Andy Partridge

Andy Partridge has been guitarist, vocalist and frontman of the influential band XTC. He suffers from acute stage fright due to improper touring conditions from early on in his career with XTC (not from a fear of performing in front of an audience). He was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for the song "The Disappointed" in 1992. He has a collection of toy soldiers numbering in the thousands. XTC's 1989 album Oranges & Lemons and 1992 album Nonsuch both went to Number One on the American College/Alternative chart. Oranges & Lemons reached number 44 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 1989. His band XTC has not played a live show in front of an audience since April 1982 in San Diego, California. They did, however, perform in front of a studio audience of one hundred people on May 31, 1989, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This was on their Acoustic Radio Tour of North America in support of Oranges & Lemons in May 1989. He has made several appearances with XTC on British music programs Top Of The Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test. His songs "Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)" and "Senses Working Overtime" were both top ten hits on the U.K. singles chart. XTC's "Dear God" (written by Partridge) caused much controversy when released, and earned the band a legion of new fans in the United States. XTC's most recent album Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume Two) was released in May 2000 on TVT Records.