Andy Partridge

Andy Partridge

Partridge with XTC playing Toronto's Music Hall, February 1980
Background information
Birth name Andrew John Partridge
Also known as Sir John Johns
Born (1953-11-11) 11 November 1953
Mtarfa, Malta
Origin Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Genres New wave, pop
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer
Years active 1972–present
Labels Virgin, Idea, APE House
Associated acts XTC, The Dukes of Stratosphear, Monstrance
Website ape.uk.net
Notable instruments
Ibanez Artist
Squier Telecaster
Martin D-35

Andrew John "Andy" Partridge (born 11 November 1953 in Mtarfa, Malta) is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a founding member, guitarist and chief songwriter of the pop/new wave band, XTC. He lives in Swindon, Wiltshire, where he was brought up.

Solo work and collaborations

In addition to his work with XTC, Partridge has released one solo album on Virgin Records in 1980 called Take Away/the Lure of Salvage. Partridge has also released demos of his songs under his own name in The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album and the Fuzzy Warbles album series on his APE House record label. Eight volumes of Fuzzy Warbles are now available, as well as the Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album, which includes a bonus ninth disc Hinges. He has collaborated (as performer, writer or record producer) with recording artists, including Martin Newell, with whom he recorded and produced an album in 1993 entitled The Greatest Living Englishman released in Japan as a duo album. He has additionally worked with Peter Blegvad, Harold Budd, Jamie Cullum, Stephen Duffy, Terry Hall, The Heads, Charlotte Hatherley, Robyn Hitchcock, Jen Olive, The Residents, Thomas Dolby, David Yazbek, Miles Kane, The Nines, Pugwash and Meat Beat Manifesto. In 2010, Partridge released a limited edition CD of music inspired by science fiction illustrator Richard M. Powers' art titled Powers.[1] In 2012, Partridge's worked with Mike Keneally on the album Wing Beat Fantastic, a Mike Keneally release where 8 of the songs were co-written with Partridge.[2]

Partridge was producer for the English band Blur during the recording of Modern Life Is Rubbish. He was replaced by Stephen Street at the insistence of their record label, Food. According to Partridge he was unpaid for the sessions and received his expenses only.[3] Partridge also wrote four songs for Disney's version of James and the Giant Peach, but was replaced by Randy Newman when he could not get Disney to offer him "an acceptable deal".

In 2004, Partridge contributed the song "I Wonder Why the Wonder Falls" as the theme music to the short-lived TV comedy Wonderfalls. In 2006, a song he and Robyn Hitchcock collaborated on "Cause It's Love (Saint Parallelogram)", was released on the Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 album Olé! Tarantula. He has also released music as part of a trio known as Monstrance, made up of his guitar, Barry Andrews (an early member of XTC) on keyboards, and Martyn Barker on drums. The group has released an album of the same name, as well as a download-only EP known as Fine Wires Humming a New Song.

Radio and film

Partridge was a regular performer on BBC Radio 1 in the mid-1980s. He has had acting roles, including a character named "Agony Andy", a spoof aunt on the Janice Long show, and he also contributed comedic sketches to Saturday Live and Studio B15, and was a regular panelist on both Roundtable and The Great Rock'n'Roll Trivia Quiz.[4] He has also presented the pilot for an ITV children's quiz show, Matchmakers.

Personal life

Partridge and his ex-wife Marianne have two children, Harry and Holly. Harry is an Internet animator best known for his comedic short Saturday Morning Watchmen.[5]

Since his divorce, Partridge has been in a long-term relationship with Erica Wexler. Multiple songs written by Partridge, including "Another Satellite" and "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her" have been attributed by Partridge to aspects of their ongoing relationship. Partridge met Wexler in 1984, shortly after she had split from artist Roy Lichtenstein.[6]

In the 1984 Channel 4 documentary Partridge revealed that he was a keen designer of board games.[7] He has stated on his website that he is an atheist.

Influence

Partridge has been cited as an influence by John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers in the 2002 issue of Total Guitar magazine, who cited him as an influence on the sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album By the Way.[8]

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson named Partridge one of his favourite songwriters of all time: "What I love about Andy's music is that every song he writes has a very strong concept or idea behind it. He's not just rattling off love songs or songs about how lonely he is. Every song has a little twist to it, and it's so clever, so smart." [9] His favourite XTC albums are Drums and Wires and Black Sea.

Partridge mixed recordings for the band Captains of Industry. In 2007 he collaborated with former XTC bandmate Barry Andrews on the Shriekback album Glory Bumps. In 2008, Partridge began working on an album with Robyn Hitchcock and Mike Keneally, and various solo projects.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Sample Andy's Powers". Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Mike Keneally "Wing Beat Fantastic: Songs written by Mike Keneally & A - The Mike Keneally Store". The Mike Keneally Store.
  3. ↑ "The Popdose Interview: Andy Partridge". Popdose.
  4. ↑ Worthington, Tim (2012). Fun At One: The Story Of Comedy At BBC Radio 1. Lulu Press.
  5. ↑ Interview with Harry Partridge – Kittysneezes
  6. ↑ "Chalkhills: XTCFans: Andy's Take: "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her"". chalkhills.org. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  7. ↑ XTC-PLAY AT HOME-C4-1984-PART 2/3 on YouTube
  8. ↑ "John Frusciante interview in Total Guitar magazine" NME Accessed 2008-04-7
  9. ↑ "Steven Wilson interview in Songfacts.com, February 2016"
  10. ↑ "Post-punk legends team up for new album" NME Accessed 13 March 2008

External links

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