Record news
Sunday, September 27, 2020 at 17:00 
XTC's Drums and Wires will soon be available on 200g vinyl.
I don’t have a record player so it’s a bit wasted on me but I mention it because it’s one of the few albums I can remember where and when I first bought it.
It was April 1979 and I was visiting my parents who had just moved to Cumbria.
I was exploring the nearest town - Kendal - when I stumbled on a tiny independent record shop (remember them?) in the centre of town.
Drums and Wires features 'Making Plans for Nigel' which is probably why I bought it, although I was also attracted by the cover.
Truth is, compared to some of the lush, melodic music the band went on to record over the next 20 years, I actually found the album quite hard to listen to.
This probably explains why I didn’t buy another XTC record until Oranges and Lemons, featuring the single ‘Mayor of Simpleton’, in 1989.
I subsequently bought the band’s next three albums (including their final album in 2000) plus Skylarking which I somehow missed when it was released in 1986.
The difference with those albums and Drums and Wires is like night and day so if you are unfamiliar with the band’s back catalogue and want to dip your toe in this particular pond I would recommend beginning with the more melodious Skylarking or Apple Venus (1999).
Nonsuch (1992) and Wasp Star (2000), also have some wonderful moments.
You might even consider buying them on vinyl. In the words of my daughter, who recently purchased a remastered version of Skylarking:
Skylarking sounds wonderful on vinyl. It’s picking up some beautiful parts that you don’t hear on CD.
Then again, music is hugely subjective so don’t take my (or her) word for it. Instead read Joe Jackson on XTC.
Talking of whom, here are ten other albums I bought in 1979:
Joe Jackson – I'm The Man
Bill Nelson's Red Noise – Sound-on-Sound
Graham Parker and The Rumour – Squeezing Out Sparks
Squeeze – Cool for Cats
Tubeway Army – Replicas
The Undertones - The Undertones
The Kinks - Low Budget
Ian Hunter - You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic
Sex Pistols - The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle
Godley and Creme - Freeze Frame
XTC: ‘The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul’ from Skylarking, 1986
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