The Beatles and Help! (w Andy Partridge)

Andy Partridge is surely one of Britain's greatest songwriters. As the main writer behind XTC and their psychedelic alter-ego, the Dukes of Stratosphear, he has been an incredible force since the time of New Wave.
As part of the abortive Without the Beatles documentary, we caught up with Andy a few years ago for this never-before seen interview on the impact The Beatles had on him, growing up in Swindon.
This excerpt is taken from the forthcoming full episode which will be in Season 2 of Without the Beatles which will feature other unseen interviews plus new ones being recorded right now.
For anyone interested in Andy's work, much of it has been remastered and made available on all formats through www.ape.uk.net
Season 1 of Without the Beatles is now streaming on all podcasting platforms featuring full-length interviews with Lemmy, Terry Gilliam, Mary Quant, Steve Van Zandt, Lol Creme and Jona Lewie.
Season 2, starting in January 2025, will feature Nancy Sinatra, Sir Michael Palin, Sir David Attenborough, Richie Sambora and Al Jardine.
If you can, please support the channel by subscribing and hitting the button below. You can also support our work via Patreon.
Don't be fooled by the big names into thinking we are some corporate entity! Without the Beatles is a homemade project run by two working dads, Des Burkinshaw and Mark Hooper, and we'd love to be able to bring you even bigger interviews throughout the year if we can afford it.
The Without the Beatles podcast is live on all podcasting platforms and has its own KZbin channel @withoutthebeatles
Patreon subscribers will be able to access a video version of the podcast and see Jona's interview in full.
www.withoutthebeatles.com
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[@paulreid1711]

XTC, such a great and underrated band! Swindon's greatest export for sure.

[@AnthonyMonaghan]

Ugghhh....

[@vincentcannata8340]

Totally agree, Andy.....the 'comedy' of The Beatles is quite overlooked by most.

[@herethereandeverywherebeat2273]

He's such a great guest.

[@davidsemrow2485]

This is great. The power of humor can be underestimated. If Bill the Butcher taught us in "Gangs of New York" the power of violent acts, then it's fair to counter with the power of love and laughter.

[@lthompson7625]

Andy is so correct. Apart from the great music they were bloody funny. Look at any of their early films to plug a new single and they are always on the verge of cracking up laughing. I remember someone who worked on ‘ Pop Go The Beatles’ radio series saying they would be rolling around on the floor laughing their heads off. In the early days they were having a ball..

[@edlawn5481]

"Ringo, are you a Mod or a Rocker?" "I'm a Mocker!"

[@Vlad65WFPReviews]

I was lucky enough to see XTC twice - once in Vancouver, once in London. Fab that Andy is a fan of Help! which unjustly is banished these days as some mistakenly insist it is racist simply because it deals with an Eastern cult. It is a frigging musical comedy, people!

[@edlawn5481]

You can see the influence in The Dukes Of Stratosphear's video for "The Mole From The Ministry".

[@elementrypenguin3116]

L

[@elementrypenguin3116]

These wackos are seriously disjointed .

[@c.a.t.732]

"Paul McCartney's got DC comics, just like me!" I loved the Beatles, even though I was a Marvel fan.

[@AnthonyMonaghan]

It's the mole from the ministry ...

[@kgarrett1404]

Unfortunately Lennon’s humour could be quite sarcastic and cruel when the cameras and microphones were switched off. His occasional face gurning and foot stomping between songs on stage, which mimicked those with mental/physical difficulties, known in those days as spastics, was terrible! Not fab at all!