Best XTC Album

I've only heard 'Drums and Wires' Oranges & Lemons' and 'English Settlement'  The last being my favourite..so far. 'Runaways' 'No thugs...' and 'Senses working overtime' are great songs.

So many great albums, but Skylarking is their masterpiece IMO, closely followed by English Settlement (which has some superb songs but also a couple of real duds). Of all the bands that have been compared to the Fabs, XTC are the only one to really justify being mentioned in the same breath.

I only knowthe first two albums and have heard only bits and pieces of the third album

Anybody knows THE DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR???

The Dukes of Stratosphear" is the name that Andy originally was tempted to use for the band back in 1975. He eventually settled on XTC because he thought The Dukes sounded too "sixties-ish."

The whole Dukes project was an homage to the bands that Andy, Colin, and Dave wanted to be in when they were in their teens. Read the Song Stories book to learn about the things that inspired XTC to write and arrange the songs on this album.

At one time, The Dukes were almost called Electric Bone Temple.

This mini album outsold the previous XTC LP, The Big Express . . .

Kevin Godley and Lol Creme's Medialab planned to produce a full story video based on the songs on 25 O'Clock. The project never materialised. Read more about this in the news section on this website.

The voice at the end of side A -- "that's the most obscene abomination of a song!" etc. -- is a listener's comment on a song called "Go f**k Yourself with Your Atom Bomb" on the radio. Producer John Leckie heard it by chance in a car and taped it while he was in New York. The song was played by Tuli Kupferberg, who was in the a poet for the sixties' rock group The Fugs.

The first line of the song "Go f**k Yourself" is played backwards endlessly at twice its normal speed on the run-out groove of side B. This "endless" feature may be unique to the original British vinyl pressing.

The chattering heard throughout the album is mostly from BBC sound effects records, including a collection of famous quotes about the American Revolution of 1776.

Songs written, demoed, rehearsed, and/or recorded around the 25 O'Clock days include:
"Have You Seen Sydney?" (unreleased; later recorded as "Have You Seen Jackie?" for Psonic Psunspot);
"Nicely Nicely Jane" (rehearsed but never completed);
"Susan Revolving" (rehearsed but never completed); and
"Big Day"* (later recorded for Skylarking).

I have "Chips From The Chocolate Fireball" (An Anthology), which includes "25 O' Clock" (1986) and "Psonic Psunspot" (1987), released with the DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR name. The music is a refined psychedelic pop, who takes its influences from the sixties psychedelia (BEATLES and ELECTRIC PRUNES in particular), very "english".

ANDREW wrote: Anybody knows THE DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR??? The Dukes of Stratosphear" is the name that Andy originally was tempted to use for the band back in 1975. He eventually settled on XTC because he thought The Dukes sounded too "sixties-ish." The whole Dukes project was an homage to the bands that Andy, Colin, and Dave wanted to be in when they were in their teens. Read the Song Stories book to learn about the things that inspired XTC to write and arrange the songs on this album. At one time, The Dukes were almost called Electric Bone Temple. This mini album outsold the previous XTC LP, The Big Express . . . Kevin Godley and Lol Creme's Medialab planned to produce a full story video based on the songs on 25 O'Clock. The project never materialised. Read more about this in the news section on this website. The voice at the end of side A -- "that's the most obscene abomination of a song!" etc. -- is a listener's comment on a song called "Go f**k Yourself with Your Atom Bomb" on the radio. Producer John Leckie heard it by chance in a car and taped it while he was in New York. The song was played by Tuli Kupferberg, who was in the a poet for the sixties' rock group The Fugs. The first line of the song "Go f**k Yourself" is played backwards endlessly at twice its normal speed on the run-out groove of side B. This "endless" feature may be unique to the original British vinyl pressing. The chattering heard throughout the album is mostly from BBC sound effects records, including a collection of famous quotes about the American Revolution of 1776. Songs written, demoed, rehearsed, and/or recorded around the 25 O'Clock days include: "Have You Seen Sydney?" (unreleased; later recorded as "Have You Seen Jackie?" for Psonic Psunspot); "Nicely Nicely Jane" (rehearsed but never completed); "Susan Revolving" (rehearsed but never completed); and "Big Day"* (later recorded for Skylarking). I have "Chips From The Chocolate Fireball" (An Anthology), which includes "25 O' Clock" (1986) and "Psonic Psunspot" (1987), released with the DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR name. The music is a refined psychedelic pop, who takes its influences from the sixties psychedelia (BEATLES and ELECTRIC PRUNES in particular), very "english".

I have the Chips compilation. The first album is an excellent take off of sixties psychedelia, as you say, whereas I felt the second album was more like a normal XTC album, and it ends with the wonderful Beach Boys tribute "Pale and Precious". I didn't know that about the backwards swearing bit - I will have to dig out the CD and check it, thanks Andrew.

Drums and Wires for meeeeeeeeee