Fruits from England’s garden
Things were looking up – both Skylarking and The
Dukes had received rave critical acclaim and there was reasonable expectation
that hitsville couldn’t be too far away. Virgin wanted to continue with the
American success and so the whole tribe – band, wives, kids, guitars (Dave’s
kids!) decamped to Los Angeles for a holiday in the sun sometimes interrupted
by a recording process.
Sounds too good to be true? Of course it was! LA is a
fickle place. The apartments the families were given were home to fleas and
cockroaches – and a rather nasty heavy metal band with a serious chemical
habit. The families soon fled in disgust, the sessions dragged on and on under
a new and inexperienced producer and back home their ex-manager was taking them
to court in a battle that, even if they won, would virtually bankrupt them.
Andy became ever-so-slightly pissed off, and hit the bottle – hard!
However, after five months of slog, the finished
product seemed worth it. Andy came back to the UK to sort out the court mess,
leaving the others to mix and engineer the record. “Songs of Sixpence” the
working title, was shelved for Oranges & Lemons (below) and a monster was
born!
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It's always hard to top a masterpiece like
Skylarking, so they didn’t try. Instead, Oranges and Lemons was the prodigal
son of The Dukes’ Psonic Psunspot – a rip-roaring psychedelic ride through
traditional XTC pop-land. And with it they came mighty close to emulating the
previous XTC effort.
This was a double album of eclectic psychedelic pop
classicism. The first single from it, Mayor Of Simpleton, should have
been a huge hit but obviously wasn't. US College radio got the message though,
and XTC have enjoyed a relatively high profile on that scene pretty much ever
since. Mayor of Simpleton was a simple narrative about how Andy used to
feel when rubbing shoulders with the Swindon ‘college set’. For a while he had
felt rejected by the females in the pub, who were bowled over by the ‘smarter’
university types. This was his answer, more elegant and learned than any degree
course could ever offer.
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Oranges & Lemons is summed up perfectly by the
opening Garden Of Earthly Delights – Andy’s ode to his new-born son
Harry. A sample of an Arabian market takes you spiralling into Aladdin, The
Arabian Nights and Ali Baba all rolled into what Andy describes as a “Persian
Rug of a song. I'm
introducing children to the world: 'This is your playpen. Enjoy the place. Come
and be responsible and do great things in life.' It's very optimistic and
hopeful and a nice fanfare to open the album with."
Poor Skeleton Steps Out was another one of Andy’s oblique views on the world.
When everyone and his dog seemed to be demanding equal rights, Andy took it one
stage further and took the side of the poor skeletons inside each of us, who
have to put up with the misdemeanours of brain and flesh and are only freed
when we die. Strange man.
Scarecrow People – and some would say the whole album – arose from musings on The Wizard of Oz, which Andy
combined with his disgust at the growth of the junk culture, especially in
America. Hence the story of analogy of people as scarecrows, not caring about
their lives or environment.
Andy: "It's [The Wizard of Oz]
well known in our house. We played it twice a day because my daughter was in
love with it. It's so open, and wonderful. And when we started to think about
it, we realised that the three of us in the band were the Tin Man (Gregory),
the Cowardly Lion (Partridge), and the Scarecrow (Moulding). Our personalities
are so much like those characters – what we want, the way we behave, our
physical appearances even. It's frighteningly us."
Across This Antheap is one of Andy’s finest moments. An observation of
the trivialities of man, seen as ants scurrying in their millions across the
global antheap. The insect-like hissing, the busy bass and drums and layered,
building cacophony of noise give a sense of claustrophobic scuttling – and
brilliantly observed lyrics don’t harm it either.
Chalkhills and Children is the closing track of the album, with Andy in
reflective mood as he questioned his career in light of his fatherhood and
wondering “how old can you be and still get away with rock’n’roll for a
living?” The question answered itself, with this song rated as one of his best
ever by many XTC faithful. When you can write songs like this, which out-Beach
Boys the Beach Boys, the answer should be obvious.
Andy: "This is largely about my rejection of the
rock 'n' roll lifestyle. I'm mundane. I like to gravitate toward the kids,
privateness. I'm not into fame at all. When I get a slightly swelled head, it's
nice to be punctured and drift down to earth and become stable again. Show
business is really a dream and not what life's about. Life's about the glorious
everyday. It's not really me when I'm treated like a famous person. This is
real-life. Earth-coloured."
Oranges and Lemons' promo |
Oranges And Lemons hit Number 1 on the American radio college
charts and was on the way to selling half-a-million copies – success upon which
a tour could lucratively capitalise. Andy was still unprepared to face a live
audience but suggested an acoustic-guitar tour of US radio stations. By the end
of the radio tour, having got the half-hour set off pat, Andy admitted to
enjoying himself, even getting through a show with an audience of 250 people without
too much trouble. "I liked the anti-showbusiness of it. You weren't
expected to be fabulous."
New manager Tarquin Gotch (on an
album-by-album deal) had one last attempt to get Andy on some proper,
money-spinning live shows. He fabricated the idea, with Dave and Colin's
connivance, that they would tour as XTC with Thomas Dolby taking Partridge's
place.
Andy: "I had actually suggested
they tour without me; if Brian Wilson could do it, why couldn't we? But when
Gotch said, 'Look, we'll get someone in who looks a bit like you and who's got
a bit of a name, how about Tom Dolby', that put my nose out of joint. I said,
well perhaps I could come on for a couple of numbers towards the end, and he
said, 'come on for the whole fucking set, you idiot.' Smelt of ruse."
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With Andy seeing through the plan
and refusing to budge, Tarquin Gotch wished XTC well and retired gracefully.
Meanwhile things had got tight for
Dave – being the non-writer of the band, he received only the 10% share of PRS
royalties due his contribution to the band and he'd had to work as a rental car
collector at the back end of 1987. Now in 1989, he was part of a
500,000-selling album and unable to make any touring money on the back of it.
Dave: "There was no point in
insisting Andy went on tour. What's the point of pushing him to a nervous
breakdown? He's never been motivated by money; he's a true artist in that he's
inspired by his gift. In fact, if he gets the inkling that you're trying to
make money out of him, he will absolutely refuse to do anything at all."
Part 6