Editing XTC (section)

===Strike period===
In 1993, Partridge conceived XTC's next project to be an album of [[bubblegum pop]] songs disguising itself as a retrospective compilation featuring 12 different groups from the early 1970s. The lyrics were also heavily sexual, with song titles such as "Lolly (Suck It and See)" and "Visit to the Doctor". Partridge recalled playing some demos for Virgin agents, and compared their reaction to the "[[Springtime for Hitler]]" scene from the 1967 film ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]''. The label rejected his idea.<ref name="Dom2000" /> Virgin denied Partridge's requests to renegotiate or revoke XTC's contract.<ref name="Mojo1999" /> Paul Kinder believed that the label and the group were "poles apart" and that "the contract was so old it got to the point where Andy wanted the moon and Virgin weren't prepared to give it him."<ref name="Mojo1999" />

Whatever new music the band recorded would have been automatically owned by Virgin, and so the band enacted [[strike action]] against the label.<ref name="Dom2000" /> [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] and [[George Michael]] also went on a strike against their respective labels that was heavily publicized at about the same time. XTC's strike, however, received little press.<ref name="Sailed2006" /><ref>{{cite web|url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4707495/And-the-band-did-not-play-on.html|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160226074010/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4707495/And-the-band-did-not-play-on.html|url-status =dead|archive-date =26 February 2016|title =And the band did not play on|website =The Daily Telegraph|location=London|first =David|last =Gritten|date =8 February 1997}}</ref> In the meantime, Partridge produced [[Martin Newell (musician)|Martin Newell]]'s 1993 album ''[[The Greatest Living Englishman]]''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Unterberger|first1=Richie|author-link1=Richie Unterberger|title=The Greatest Living Englishman|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-greatest-living-englishman-mw0000535804|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> and early sessions for [[Blur (band)|Blur's]] [[Modern Life Is Rubbish|second album]]. "I thought I did sterling work. ... Next day, <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[David Balfe]] from [[the Teardrop Explodes]] said], 'Quite frankly, Andy, this is shit.{{'"}}<ref name="Mojo1999" /> Other complications arose; he developed some health issues, and his wife divorced him.<ref name="Mojo1999" />

In 1997 (also reported as in late 1994<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bookman |first1=Dave |title=Virgins No More |journal=Eye Weekly|date=15 December 1994 |quote=After a 17-year association, pop perfectionists XTC have ended their relationship with Virgin Records.}}</ref>), XTC found themselves freed from financial debt and from Virgin after "making some heavy concessions". Partridge fantasised that people from the label "met in the dark and thought, 'These blokes are not making a living. We've had 'em all these years and we've got their catalogue and the copyright to their songs for evermore and we've stitched 'em up real good with a rotten deal so, erm, maybe we should let them go.' I like to think that it was a guilt thing."<ref name="Mojo1999" /> One of the group's first new recordings since the strike was released for the tribute album ''[[A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC]]'' (1995).<ref name="OBrian1998"/> "The Good Things", a Moulding song originally demoed for ''Oranges & Lemons'',<ref name="Contrast1990" /> was credited under the pseudonym Terry and the Lovemen.<ref name="OBrian1998">{{cite web|last1=O'Brien|first1=Karen|title=Quintessential Englishman Andy Partridge, front man of Eighties band, XTC, talks to Karen O'Brien about rebirth, recording contracts and the value of hindsight|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-andy-partridge-andys-plans-work-out-but-theres-no-room-for-nigel-1196333.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-andy-partridge-andys-plans-work-out-but-theres-no-room-for-nigel-1196333.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=The Independent|access-date=25 September 2017|date=5 September 1998}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1998, ''Song Stories'', an authorized overview of the band's catalog by journalist and longtime friend [[Neville Farmer]] was published. Partridge said the book was badly edited and "used the crappiest quotes".<ref name="Dom2000" />