XTC - Mayor Of Simpleton

[@mustafa1name]

XTC made deceptively simple sounding songs, but they have depth, heart, and superb craftsmanship. Built to last

[@dvdiii]

That bass line!

[@SeanRainey]

It's like.... Bach-level genius.

[@trainelavalais6280]

Very genius

[@toddmichaeljohnson7139]

Secretly the best band of all time!

[@mauriceortiz8817]

Truly I saw their doc too.

[@01goldg1]

To some of us...not secretly!

[@utoob7361]

My favorite XTC song. Wonderful lyrics, jangly guitars and a great rolling bassline.

[@CrypticCocktails]

How many songs start like this and never let up? True pop and rock mastery

[@0rganfarmer]

This album is the bridge between 80’s new wave and 90’s alternative. What a song.

[@jaimedelafuente9421]

Yes it is! ... That's right! 👍

[@juliusnepos6013]

Yeah

[@James-if3kc]

Sounds a lot like Squeeze.

[@Edyth_Hedd]

@@James-if3kc Only infinitely better.

[@James-if3kc]

Your opinion.@@Edyth_Hedd

[@andrewrosen6508]

One of best pop songs ever recorded by the most underrated band. THEY SHOULD be in the R&r Hall of Fame! FOR SHAME!

[@reversefulfillment9189]

Once you've achieved Mass acclaim, you've lost. Not proud of that fact.

[@graemeking7336]

Really ? The r & r hall of shame is a scam. XT,C are better off out of it, dignity intact

[@danieladams9950]

After The Beatles, the best band.

[@SorendeSelbyBowen]

Who cares about the rock'n'roll hall of fame.

[@vayres7512]

Correct. That´s an american crap.@@SorendeSelbyBowen

[@ArthurShedsJackson]

The most underrated band of all-time. These dudes are PURE GENIUS!!!!! ground-breaking genius. TIMELESS.

[@terencemcardle2029]

Defo

[@thinkofsomethingcooler]

Does no one else hear this when they listen to Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night”? Both great songs but I immediately thought of this

[@davidbowman4259]

Agree one thousand percent. They're superb, stellar and stupendous.

[@stevenhendry841]

This song really is a fantastic masterpiece

[@donnysarian]

One of the most incredible and complex bass parts ever constructed for a Pop song. It drives the counterpoint for the whole song! Absolutely incredible!

[@graemeking7336]

It's almost McCartney...

[@mauriceortiz8817]

Yes a lot of the bass work on 80s pop are stellar.

[@danieladams9950]

A glorious song.

[@Aclimade]

@@mauriceortiz8817 I was in bands back then. Superior electronics turned the mud of recorded bass into melody. Ain't it a great day for happy music.

[@Aclimade]

@@graemeking7336 Reminds me of Graham Maby - Joe Jackson's bass player.

[@vahi37]

XTC is a great band.

[@birdg2112]

Incredible band that does not get talked about enough.

[@terencemcardle2029]

McCartney &Lennon without the impetuous

[@adamkentisaac]

@@terencemcardle2029 they're more like McCartney and McCartney, in the best possible way

[@originalindiechick7999]

Rick Beato brought me here! 😍👌🏻🎶 So glad he did, a great tune

[@richardlevesque7234]

One of the best band ever. Their whole corpus of work is made of very thoughtful lyrics and arrangements. And Colin's bassline is unreal.

[@danbrockettDOP]

Many don't know that Andy wrote that bass line and showed Colin how he wanted it played. Colin kills it but it was Andy's line.

[@101Volts]

@@danbrockettDOP I've also heard that Colin added to it - that Andy wrote the primary bass riff that you first hear in the song (and which repeats,) but he didn't write the rest. Though really, I don't know for sure.

[@lewisb85]

@@101Volts andy wrote it, dave gregory played this song with his band tin spirts and said andy wrote it "you can tell it wasn't written by a bass player".

[@jeffwolinski2659]

​@@lewisb85 Colin Moulding has proven beyond any doubt that he is an outstanding singer, songwriter, and bass player. Dave Gregory doesn't hold a candle to Colin's talent, his goofy miming to vocals he doesn't sing says it all.

[@Igor_Vinicius]

@@jeffwolinski2659 That must be one of the stupidest things ever written on youtube. Congratulations. (the Dave Gregory part, I mean)

[@Al-iv3mb]

XTC were that rarity, a band who's music matched the intelligence of their lyrics.

[@TT-fq7pl]

whose

[@magikman481]

@@TT-fq7pl XTC

[@burpo]

One of the happiest sounds ever recorded.

[@treywyatt1842]

I agree!, 100%!

[@michaelray9576]

THANK GOD FOR XTC...ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BASS LINES OF ALL TIME...THANK YOU FOR YOUR MUSIC...

[@WarrenCromartie2]

This was the song that reignited my interest in XTC. It came on a video jukebox in a pub one rainy Saturday afternoon back in 1990. I had stopped listening at English Settlement, but went out and explored their subsequent albums and have been 're-hooked' ever since. Thanks to whoever put this song on the jukebox that day :-)

[@eddienebula6084]

i want to thank the UK for 90% of my music collection ❤️🍺🇬🇧

[@danieladams9950]

XTC were extraordinary. The best UK band after The Beatles.

[@Ida-iu3uj]

@@eddienebula6084 lol so true!

[@michaelratcliff8634]

Everything about this song is wonderful. That bass ...

[@williammorgan5320]

Great band, great song, great everything, and a wild bass line. Love it.

[@816amnet]

This is the greatest pop song ever written.

[@laurence2824]

One of the things I love about XTC is their hugely innovative approach to diatonic harmony. Sorry if this gets a bit bookish, but I'm a retired music lecturer so maybe you'll indulge me for a moment. This song could so easily have been conceived as an easily accessible money-spinner but the harmony is, as ever with XTC, quirky. "Please" of "Please be upstanding etc." is sung on the 9th dissonant note of the scale - later the melody comes in canon (further unsettling the stability of the tonic chord). This superimposition of conflicting diatonic harmonies is called pandiatonicism (and is usually associated with composers like Stravinsky and Milhaud). It's amazing and thrilling that exotic complexities of this kind snuck their way so naturally into British pop. XTC's 'That's Really Super, Supergirl' is another example where the verse-melody starts on the leading 7th degree of the diatonic scale. The sonic montage at the end of 'Chalkhills and Children' is both radical and beautiful; there's not much in contemporary pop about which you can say that!

[@Mr._Bassman97]

They use diminished passing chords often too. These guys know what they’re doing. To create such a vast amount of interesting music, you’d have to.

[@laurence2824]

Indeed; which gets us into the world of Messiaen, Debussy and Mussorgsky. I'm fond of Shakatak too, who also have a sophisticated sense of harmonic freedom. What tickles me particularly about XTC is their frequent experiments in chromatic saturation (not a million miles from Charles Ives' astonishing harmonic palette - do you know the 2nd movement of his 4th symphony? Amazingly composed as early as 1912) ​@Mr._Bassman97

[@johnpod]

Well duh, that's all pretty obvious, no?

[@laurence2824]

@@johnpod Not really, no.

[@Brennan_Dale3169]

Pardon my ignorance, but I hardly understood anything you wrote there but I think I get the jist of what your saying. Chalhhills & children is a masterpiece

[@VallinSFAS]

I love the *Partridge Family* shout-out!

[@kandragraham5769]

I love the lyrics to all their songs. This one is awesome because it shows that someone who doesn't have a degree can still be good and loving.

[@silvermainecoons3269]

Is that what this song means? 🤔

[@SamRMoyer]

It’s more that a person without a degree is still worth something.

[@RnREnglands]

Who else listened over and over and over. .........

[@karmicselling4252]

Andy in the middle. David with the Strat. Colin with the RIC Bass. Simply beautiful! Masters of their Art!.

[@rattan3793]

That's not a Ric bass. It's a Kay K-20B in the video but the song was recorded with a Wal bass.

[@Eersian]

I remember this song as one of the first bands my dad introduced me to. It's even on one of my family's home video tapes. Thanks dad for introducing me to good music

[@lindaweston4482]

Love this song!

[@kelvinwilson9217]

The beauty of this band is genius. Forget about the rock and roll hall of fame rubbish, and appreciate three amazing musicians who have made more classics than most of those bands put together.

[@eric7922]

stellar video...highly addictive tune...I take it once a day, sometimes twice...I’m afraid I might get to three soon

[@paulelliott3220]

XTC - truly great band Brilliant set of albums and another classic song

[@bigsonny45]

I'm mad AF that this only has 284k views when it should have MILLIONS!

[@Al-iv3mb]

Almost doubled since you posted

[@dawnbook3725]

Love love love this

[@ninjabluefyre3815]

I wish XTC were more popular. I wish this were a real TV show. I wish I could make music and videos this good.

[@bobmiclette9156]

What a great tune

[@dannycostello1978]

Contender for one of the best songs ever made.

[@daviddaly4382]

Super top draw, very underrated band XTC. Thankfully we have the luxury of being able to see these great video's and listen to some of their back catalogue on KZbin. A great band! 😊😊

[@Augfordpdoggie]

not only is the song catchy, with an incredible bass line, the video is brilliant

[@anthonyjohn3445]

Absolutely beautiful song, played this to death in 89 when I was 19. The song is obviously smash you over the head amazing but goodness me, the bass player, absolutely utterly killing

[@karajones8971]

Same

[@2760ade]

Most people don't even notice the sodding bass line! Irritates me as it is incredibly good!

[@davecoalwood9487]

Its just simply perfect. ❤

[@thebaron8169]

I play this everyday.

[@terrymcgee3504]

Please be upstanding for XTC.

[@jc6594]

Happy 65th Birthday Andy Partridge

[@walcoman]

So punchy and the harmonious vocals are seamless!❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@Pureevilhotsauce]

Like how they "cast" ex-bandmates as a fish and a car in this video in their honour

[@austinhealey1120]

That is really cool

[@dethteck2263]

Excellent comment! Thank you for keeping XTC alive!

[@infomanone2801]

Reminded me of Hecklefish. Lol

[@P-Bass_Pete]

Ha! Never thought of that until you said it. That is really cool.

[@P-Bass_Pete]

XTC and Squeeze had some of the best songwriting and lyrics ever.

[@cruzdiabIo]

pleeeeaaasssse be upstanding for the maaaajor of simpletonnnn

[@TheDizzyrizzy]

This is the BEST XTC song ever!!!

[@robalexander8065]

Up there with Senses Working Overtime.

[@marshalllancaster2314]

Was driving around in my college town the first time I heard this. I remember the turn I was making in 1989. Yes, I was completely enamoured of it. Bought the cassette and played it that whole summer.

[@brianborchardt7198]

One of the best bands from the 80s. So underrated and didnt get near the attention they so deserved.

[@Iloveit9643]

I played them a lot at my college radio station.

[@kirklarson4536]

"Well, I don't know how to write a big hit song." Yeah, I guess that's true, but maybe for the best. I love the stuff you did write.

[@ilovetheusgov]

one of my all time favs, thanks brits!

[@HotelAVJobs]

Fellow musician friends, the outro of this one is SICK! Love it!

[@alisonrosenfeld1620]

my favorite song.

[@s.t.1295]

ＸＴＣの楽曲の中で一番好きな曲♪🙂

[@JoelBryant1960]

No other better pair to craft a catchy song with a hidden message most probably will never get. The tongue in cheek is painful if not so spot on.

[@modelleg]

Really EPIC pop song.

[@basketburger]

One of the best tunes ever 👍

[@desert.mantis]

Great tune! It's as fresh as the day I first heard it.

[@101Volts]

There's finally a VEVO for XTC now, this much later in KZbin's existence? I wasn't expecting it.

[@noonthumbs2644]

I knew Dave Gregory's mum & dad, lived at the top of my little Close. They were the reason I got married to my husband!

[@James-if3kc]

Nobody cares.

[@Al-iv3mb]

​@@James-if3kcYou cared enough to make a juvenile and pathetic comment

[@Al-iv3mb]

I'm sure there's a lovely story there

[@James-if3kc]

@@Al-iv3mb Again, nobody cares about her or you.

[@Al-iv3mb]

@@James-if3kc I get the impression that you're desperate for someone to care, to notice you, even to try and understand you. There's help out there; start by contacting your GP s/he will listen and be able to find the people who can try and help. Good luck.

[@stephentot5011]

I like the bass riff on this song

[@blackiefitzpatrick6611]

Still Awesome. THX Andy and Boys.

[@SomeoneCalledRob]

Colin Moulding (bass) really putting in a shift here.

[@CrypticCocktails]

And on a Rick! I have the same model and it’s a beast

[@mauswaffles]

hes the most underrated piece of an already underrated band

[@stevesmith2529]

Never gets old, still lovin it since the 80's

[@scottallison2296]

Exquisite genius

[@dhouse-d5l]

Another of the many original tunes from that period.....must have been something in the water....They all now sound fresher than they did back then...its amazing.

[@tmage23]

2:04 "Assistants to Andy Partridge" lists character from "The Partridge Family" TV show. Never noticed that before.

[@signcrash]

This is the US version of the video. The UK version doesn't have that. The UK version is posted here on KZbin.

[@peterbland7227]

Wonderful pop from the 80’s.

[@drdexter33]

I love these guys

[@tomwagner6334]

Incredibly underrated band.

[@Pfeffa]

Perfection

[@go-goakins1489]

Great song by an awesome 👏 band!👏😎👍🤘

[@bencolon71]

Hugely underrated band.

[@darrenlee-ross4432]

This band are the best ever - absolute genius :) x

[@DougSmith-kd3en]

Timeless music and Video

[@kevinbraid579]

Swindon's finest Mr Andy Partridge.

[@marywatkins6798]

Such a great pop song!!!!

[@edwinastawski6033]

It's my most cherished track in the world.

[@PeterHain-di8ir]

XTC what good times 80s miss you 🥰 🙏👍🫵👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🎸

[@klotzilla]

Still the most savage and devastating bridge in rock history. And it unbelievably *ends* this unlikely and timeless hit.

[@stevengoomba6490]

such a cool and fun song. I like the somewhat rambling and unpredictable melody but also the triplets on the post-chorus

[@BobSchoepenjr]

Amazing intelligent pop song with a timeless mastering

[@neriodavidsevilla9689]

Música Genial!!!!

[@UltimateRubberFool]

Those guys can play!

[@PhilipHarwell]

Jangly and catchy. Two of my favorite song attributes! Love it!

[@ICA17887]

Fabuleux XTC!

[@WhoDoctor-u2e]

I was 21 in 89. Good stuff here.

[@Avatarman2rescue]

Me too. Last decade great music was made.

[@dawnbook3725]

I was 32.

[@JohnMacFergus-oz5cp]

Great song, great lyrics. Brilliant. A classic for sure!

[@RailsUpNorth]

What an incredible song!

[@originalindiechick7999]

This song gets better on every listen! 😍🎶👌🏻

[@classiclife7204]

When you haven't heard it in a while, you need to listen to this song about 3 times to get satiated by its zest and fun.

[@Themanwhocameback2]

Well said!

[@jerryranallo1123]

Man, Drums and Wires, English Settlement and Black Sea are three of my top ten albums. Desert islsnd discs!

[@gusgrimm7533]

Wow! Cool bassline, outro & homage to "The Avengers" intro ✅

[@RailsUpNorth]

Bloody brilliant video too. If you ever read this Andy , this song makes me so happy !

[@Halflife2-y2m]

Great feekin song

[@davidhopkins5386]

Its the vass line and the harmonies that make them xtc!

[@otmargreb6110]

Well, I'm here again saying, "This work of Art is Pure Brain Candy!"

[@soulpatrolhawaii5409]

Very cool bass line!

[@melhenderson2844]

Great song and video. Looks like they had great fun making it too. LOVE XTC.

[@PrimitiveInTheExtreme]

🎶✨🐟✨🎶

[@GammaRayBurst417]

I was just a boy when this gem was released. As a 50 yr old I still love this song.

[@jamesbatcho]

That bass.