Neville Farmer on XTC guitarist Dave Gregory

[@bentwick6675]

Dave ist einer der größten Musiker überhaupt. Total merkwürdig, dass er nie Songs geschrieben hat. Versteh das wer will. Ein ewiges Rätsel. Und außerdem ist er extrem sympathisch……

[@billwilkie6211]

Dave is fantastic. And his long tenure with Big Big Train was wonderful. More Dave!

[@chuckabbate5924]

Criminally underrated. And I hate using that term. He was the glue in that band . And nobody better ever forget it..

[@Zavijava1]

Dave is brilliant indeed

[@whouster]

Always nice hearing Dave get the credit he deserves. It has to be said that Andy's guitar work on Wasp Star was phenomenal, but musically, the album sounded a bit hollow and incomplete - and that was purely down to Dave's absence. XTC weren't XTC without Dave, and their final release proved it. Dave is a bloody legend!

[@BlackRoomProductions]

@whouster same thoughts here about Wasp Star without Dave, although oddly enough WS is my most listened to XTC album

[@whouster]

@@BlackRoomProductions Wasp Star has some really great songs, and it's possibly the most widely accessible XTC album since English Settlement (and perhaps Oranges and Lemons). I thought WS would've been far better suited to being the 'comeback' album, as it was more obviously commercial than Apple Venus, and there would've been a much better chance of Dave staying onboard to give it the extra layers it lacked. I thought Apple Venus would've been the perfect send-off, as it raised the musical bar of XTC one final time. I thought Wasp Star didn't quite fit the bill as the final XTC offering, but a very minor criticism against a career of such brilliance.

[@richybatty234]

@@whouster Totally agree. 👍

[@fillhixx]

Really, considering the characters, level and ,volume of work balanced against the limited financial success, it's amazing XTC lasted so long and accomplished so much!

[@whouster]

Absolutely. Every album they made from Mummer onward was a great accomplishment for all those reasons you mentioned.

[@windyhillbomber]

As a guitar player, all I can say is try playing some of Dave’s riffs and solos. Reel by Reel and That’s Really Super, Supergirl spring to mind

[@randydoak6638]

In all the XTC albums, there aren't any solos by Dave more than 8 or so bars long. They could have given him a bit more space to create, at least once. Some of my favorite Dave bits are on Rocket From a Bottle and That Wave.

[@lancep4164]

XTC was dead after Dave left

[@richybatty234]

Andy rather dismissively called Dave ' a cake decorator ' ... 🙄

[@chuckabbate5924]

He strikes me as an asshole at times

[@whouster]

I'd hope that Andy has revised his opinion since then, and also when he said Dave wasn't missed on Wasp Star. Obviously when there's a lot of friction between two people, disingenuous things can be said, but I'd hope that Andy now appreciates how much Dave brought to XTC.

[@youandwhosearmy6339]

Andy said a lot of things, but there is no way he thinks of Dave Gregory as a cake decorator. This has definitely been taken out of context. Love them both, all. All of XTC.

[@windyhillbomber]

Andy is a little flawed. I’m sure he doesn’t really mean half the barbs he slings at people

[@randydoak6638]

Andy could be hard on himself too. It's the curse of the perfectionist.