Andy Partridge: 'remember those free gifts in '60s cereal packets?'

Compulsive hoarder and XTC commander Andy Partridge demonstrates "the two voices of Popeye", finds his £70 Mussolini and looks back at Merit Games, Magic Robots, making demos in train station vinyl booths, astral-travelling with the Third Ear Band, music that "flosses the soul" and the golden rules of the Dansette record player - "lid up for treble, lid down for bass".
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[@davidsanderson5918]

SOME people (not everyone, but certainly many millions) may not realise but this bald man in his two-up, two-down house banging on about toy soldiers and stinkbombs is perhaps the GREATEST English songwriter of his generation. His talent and imagination is simply jawdropping. It's not his fault, or mine, that the majority don't know and obviously greatness is not measured in sales (otherwise Westlife are winning in the greatness chart) but that's the way it is. I could list album titles but if you've got a finger and Google... If you like the cut of this man's jib, you have got a FEAST in store!

[@Ursulauu]

Amen to that. 👍

[@pauldicker1241]

I agree

[@tonycox5625]

XTC, surely one of the greatest ever bands, and Andy Partridge one of the best songwriters and nicest people on the planet. Thanks for posting this. 😊😊

[@patrickcrowther9195]

Dave Sanderson If he’d only written ‘Love on a Farmboy’s Wages’, he should be carried around in a sedan chair for the rest of his life.

[@heraldeventsandfilms5970]

@@patrickcrowther9195 I volunteer to shoulder one of the poles.

[@daviddragon9185]

Greatly enjoyed seeing Andy again. I was lucky enough to work on artworks for XTC releases including Oranges and Lemons, Nonsuch, Skylarking, as well as singles and the Dukes of Stratosphear albums. Spent many hours at Andy's kitchen table in Swindon eating cheese and pickle sandwiches, drinking endless mugs of tea while talking through ideas for covers. Like this interview, discussions would take off on a tandem taking many diversions down winding highways and byways en route. Happy treasured days.

[@thepollyannasociety]

Extremely jealous over here as I do love a good cheese and pickle. 😉

[@orangenotviolet]

David Dragon, so you did that timeless beautifull XTC Covers.....a great artist you are!

[@daviddragon9185]

@@thepollyannasociety Me too! I'd forgotten about Andy's toy soldiers, but do remember free gifts in ('50s) cereal packets, like the plastic submarine that floated to the surface fuelled by baking powder.

[@qualaup]

Skylarking...beautiful artwork!

[@daviddragon9185]

@@qualaup As you probably know, there are 2 versions of the Skylarking cover. The 1st release with the drawing of the couple, the re-release with the flowers. When Virgin Records saw the photographs of Andy's original thought for the cover, which was partly inspired from a passage in DH Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover', they became nervous of a possible backlash from record retailers in refusing to display it instore. A compromise was struck and I supplied a line drawing of the reclining couple. Years later on it's re-release, Andy finally got the cover he really wanted. After all these years I can now reveal that after I collected the photographs of the flower shots from the photographer, I left the bag that contained them on a train. Realising my loss as the train pulled out of my station I reported it straight away. After spending an anxious night wondering if the bag would be handed in, especially because of its content, the following morning I was relieved to learn that it had been retrieved intact. Until now, not a lot of people have known that.

[@outsidehalf2000]

I look at the crap that's on telly and I look at things like this and I have to shake my head at the dullness of thought of telly producers and commissioners who fail to understand that hearing interesting people being allowed to talk freely and without agenda is entertainment at its best.

[@bandcouver]

It's the purposeful dumbing down of everything. It's tragic.

[@pereraddison932]

@@bandcouver ... Mark, it's the method of madness, or true insanity that would be a logical desire and dream for a bully.

[@StonefieldJim4]

Hear, hear! Longform interviews are close to extinct.

[@Phoebedumplings]

Dansette law! Priceless again

[@Markmywords803]

My goodness! Pure gold!

[@royfacer585]

Andy's spontaneous wit is always a delight, could listen to his stories all day

[@RaysTrack]

Millions are spent on good causes. Can we please pay scientists to find a way to make AP live forever; and not like 'butter spread too thinly'.

[@geoffjoffy]

Hard to believe Andy will be 70 years old in three years time. But still the same guy. Thanks for this upload.

[@hufclufc]

Wow. He's looking good. Well contented.

[@sratus]

And all the world is Andy Patridge's head shaped

[@heraldeventsandfilms5970]

Biscuit?

[@positivemutations8993]

Haha! Good one!

[@BaddaBigBoom]

It's just for me to feed my brain.

[@michaelthomas366]

And it's not like a 'football' thank goodness.

[@GreatBowlsAfire]

@@michaelthomas366 in England, football is soccer...

[@grstephen]

Brilliant. More Andy please.

[@lesliegooch7565]

Andy is always so much fun to listen to. He excels at so many things but storytelling is somewhere near the top of that list. In songs and just in casual chatting. What a delightfully engaging man.

[@JimTuftyKarma]

Loved this - The Word should be on TV. Andy Partridge is always great raconteur. Please have him on again and ask him to pick up a guitar and talk XTC

[@DavidM2000AD]

Andy needs his own KZbin show. Tell him!

[@bonnienowikcohen8750]

Agreed.

[@vincentcannata8340]

Second that!

[@alkoop100]

that's true 🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@steveh1388]

This is quite brilliant. Fantastic to see Andy. I wish this was about twelve hours long and I could loop it. I could listen endlessly.

[@Glenn54321]

Aaaw!...I could listen to Andy all day...This has made my day !...Thanks so much !

[@ww1231]

Came her to say exactly this!

[@marknotton9425]

Great stuff. Andy mentioned he had a lot more to talk about so let’s have an episode 2 please

[@davidtaylor6793]

XTC...... what Steely Dan would have sounded like if they would have come from Swindon

[@thepartimemusician65]

superb interview,great fun guys,love ANDY,LEGEND.

[@gazriley624]

what a Treat. Thankyou guys

[@bobbaldwin3572]

Christ alive its the greatest living human.... Well done Mr P

[@burmanon11]

He would be if he played live

[@Pylean]

OMG ! Magic Robot & the chemistry set ..... memories

[@pigknickers2975]

I had the chemistry set and my friend had the robot - mad memories

[@Phoebedumplings]

Commer Van or shooting brake!! Translation needed for the non UK folks required, priceless

[@pancakemaster8567]

This should be a recurring series

[@davecollins9128]

An absolute full tilt, self-starter dishing out gem after gem. I may have to start a petition for part 2. We *must* know the story of the drive by cyclist with a tennis ball-sized head.. Fantasticus tip on Autumn Almanac too... I believe Captain Sensible wrote a few tunes based on TV jingles in reverse.. Pop fact: the B side of Bowie's Boys Keep Swinging single - Fantastic Voyage, uses the BKS chord sequence in reverse..

[@nicolasmrn]

Andy's music is one of the best things that ever happened in this crazy world.

[@grantryder5463]

Splendid guest!

[@davidblake8605]

Bloody Hell!!! Andy Partridge likes our Naxos Early Music Collection!!! My work here is done!!

[@juanitacarrollyoung2979]

😆

[@beatxt]

I became aware of AP as a personality years before I became a serious XTC fan - listening to him pontificate memorably on the Round Table Friday night new singles review show on Radio One from 1980-ish. Always something memorable and entertaining to say. It must be time for an AP KZbin channel.

[@qwargy]

To be honest, up until a week ago I couldn’t name one XTC song. I’d heard the name for years and always assumed they were some 70s style funk band. Had no idea they had such amazing songs. Can’t believe I’ve never listened to them before!

[@kimblethenimble]

Welcome, the water is warm.

[@blueabattoir]

qwargy, I used to go to the record store every few days to find out what was new so I got into Xtc right away. I kind of envy you in your recent discovery of the band. Their music still is high among my favourites but there’s something about that rush when you first hear it. It was a Holy Shit moment.

[@davidsanderson5918]

OH MY GOD!! They've got A N D Y P A R T R I D G E on the show!!!

[@mrwoody4559]

Thats cheered me up ! One of the best so far - have to get Andy back soon!

[@blueabattoir]

This reminds me of building elaborate battle scenes in the back yard with “army men”. At the time you could buy firecrackers. So we had a full pyrotechnic thing going. The crackers were placed in the dirt and lit. The explosions were great and one of my favourite parts was seeing the crater with smoke drifting out. We also found some concrete to build bunkers and walls etc. And you really needed to have some water features like streams to cross and ponds. Thanks for the memories.

[@blueabattoir]

I am the same vintage as you lot. Damn good times.

[@davidizod1243]

First band I ever saw. October 1978 at Cinderella's in Gloucester. Always interesting.

[@HonoraryGreek]

Why "English Settlement" isn't high on all the lists of the greatest albums of the last 60 years I'll never understand.

[@clydecash2212]

because skylarking is better lmfao

[@tommythevenot7617]

It’s a superb album but then Side 3 is not all that great. I think a far worse travesty is that Partridge was not on the list of Top 100 songwriters of all time! He didn’t even make the Top 100! He should be top 5!

[@Smudgie]

I remember Magic Robot. At a young age it really was magic. Does anyone remember Gigantor?

[@johannbogason1662]

Thank you Andy for you. You have saved many a soul

[@miketaylor803]

I was amazed at how many of the things AP talked about were shared experiences for me in the late 60's re: toys and daft things we did as kids. Had the projector BUT a real old one (donated to us from a lady up the street who's kids were grown up) this one had a hand crank and it fed the strips through we "customised" that too.. Plus all the crappy spud guns , cap firing red plastic rockets , parachutists and God knows what else they could churn out in Hong Kong made of plastic... torches with bonkers coloured lenses (I think I had one shaped like a ray gun) and come on Magic Robot was mind-bending for us little kids.... how engrossed we were.... with just rudimentary technology at our disposal... battle scenes with airfix soldiers (trying to get those match firing canons or spud guns to wipe out the enemy) ahh the fruitless search for source of salt peter (for gunpowder) ... happy days.... I had the insides of an old valve radio gram in the top of the horrible built in wardrobe / unit in my bedroom with a dangling wire to an extension speaker that was originally a 'posh' varnished veneered wood - but I painted it yellow and covered it with banana stickers I was forever trying to find the ultimate spot for that one... later got used as a guitar amp. AP deals with these nostalgic gems with a great deal of charm....and a good memory.... enjoyed it very much.... thanks guys

[@dalriadaskillen]

I love how he’s pronouncing Co-Op (of Cooperative fame). Co- Wop.

[@wildskel6350]

Yeh in Wales we used to pronounce it the Kwop.

[@alanshewitt]

That “record your own voice” story is hilarious. Amazing.

[@thepollyannasociety]

I thought so, too. As a former poor kid I appreciate that kind of extreme resourcefulness. Lovely.

[@michellejacques6380]

Always an absolute joy listening to Andy, definitely going to check out some of the songs mentioned. Talking of free toys in cereal boxes, my utter fave were cut-out, stand-up Asterix characters, so gutted I haven't got them still.

[@tramlad2]

Love Andy what a song writer, a bit of a lost gem. XTC were a superb band, he looks and speaks well, a true music legend

[@xtrobitzmusic2405]

They are such a talented group and Andy the great writer-arranger. As soon as I saw them mid 70 I was intrigued and then 1979 a friend lent me a record 'Go 2' he won from a radio phone in. - Amazing.

[@halcyon289]

Andy interviewing John Leckie on the making of the Dukes album (on you tube) is a joy to behold.

[@otisfreeman8766]

I love XTC, great band and Andy is a great guy

[@juanitacarrollyoung2979]

Brings to mind a very important question. Is Andy Partridge single? I'm married and a continent away, but WHAT A CHARMER

[@hufclufc]

He looks comfortably married.

[@richardfinlayson1524]

the projector story reminds me of when we were kids we used to re-write pop songs and record us singing the new lyrics over the original while bashing things etc,one day we came up with the idea of scratching the record to make a backing track, innovative, hey!

[@jimbodexy]

I came here expecting to hear about the early days of XTC........I'm kinda glad I didn't. Loved this.

[@tonykehoe123]

I had magic robot . Also Escalado and dizzy bug . Pathfinder shoes with a compass in.

[@fatskin1]

I thought they were called wayfinders. With rows of wild animal footprints on the sole.

[@MysteryProductsLtd]

Wow I didn't know that about Autumn Almanac.

[@melgrant7404]

Love his Wiltshire accent xx

[@Ursulauu]

Great to hear Andy again - always a pleasure listening to what he has to say (& sing).

[@deborahrobertson8606]

Bloody wonderful. The most that I've laughed all lockdown. I'm a little younger than Andy, but I had a brother his age. Fantastic memories. We were so creative then.

[@marcbolan1818]

The Duke of Swindon.

[@thepollyannasociety]

Lookin' good there, Marc 😉

[@garystrauss6682]

I saw XTC at a college in Chicago long ago and they were awesome!

[@JohnnyCameo]

“Never trust record reviews’ and yet “it’s like someone arguing with a drum machine” is a review I trust implicitly

[@barbarakirk3064]

Someone on 45cat also likened Robin Gibb's solo stuff to Paul O'Grady singing in the shower!

[@xtstevie]

Would love Andy to get together with Colin, Dave & Terry for one last hurrah.....With Barry coming on for the Encores!!

[@two-eyesmckay1400]

Utterly fantastic. A talented man and a real character.. Thanks guys.

[@j.spencer2635]

Can never get enough Andy. Parts 2-10, please!

[@waterboys3001]

XTC made some great albums. I wish the interview could have focused on his music.

[@shropshirecca5108]

Three top blokes talking man-trivia, what's not to like?

[@adrianbrowne7962]

" Making Plans For Nigel" And " Senses Working Overtime " Are Confirmation That Andy Partridge Was " Tinged With Musical/ lyrical Genius " !!! From Adrian Browne 1965

[@PeterMoore66]

Making Plans for Nigel was written by Colin Moulding, not by Andy

[@cosmicdrifter287]

i appreciate all your conversations but this one is very special for me.you couldn"t have a better guest.huge andy partridge and xtc fan over here.andy is always an excellent interview.thank you so much for this,much,much appreciated!

[@puppyfan]

Fantastic stuff from Mr P. Respect for the shout out to Can's Rite Time and the unearthly powers of Malcolm Mooney. It's an oft-overlooked late entry to their peerless catalogue. Andy's also correct about Robin Gibb's "Saved By The Bell". I read the reviews, bought it and was expecting an undiscovered Scott Walker-ish gem. It is not. Andy's kicking of the CD is spot on.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Has anyone played Autumn Almanac backwards? Need to confirm but I’m lazy.

[@obugger]

I'm guessing that the wartime French made Mussolini model was for sale in Vichy which was pro-Fascist.

[@ChrisMezzolesta]

Brilliant. Miss Andy on Twitter so much, always a day brightener.

[@markforster2794]

Andy, please make another Dukes album!

[@richalderson6069]

I'd love to have a cup of tea and a chat at Andy's house. What a legend.

[@neillawrie9239]

In a long line of English eccentrics, wonderful chat with Andy

[@tanyaboerhave7364]

I could listen to Andy Partridge forever. Great show!

[@dixgun]

The David Bowie song Andy was thinking of is ‘Move On’ from the ‘Lodger’ LP where the backwards voices are the chorus of ‘All The Young Dudes.’ A Brian Eno song he might be thinking of is ‘Tzima N’Arki’ from the ‘After The Heat’ LP (Moebius/Roedelius/Eno) that includes the chorus of ‘Kings Led Hat’ backwards. There’s also the song ‘Driving Me Backwards’ from the ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ LP where the vocals sound like vocals purposely sung backwards, but played forwards.

[@Sean_Ryan]

Just listened to Autumn Almanac backwards... he's only bloody right.

[@mikeharrington5593]

An eclectic trio of senior delinquents. Wonder if they are gonna chat about Swindon being the UK Mecca for trainspotting anoraks in the 50's-60"s ?

[@SunburntHands]

Incidentally, if you want to buy some of the toy soldiers that Andy's sculpted, they're available from Irregular Miniatures. I think they're mostly in the 'Deutsche Homage' range in the 42mm section.

[@patrickcrowther9195]

I think this edition may take me a while to get through as I keep googling Magic Robot board games and Guy trucks. Love it! Edit: hold on, ‘head the size of a tennis ball’?! Edit 2: Popeye voices?! This is reaching new levels of brilliance! Edit 3: More, please, more!

[@Harbottle64]

I know Andy wrote "You Bring The Summer" for The Monkees. Such a good songwriter. Please get him back soon!

[@beatxt]

He was too modest to mention he had 2 songs on that come-back collection a couple of years ago.

[@simonparrish4732]

How wonderful! Feel all warm and cosy now! Get him back pronto - #RocknRollRepairShop ;)

[@MarcWickens]

Amazing, thanks for posting this. I was obsessed with the Apple Venus albums as a teenager (thanks Dad for introducing me), now 20 years on I’m discovering XTC’s earlier work.

[@garyfletcher844]

Remember those records that you cut off the back of cereal boxes ?

[@GeralltGymro1]

22.32 and it is .... suicidally maudlin Add the laughs from Hepworth and Du Noyer. Excellent.

[@chrisguygeezer]

I hope there's a full contingent of XTC records in those racks. 🤔

[@glyngasson8450]

John Peel once played a single that could be played at 33, 45 and 78. It also had two holes in the middle so you could choose which hole to use. I can't remember the name of the band, it was around 1978/9

[@peter_aka_hamamass]

❤️

[@orangenotviolet]

Yes, Andy is theee eternal popmusic hero.....songwriter, singer guitarist like no other......first the fab four, but then imediately... Andy Partridge & XTC.

[@RustyJerome]

Here in Canada, you can actually get a 'Bolsonaro action figure' in every box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix... or maybe has that been discontinued?

[@royb1001]

XTC are the most underrated band in history.

[@melgrant7404]

Love them xxxx

[@Scotlanz]

Not by people who know them.

[@peterlawson777]

Possibly, although Cardiacs are so underrated it’s criminal.....

[@briancase2607]

Love being in a dedicated group that loves their music! Listen and own their entire catalog. The Best

[@jerrysmith2354]

Id say both them and Jellyfish are. Xtc at least got the chance to be a great band, but no one payed much attention. Jellyfish never got the recognition, but didnt even get to make more than 2 albums.

[@garyhelsinger]

My hero...(and my one time friend!)...who gave me the greatest peak behind the Wizard's curtain a fan could ever want! Hope you're doing well, Andy! So great to hear and see you (and loved the Robyn collab!) More music and more SINGING, please!

[@juanitacarrollyoung2979]

I really enjoyed Planet England as well, but it was pretty much a given that one would.

[@honkynel]

Laugh out loud Andy Partridge. The Popeye bit especially.

[@Mudge07]

It’s all true, the wonder of bygone ages, great times. The things you recall from your formative years, wondrous tales and so much plastic! Fave cereal toy: red fire engine and The Move’s “Get the Fire Brigade” on the transistor radio. Those big, square, “Eveready” battery packs for the projector anchored it while you fed the slideshow through it, Dick Tracy in Technicolor. And I bet you thought jumpers for goalposts was fun, Andy’s infectious enthusiasm spills over more than the stains on his “sick jumper”.

[@raymondbonington9355]

Fire brigade the move early 68 .

[@colinfuidge8660]

I put this one off for ages because I didn't think xtc would interest me. How wrong I was, it's great fun. The recording at the train station is an epic 'back in my day' story.

[@diablofursPopnRoll]

best Word in your Attic yet..Love AP

[@RedVynil]

When we were kids, we'd go up to my grandmother's summer house which was LOADED with antiques and she had an old 4' tall Edison record player from about the turn of the century that had two drawers loaded with the records that were to be played on it and, if we spent the night there, as we could barely get any t.v. at all, what we'd do for entertainment at night, besides playing cards and having pillow fights, is to get two flashlights and two people at one end of the room would just quickly wiggle them up and down pointed at the persons near the record player and they'd put a record on and act out silent skits made up on the spot and it looked like we were watching Charlie Chaplin movies with those records as the background music!

[@dynjarren8355]

We don’t encourage our eccentrics in the States. I find them interesting along with intellectuals. I noticed the British seem to indulge them. Toy soldiers?

[@conshea7382]

Wore out English Settlement in ‘82 and continue to do so

[@thomasdudley6514]

Andy I recently got a copy of the purple barrier the uk beat group from the 60s they were metal punk before the fact I loved the dukes in high school as I am a syd Freak in delco yes tods land and where original punk emulated from xtc are a great band love black sea cheers

[@rocksteady9115]

Great Andy is so entertaining, XTC one of the best

[@lifesabeach2597]

I was that kid that destroyed most every toy I had, usually on purpose, and now I regret it because many of the toys I had growing up in the 60s-70s are probably collectors items now

[@BlackRoomProductions]

Here's the reverse-tracked lyric in Autumn Almanac that Andy refers to: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoe7on5vi8aXq6c

[@paulmarshall2007]

Wonderful. What a rare treat. I could listen to Andy talking about plastic toys and childhood recording experiments for hours.

[@patrickmccarthy7068]

Currently playing XTC 12” GO+ at a decent volume, magical!

[@rydermike33]

Bless you Andy, that was wonderful.