the songs,
1333
01:03:26,083 --> 01:03:27,291
that was why I was there.
1334
01:03:27,291 --> 01:03:30,667
Combination of
the quality of the songs,
1335
01:03:30,667 --> 01:03:34,125
and they were obviously
cool people.
1336
01:03:34,125 --> 01:03:39,166
♪ The ones who broke
their he-a-a-arts ♪
1337
01:03:39,166 --> 01:03:41,875
♪ The disappointed ♪
1338
01:03:41,875 --> 01:03:42,667
I would say that Nonsuch
1339
01:03:42,667 --> 01:03:45,166
is my favorite XTC album.
1340
01:03:45,166 --> 01:03:47,875
That album is just lousy
with masterpieces.
1341
01:03:47,875 --> 01:03:49,166
"The Ballad Of
Peter Pumpkinhead"
1342
01:03:49,166 --> 01:03:53,000
But then every time I heard
a new album, I was just like,
1343
01:03:53,000 --> 01:03:56,375
"Really
Where is this coming from?"
1344
01:03:56,375 --> 01:03:57,583
♪ Let's begin ♪
1345
01:03:57,583 --> 01:03:59,792
Their catalog's
really small, actually.
1346
01:03:59,792 --> 01:04:01,166
There's not that many albums,
1347
01:04:01,166 --> 01:04:02,792
and the journey they go through
1348
01:04:02,792 --> 01:04:05,417
with that small number...
is amazing.
1349
01:04:05,417 --> 01:04:10,792
♪ Peter Pumpkinhead
came to town ♪
1350
01:04:10,792 --> 01:04:12,041
It's hard to push yourself
1351
01:04:12,041 --> 01:04:13,917
and put yourself
out of a comfort zone,
1352
01:04:13,917 --> 01:04:15,834
but he does that
on a regular basis.
1353
01:04:15,834 --> 01:04:19,083
And I think that's why
he's produced
1354
01:04:19,083 --> 01:04:20,834
such a catalog
of fantastic work.
1355
01:04:20,834 --> 01:04:27,750
♪ But he made
too many enemies ♪
1356
01:04:27,750 --> 01:04:31,250
He can create great
imagery and a great story.
1357
01:04:31,250 --> 01:04:33,041
He's such
an amazing songwriter
1358
01:04:33,041 --> 01:04:36,667
that you can't really
touch him, to be honest.
1359
01:04:36,667 --> 01:04:40,709
♪ Hooray for Peter Pumpkin ♪
1360
01:04:40,709 --> 01:04:44,917
♪ Hooray for
Peter Pumpkinhead ♪
1361
01:04:44,917 --> 01:04:46,041
For me personally,
1362
01:04:46,041 --> 01:04:49,709
Apple Venus, I think,
is our best effort.
1363
01:04:49,709 --> 01:04:52,208
It's just a real shame
1364
01:04:52,208 --> 01:04:54,208
that Dave Gregory didn't stick
around for the end of that.
1365
01:04:54,208 --> 01:04:58,041
He left during the making
of that, and it's...
1366
01:04:58,041 --> 01:05:01,959
It is bad when you
have a limb detach itself.
1367
01:05:03,875 --> 01:05:05,583
You know, when Barry left,
it's like,
1368
01:05:05,583 --> 01:05:09,333
"Ah, there goes a leg,"
and then you get another leg
1369
01:05:09,333 --> 01:05:11,291
and it works
ruddy damn good, yeah!
1370
01:05:11,291 --> 01:05:12,500
It works really good!
1371
01:05:12,500 --> 01:05:14,834
"This is even better
than the first leg, thanks!"
1372
01:05:14,834 --> 01:05:16,667
And then, you know,
Terry leaves "Ah!"
1373
01:05:16,667 --> 01:05:18,375
So we use session drummers,
1374
01:05:18,375 --> 01:05:20,041
but some of those
session drummers
1375
01:05:20,041 --> 01:05:22,417
were certainly different
than Terry,
1376
01:05:22,417 --> 01:05:25,333
so that was
an added bonus to that.
1377
01:05:25,333 --> 01:05:27,083
Then Dave left,
1378
01:05:27,083 --> 01:05:31,083
and I don't know
if we ever recovered from that.
1379
01:05:31,083 --> 01:05:34,083
But, you know, for a band,
we had a hell of a long life,
1380
01:05:34,083 --> 01:05:37,667
and most bands get
five years if they're lucky.
1381
01:05:37,667 --> 01:05:39,750
We had 30-odd years.
1382
01:05:45,417 --> 01:05:46,375
The legacy of the band
1383
01:05:46,375 --> 01:05:48,667
is the great music
that they made.
1384
01:05:48,667 --> 01:05:51,583
You know, they evolved as
musicians and as composers,
1385
01:05:51,583 --> 01:05:53,166
and sure, from their beginnings
1386
01:05:53,166 --> 01:05:54,291
to how they wound up
at the end,
1387
01:05:54,291 --> 01:05:58,250
there was a strong evolution
of a great band.
1388
01:05:58,250 --> 01:05:59,750
I love the fact
1389
01:05:59,750 --> 01:06:03,041
that they were kind of
willfully unpredictable,
1390
01:06:03,041 --> 01:06:04,625
but commercially,
1391
01:06:04,625 --> 01:06:08,625
that's something
that actually is suicidal.
1392
01:06:08,625 --> 01:06:11,458
You know, how can
you market a band
1393
01:06:11,458 --> 01:06:12,583
where it's very hard
1394
01:06:12,583 --> 01:06:14,917
to get handle on what
kind of band they are?
1395
01:06:14,917 --> 01:06:16,417
And I think that's always been
1396
01:06:16,417 --> 01:06:18,542
one of the problems
they've had.
1397
01:06:18,542 --> 01:06:22,291
But to me, it just made me
love them even more.
1398
01:06:22,291 --> 01:06:23,959
They have got a reputation
1399
01:06:23,959 --> 01:06:25,417
as not being well-known
1400
01:06:25,417 --> 01:06:27,041
or credited
as much as they should.
1401
01:06:27,041 --> 01:06:30,458
But I think that XTC fans
would be annoyed
1402
01:06:30,458 --> 01:06:32,667
if they were more well-known,
1403
01:06:32,667 --> 01:06:36,667
because it's our little secret,
I think, with that band,
1404
01:06:36,667 --> 01:06:37,959
and I kinda like that.
1405
01:06:37,959 --> 01:06:43,959
♪ Please to bend down for
the one called the Greenman
♪
1406
01:06:43,959 --> 01:06:46,583
To me, people who know
what they're talking about
1407
01:06:46,583 --> 01:06:49,625
already do regard them
as up there with the greats.
1408
01:06:49,625 --> 01:06:52,333
I mean, look,
we're living in a time
1409
01:06:52,333 --> 01:06:54,917
when there's a certain
percentage of the population
1410
01:06:54,917 --> 01:06:56,667
that thinks Kanye West
is a genius.
1411
01:06:56,667 --> 01:06:57,792
I can't control for that.
1412
01:06:59,500 --> 01:07:05,000
But I think the combination
of the songwriting, playing
1413
01:07:05,000 --> 01:07:07,750
and the record-making
is well-nigh perfect.
1414
01:07:08,709 --> 01:07:11,208
♪ I'm stupidly happy ♪
1415
01:07:11,208 --> 01:07:13,333
Andy used to get his
hair off something terrible
1416
01:07:13,333 --> 01:07:14,959
when we weren't appreciated
1417
01:07:14,959 --> 01:07:18,166
more than what we
should've been in his head,
1418
01:07:18,166 --> 01:07:19,333
but I think it's coming.
1419
01:07:19,333 --> 01:07:23,000
I think, you know, it's partly
why we're doing this,
1420
01:07:23,000 --> 01:07:25,166
because, you know,
the word is out, I think.
1421
01:07:25,166 --> 01:07:28,291
You know, it's taken
a bloody long time,
1422
01:07:28,291 --> 01:07:30,959
but I think people
are catching up,
1423
01:07:30,959 --> 01:07:34,208
and they're appreciating
what we did, you know.
1424
01:07:35,458 --> 01:07:37,667
But it took
an awful bloody long time.
1425
01:07:37,667 --> 01:07:41,875
♪ I'm stupidly happy ♪
1426
01:07:41,875 --> 01:07:45,208
♪ Like the words to that song ♪
1427
01:07:45,208 --> 01:07:48,333
Most bands, "Great!"
Might get a little bit better,
1428
01:07:48,333 --> 01:07:49,959
and then they go off the boil.
1429
01:07:49,959 --> 01:07:52,125
Or, "Great,"
and then they go off the boil.
1430
01:07:53,500 --> 01:07:55,875
Occasionally, once in a while,
1431
01:07:55,875 --> 01:07:59,250
once in a very rare while,
1432
01:07:59,250 --> 01:08:01,250
you get a band
that starts pretty good,
1433
01:08:01,250 --> 01:08:03,834
gets better and better
and better and better and...
1434
01:08:03,834 --> 01:08:06,375
And that's rare, and I think,
and I have to say,
1435
01:08:06,375 --> 01:08:07,667
I have to be immodest,
1436
01:08:07,667 --> 01:08:10,250
we are the other band
that did that.
1437
01:08:10,250 --> 01:08:12,208
"Rook"
1438
01:08:19,917 --> 01:08:24,583
♪ Rook, rook,
read from your book ♪
1439
01:08:24,583 --> 01:08:25,667
♪ Who murders who? ♪
1440
01:08:25,667 --> 01:08:30,500
♪ "And where is the treasure?"
he'd crow ♪
1441
01:08:30,500 --> 01:08:31,625
When I'm dreaming,
1442
01:08:31,625 --> 01:08:34,458
I'm usually flying over
the Marlborough Downs.
1443
01:08:34,458 --> 01:08:37,125
I've got this this funny thing
when, if I dream I'm flying,
1444
01:08:37,125 --> 01:08:39,875
I usually have people there and
they say "You can't, can you?"
1445
01:08:39,875 --> 01:08:41,333
And I say, "Yeah, watch!"
1446
01:08:41,333 --> 01:08:42,750
And I sort of strain a bit,
1447
01:08:42,750 --> 01:08:46,125
and up I go and off I go
over the Marlborough Downs.
1448
01:10:18,875 --> 01:10:20,875
I'm immensely proud of XTC,
1449
01:10:20,875 --> 01:10:22,458
and the other band members...
1450
01:10:22,458 --> 01:10:23,834
People still say to me,
1451
01:10:23,834 --> 01:10:26,875
''What do you think to Colin of
Dave and Terry or whatever'?"
1452
01:10:26,875 --> 01:10:30,583
And part of me loves them
like the brothers I never had,
1453
01:10:30,583 --> 01:10:32,000
the family I never had.
1454
01:10:32,000 --> 01:10:33,875
And then a part of me
really hates them
1455
01:10:33,875 --> 01:10:35,125
like the family I did have!
1456
01:10:35,125 --> 01:10:37,208
So it's a real weird mixture!
1457
01:10:41,166 --> 01:10:42,834
"Mayor Of Simpleton"
1458
01:10:44,792 --> 01:10:48,709
There is nothing, or
there was nothing like XTC.
1459
01:10:48,709 --> 01:10:52,208
It's a totally individual
thing, it's not one person,
1460
01:10:52,208 --> 01:10:56,750
it's the collective tension
of all those people,
1461
01:10:56,750 --> 01:10:59,083
and so the fact
that we found each other
1462
01:10:59,083 --> 01:11:04,125
and made this magical
joy-bringing vehicle,
1463
01:11:04,125 --> 01:11:06,000
that's not supposed
to happen, is it?
1464
01:11:06,000 --> 01:11:07,417
And we did -
1465
01:11:07,417 --> 01:11:10,500
we made this phenomenal
joy-bringing carriage
1466
01:11:10,500 --> 01:11:12,917
for all the world
to ride around in.
1467
01:11:12,917 --> 01:11:15,166
"Hey, have some fun, get in!"
1468
01:11:15,166 --> 01:11:18,208
♪ And I may be
the Mayor of Simpleton ♪
1469
01:11:18,208 --> 01:11:20,834
♪ But I know one thing ♪
1470
01:11:20,834 --> 01:11:24,166
♪ And that's I love you ♪
1471
01:11:24,166 --> 01:11:26,792
♪ When their logic grows cold ♪
1472
01:11:26,792 --> 01:11:28,500
♪ And all thinking gets done ♪
1473
01:11:28,500 --> 01:11:35,583
♪ You'll be warm in the arms
of the Mayor of Simpleton ♪
1474
01:11:35,583 --> 01:11:40,125
Well, this is the bit I really
hate about rockumentaries,
1475
01:11:40,125 --> 01:11:42,834
where they have
the two minutes at the end
1476
01:11:42,834 --> 01:11:43,959
where they say...
1477
01:11:43,959 --> 01:11:45,875
It's usually a write-up,
and they say,
1478
01:11:45,875 --> 01:11:48,625
''And poor Derek, he's still
working in the industry
1479
01:11:48,625 --> 01:11:52,458
and he's self-financed an album
he's put out from home
1480
01:11:52,458 --> 01:11:56,417
of songs
he never did finish in 1966."
1481
01:11:56,417 --> 01:11:59,291
And it's like,
"Oh, God," you know,
1482
01:11:59,291 --> 01:12:00,792
"the misery of all this."
1483
01:12:00,792 --> 01:12:04,917
♪ Well, I don't know how
to write a big hit song ♪
1484
01:12:04,917 --> 01:12:06,333
The whole rockumentary thing
1485
01:12:06,333 --> 01:12:10,166
bores the very buttocks
off of me,
1486
01:12:10,166 --> 01:12:11,125
so that's the end of that,
then!
1487
01:12:11,125 --> 01:12:14,125
♪ But I know one thing ♪
1488
01:12:14,125 --> 01:12:16,834
♪ And that's I love you ♪
1489
01:12:16,834 --> 01:12:18,500
♪ I love you ♪
1490
01:12:18,500 --> 01:12:19,375
♪ When their logic grows cold ♪
1491
01:12:19,375 --> 01:12:22,083
♪ And all thinking gets done ♪
1492
01:12:22,083 --> 01:12:23,250
♪ You'll be warm in the arms ♪
1493
01:12:23,250 --> 01:12:27,792
♪ Of the Mayor of Simpleton ♪
1494
01:12:29,083 --> 01:12:30,166
♪ You'll be warm in the arms ♪
1495
01:12:30,166 --> 01:12:35,333
♪ Of the Mayor... ♪
1496
01:12:35,333 --> 01:12:36,417
♪ Climb aboard ♪
1497
01:12:36,417 --> 01:12:43,083
♪ Climb aboard, you children ♪
1498
01:12:43,083 --> 01:12:45,500
♪ Move aloft ♪
1499
01:12:45,500 --> 01:12:50,208
♪ While you're fleet and fast ♪
1500
01:12:51,166 --> 01:12:53,208
♪ Drop us all ♪
1501
01:12:54,333 --> 01:12:57,208
♪ You should drop us all ♪
1502
01:12:59,250 --> 01:13:00,959
♪ Drop us all ♪
1503
01:13:00,959 --> 01:13:03,583
♪ Like so much ♪
1504
01:13:03,583 --> 01:13:14,625
♪ Sa-a-a-a-a-nd ♪
111416
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.