38 Facts About Andy Partridge

Andrew John Partridge was born on 11 November 1953 and is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock band XTC.

Andrew John Andy Partridge was born 11 November 1953 at Mtarfa Royal Navy Hospital in Mtarfa, Malta to English parents.

Andy Partridge grew up on Penhill council estate in Swindon.

Andy Partridge's father John was a navy signalman, and his mother Vera a shop assistant in a retail chemists.

Andy Partridge "verbally disowned" her son once he started growing his hair long.

Andy Partridge eventually obtained a guitar, taught himself how to play it with no formal training, and immediately took to writing songs.

Andy Partridge dropped out of school and formed the first of several "loud and horrid" rock bands with the purpose of meeting girls.

In early 1972, Andy Partridge's constantly evolving group settled into a four-piece called "Star Park".

Andy Partridge wrote the majority of XTC's songs, was the band's frontman and de facto leader, and in Moulding's view, typically acted as an "executive producer" for their albums.

In December 1984, Andy Partridge formed the Dukes of Stratosphear, an XTC offshoot he envisioned as a simulacrum of "your favourite bands from 1967".

Around this time, Andy Partridge established himself as a producer of other artists.

Since XTC's breakup, Andy Partridge has acted as curator to the band's legacy, overseeing reissues and remasters, and maintaining a web presence.

Since the 1980s, Andy Partridge has worked, written with, or produced many other musicians and bands, including Peter Blegvad, the Lilac Time, the Nines, Miles Kane, David Yazbek, Voice of the Beehive, the Woodentops, the Wallflowers, Perennial Divide, the Raiders, and Charlotte Hatherley.

Andy Partridge said that his services were requested partly because Blegvad heard a rumour that he had died in 1982.

In 1992, Andy Partridge produced unreleased recordings for Blur's album Modern Life Is Rubbish.

Andy Partridge was replaced by Stephen Street at the insistence of their record label, Food.

In 1993, Andy Partridge recorded and produced an album with Martin Newell, The Greatest Living Englishman.

Andy Partridge took on less work as a music producer after the 1990s.

From 2002 to 2006, Andy Partridge released demos of his songs under his own name as part of the Fuzzy Warbles album series on his APE House record label.

Andy Partridge said that the impetus for the project was the proliferation of bootleggers who were selling low-quality copies of the material.

Andy Partridge added that the Fuzzy Warbles set earned him more money than XTC's back catalog on Virgin.

In 2007, Andy Partridge released music as part of a trio known as Monstrance, made up of Andy Partridge on guitar, Barry Andrews on keyboards, and Martyn Barker on drums.

In 2010, Partridge released a limited edition CD of music inspired by science fiction illustrator Richard M Powers' art titled Powers.

Andy Partridge became involved with the reunion project through the band's manager, a former journalist who sought to repay Partridge for an interview conducted decades earlier.

Andy Partridge said he would release them as "a series of records tentatively titled My Failed Songwriting Career".

On July 23,2021, Andy Partridge released Volume 1 of 'My Failed Songwriting Career' through Burning Shed Records.

That same month, Andy Partridge gave a rare interview in which he stated he has retired from writing new music.

Andy Partridge remembered having an intense interest in comic books and the cover illustrations of science fiction novels as a child, particularly those drawn by Richard M Powers.

Beyond music, Andy Partridge is an avid collector, sculptor, and painter of toy soldiers, an "obsession" he credits to his mother throwing away his toys as a child.

Andy Partridge has designed board games, such as one called "Dam and Blast".

Andy Partridge has had acting roles, including a character named "Agony Andy", a spoof aunt on the Janice Long show, and he was a regular panelist on Roundtable.

Andy Partridge was married to Marianne Wyborn from 1979 to 1994.

Some songs written by Andy Partridge, including "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her" and "Another Satellite", have been attributed by Andy Partridge to aspects of their ongoing relationship.

Andy Partridge met Wexler in the early 1980s; they began dating shortly after she split from artist Roy Lichtenstein in 1994.

XTC's 1986 song "Dear God", written by Andy Partridge, was seen as controversial at the time for its anti-religious message.

Andy Partridge stated that the song failed to represent his true feelings on religion, as human belief is "such a vast subject".

Andy Partridge later formed a dependency on the drug that was exacerbated by the pressures of his music career.

In 1992, Andy Partridge had an ear infection that left him temporarily deaf, and in 2006, during one of the sessions for Monstrance, some of his hearing was destroyed following a studio mishap, which caused him to develop severe and permanent tinnitus.