Terry Chambers

Virgin Records

In 1977 XTC signed with Virgin Records after rejecting CBS, Harvest and Island. They first recorded 3D EP (cover art pictured) in 1977 at Abbey Road. They were signed on the same deal for six albums, something Chambers now regrets: "In hindsight it was a bad move because it meant when the successful songs came along we were still on a normal percentage. If we had a one or two album deal, then by the third we would have been in a position to renegotiate."

A record company want sales in return for their many different services, and if a band is not performing as wished then things can sour quickly. "When you’ve signed a record company, they want sales and you have to dance to their tune", said Chambers. But sometimes the pressure from the label can aid in constructivism and the collaboration of band members, and that can be seen with XTC.

Chambers also remarked that XTC became more successful during the late 70s, in comparison to their early work in 1976 (White Music and Go 2). This is partly down to pressure from the label but also because they became better musicians over time; his drumming improved and the songwriters followed suit, something that is often overlooked. "Live gigs helped the songwriting too. We all became better musicians as a result. Getting better at your craft as you go on. The pressure from the record company probably helped – if you haven’t hit your straps by the third album, they will look at you a little bit “have we made the wrong decision with this lot?” they might have said. That’s just how it was in the music industry", said Chambers.

That 80s sound

The gated reverb is a technique in which the capture of the drums by a microphone(s) is altered in a way which gives a punchy and quickly cut off live sound (view how it's done here and here on Vox).

Bands like Genesis, Duran Duran, and New Order but also newer artists like Haim, Lorde and even Drake all use the gated reverb.

The first XTC album that fully utilised the gated reverb was in 1979, with Drums and Wires, and was named partly for its expansive drums, put together by producer Steve Lillywhite and engineer Hugh Padgham. "We started to experiment with that to give the album a bigger sound. It was a step in a different direction to the previous two albums. We needed to make a bit of a change because we didn’t have a great deal of commercial success", said Chambers.

They experimented with the technique on tracks like Ten Feet Tall and Day in Day out on Drums and Wires. The album was a critical and commercial success, with the classic British Beatles-esque melody sound fused with XTC's fresh approach on rock 'n roll. The album in which the iconic sound really comes alive on is on Black Sea where Lillywhite and Padgham perfected their new-found love on Chambers' drums.

It continued after Chambers' departure with intrusive but addictive drums on tracks like This World Over or King For A Day.

There's no denying that XTC had an image problem in the UK. A lack of greater success can be boiled down to a few reasons. Let's be real, a lot of the most successful artists, then and now, came from the big cities; London, Manchester or Liverpool. Swindon? Leave it out. That's the stance that the record label and management took in the late 70s, telling the group to change their accents in order to appeal to a perceived idea of what a core British audience would want.

Thankfully, the reputation of Swindon did not translate abroad, and XTC had notable success in the United States and Japan. "A lot of the people in the States never saw XTC live", said Chambers. "We finished out there in about '82 and a lot of people never became interested in XTC until the Skylarking album. Whether they were fans of Todd Rundgren [American producer on Skylarking] or not, I don’t know. That album probably opened the way for XTC fans in the States." In 1989, XTC went on a few shows including Late Night with David Letterman (30 June 1989) which helped XTC reach a larger audience than they could back at home. Today, they have amassed a cult following and have 800,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone.

"Once people saw us live, peoples’ attitudes tended to change, but it was a bit of a battle coming from a place like Swindon." Chambers compared the band to Devo, who came from the small town of Akron in Ohio, which is similar in population to Swindon. "We weren’t from the same mould that used to go and watch each other in the London, Manchester or Liverpool scenes for example. There were more places to watch each other in those places and a lot of those bands sounded similar too. Coming from Swindon probably isolated us a little bit", said Chambers. But there were undertones of relief and he was somewhat grateful for their origins. After all, XTC does have a distinctive sound.

In 2016, Partridge also lamented on the fact that Swindon has a bit of a reputation problem, a joke town, and likened it to Staines or Slough (thanks, The Office). "Our managers, who spoke like upper-class twits, would say, 'When you do this interview with the NME, I don’t want you speaking all countrified. If they ask you where you’re from, I want you to say you’re from London or Manchester or Liverpool or Mars. Any-bloody-where. Just don’t say Swindon,'" explained Partridge. "But we thought it was a badge of honour, coming from the comedy town."

"The main problem with Swindon [and still is] is that there are few places to play original material", said Chambers. Places like London wanted original bands, but Swindon was keen for cover bands. "We had to get out of town to do what we wanted to do."

While there were few places to play in their hometown, Chambers cited some of his favourite places to play: "One of my favourite places to play was the Bird’s Nest. The Brunel Rooms (pictured right) and the Town Hall were pretty good to us as well."