Thursday, January 18, 2024

The blasphemous story of XTC and Dear God

This is a good video on XTC, the tensions within the band and the genesis and extraordinary success of their song Dear God.

I love the story (at 13:50) that British Steel countered the song Making Plans for Nigel by rounding up Sheffield steelworkers called Nigel so they could tell the press how great their jobs were.

But another of the stories is not right - this one is at 15.45. Andy Partridge was not prescribed Valium as a boy because of hyperactivity. 

As he once told the Guardian:

He had been attempting to get off the Valium he had been prescribed aged 12 after his mother was temporarily placed in a mental hospital. 
"It was the 60s," he says, summing up the attitude of the time: "'Poor kid’s upset, his mum’s loopy, why not stick him on Valium?' I became addicted."

Anyway, enjoy the video.

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