Editing XTC (section)

===Local popularity, rise of punk and label signing===
After Star Park opened for [[Thin Lizzy]] in May 1973,{{sfn|Rachel|2014|p=203}} the band renamed themselves the Helium Kidz.<ref name="Contrast1990"/> Partridge's musical conceptions were "blown away" upon hearing the [[New York Dolls]]: "I suddenly just wanted to play three chords again and get out my mum's makeup and stuff."<ref name="Contrast1990" /> He subsequently wrote hundreds of songs for the Helium Kidz, and some demo tapes were sent to [[Decca Records]].<ref name="Contrast1990">{{cite magazine |last1=Bookasta |first1=Randy |last2=Howard |first2=David |title=Season Cyclers |magazine=Contrast |issue=7 |date=1990}}</ref> ''[[NME]]'' ran a small profile on the "up and coming" band, which consisted of Partridge, Moulding, Chambers and guitarist Dave Cartner: "They aspire to attain the impossible dream of being able to throw a TV or two out of the window of an American hotel and have no one complain."{{sfn|Gimarc|2005|p=17}} This version of the group lasted until 1975, when the Helium Kidz decided to rebrand themselves and change their music to "three-minute pop songs that were fast and inventive."<ref name="Contrast1990" /> Gregory auditioned for the band at this juncture, but did not end up joining.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> His musicianship was determined to be "too good".{{sfn|Farmer|1998|p=60}}

It was decided that the band have another name change. "The Dukes of Stratosphear" was considered, but Partridge thought it was too "flowery" and "psychedelic".<ref name="Contrast1990" /> He derived "XTC" from [[Jimmy Durante]]'s exclamation upon discovering [[The Lost Chord|the lost chord]]: "That's it! I'm in ecstasy!"{{sfn|Rachel|2014|p=203}} The name was chosen mainly for its emphatic appearance in print.<ref name="Milano84">{{cite news |last1=Milano |first1=Bret |title=An exclusive and revealing discussion with the band's eloquent frontman |newspaper=Fairfield County Advocate |date=7 November 1984}}</ref> Meanwhile, owing to creative differences with Partridge, synthesizer player Jonathan Perkins quit the band.<ref name="Chicago2000">{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=J.R. |title=Too Much of a God Thing |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/too-much-of-a-god-thing/Content?oid=902571 |newspaper=[[Chicago Reader]] |date=12 June 2000}}</ref> In search of his replacement, Partridge found [[Barry Andrews (musician)|Barry Andrews]] through a "keyboard player seeks band" advertisement. Instead of a formal audition, the two went out drinking together.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Andrews was immediately hired. During the first band rehearsal, Partridge recalled, "He sounded like [[Jon Lord]] from [[Deep Purple]]; fuzz box, wah wah pedal, bluesy runs. I said, You don't have to play like that, you can play like us if you want. The next rehearsal, he was like a maniac, like if [[Joan Miró|Miró]] had played electric organ. Fantastic."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> December 1976 officially marked the beginning of the Partridge–Moulding–Chambers–Andrews line-up.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walley |first1=Chas de |title=XTC: 'Is there a place in rock'n'roll for a Princess Anne lookalike?' – a classic feature from the vaults |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jan/23/xtc-classic-feature |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London |date=23 January 2013}}</ref> The members cut their long hair and, for a time, wore "[[kung-fu]] mechanic" outfits on stage.<ref name="spin89"/>

{{Quote box
 | quote = I really didn't like the phrase 'punk'—it just seemed kind of demeaning. I didn't like '[[new wave music|new wave]]' either, because that was already the phrase used for [[French New Wave|French cinema of a certain period]]. ... [Our music was] blatantly just [[pop music]]. We were a [[New Pop|''new'' pop]] group. That's all.
 | source = —Andy Partridge elaborating on XTC's song "[[This Is Pop]]", 2007{{sfn|Partridge|Bernhardt|2016}}
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 | width = 25em
 |}}

[[Ian Reid (manager)|Ian Reid]], owner of a Swindon club named The Affair, was their third manager<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090239988900470784|title=WC-"Ian Reid, owner of a Swindon club named The Affair, was their first manager..." No, actually he was our third manager. The previous two were firstly Dave Bennett, then Tony Gordon (later Culture Club manager).}}</ref> and brokered deals for the group to perform at more popular venues such as the Red Cow in [[Hammersmith]], The Nashville Rooms and [[Islington]]'s [[Hope and Anchor, Islington|Hope and Anchor]]. By this time, the [[punk rock]] movement had emerged, which opened an avenue for the group in terms of record label appeal, even though the band did not necessarily fit in the [[punk ideologies|punk dogma]].<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Partridge remembered hearing the [[Sex Pistols]]' "[[Anarchy in the U.K.]]" (1976) and feeling underwhelmed by its similarity to the Monkees or the Ramones: "That sort of spurred me on – watching this stuff that I thought was rather average."{{sfn|Partridge|Bernhardt|2016}} Soon, [[John Peel]] saw the band perform at Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's and asked them to appear on his [[BBC Radio 1]] block.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Partridge credited him as "responsible for us getting a recording contract. ... As soon as we recorded that session for the BBC, suddenly three or four record labels wanted to sign us up."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thodoris |first1=Από |title=Interview: Andy Partridge (XTC) |url=https://www.hit-channel.com/interview-andy-partridge-xtc/132778 |website=Hit Channel |date=23 November 2017|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> After declining [[CBS Records International|CBS]], [[Harvest Records|Harvest]] and [[Island Records|Island]], they signed with [[Virgin Records]].<ref name="Mojo1999"/>