Editing XTC (section)

==1982–1992: studio years==

===Financial issues and start of managerial litigation ===

{{Quote box
 | quote = [Because of our] bad record deal and a corrupt manager, life was a bit of a nightmare ... When I said we don't want to play live anymore, they [Virgin] completely stopped [promoting us] ... We ran on negative equity for 20 years. 
 | source = —Andy Partridge, 2000<ref name="Dom2000" />
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The cancelled American tour saddled XTC with a £20,000 debt, and since it left them unable to record new material, they decided to reexamine their financial affairs.{{sfn|Twomey|1992|p=127}} Confused as to where their earnings had gone, the group requested that manager Ian Reid help pay for the debts, but he refused, saying that they had owed him money. They tried distancing themselves from Reid by renegotiating their contract with Virgin. Six more albums were promised to the label in exchange for covering their debts, as well as a guarantee that subsequent royalty and advancement cheques be redirected into the band's own deposit account. Royalty rates were still kept relatively low, as the group's A&R man Paul Kinder explained, they had "appalling management for a number of years. Usually if a manager has got any kind of business acumen he will renegotiate the contract to get a better royalty. A record company expects this, which is why they keep royalties low initially. It's just business really. Nobody addressed the contract for XTC."<ref name="Mojo1999"/>

Reid remained XTC's manager until January 1983 (according to the book ''Chalkhills and Children''){{sfn|Twomey|1992|p=131}} or a couple years afterward (according to Partridge).<ref name="TrainPar">{{cite web |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Todd |last2=Partridge |first2=Andy |author-link2=Andy Partridge |url=http://chalkhills.org/articles/XTCFans20090614.html |title=Andy discusses "Train Running Low on Soul Coal"|website=Chalkhills |date=14 June 2009}}</ref> He legally retained the title of XTC's manager until near the end of the decade.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090251077918908416|title=WC-"Reid was no longer the band's manager, but legally retained the title until around 1985[.]" No, we finally parted ways in 88–89 I think. Colin and I came back from ORANGES mixes in LA to try and sort the legal mess over management.}}</ref> In April 1984, the group learned that he had incurred them an outstanding [[Value-added tax in the United Kingdom|value-added taxes]] [VAT] bill{{sfn|Twomey|1992|p=137}} and that he had significantly mishandled their revenue stream.<ref name="Contrast1990"/> A lawsuit was filed by the band, while he counter-sued for "unpaid commission on royalties". Virgin were then "legally required to freeze royalty and advance payments and divert publishing income into a frozen deposit account."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> For the next decade, the entirety of the band's earnings would be invested in the continued litigation.<ref name="HuntPhaze" /> The group supported themselves mostly through short-term loans from Virgin and royalty payments derived from airplay.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> At one point, Moulding and Gregory were working at a car rental service for additional income.<ref name="O&LQuietus" /> Partridge was eventually left with "about £300 in the bank", he said, "which is really heavy when you've got a family and everyone thinks you're 'Mr Rich and Famous'."<ref name="HuntPhaze" /> A court-enforced [[gag order]] restricts the band from speaking publicly on the alleged improprieties.<ref name="Sailed2006" /> According to Partridge, Reid was "very naughty" and left the band with roughly £300,000 in unpaid VAT.<ref name="HuntPhaze" /> Music journalist Patrick Schabe elaborates:

{{blockquote|... what is known is that [Reid] signed a deal with Virgin that wound up working out primarily for Reid, secondarily for Virgin, and not at all for XTC. Throughout their first five years of existence, XTC never saw a penny of profits from either album sales or touring revenue. Reid, on the other hand, took out large loans from Virgin, borrowing against XTC's royalties, to the tune of millions of pounds by some estimates. Even after the band settled out of court with Reid, because of the terms of the contract, Virgin was able to hold XTC liable for the sum. Because of XTC's failure to tour, the likelihood of ever repaying Virgin dwindled further and further away. Over the course of a 20-year contract with Virgin Records, and after achieving gold and platinum status in album sales on a number of discs, XTC never saw any publishing royalties.<ref name="Sailed2006" />}}

===''Mummer'' and faltered popularity===
[[File:Andy Partridge comic book.jpg|thumb|Partridge in the studio, 1988. His refusal to tour caused long-standing tensions with the label.<ref name="XTCAMbio"/>]]

During the middle months of 1982, Partridge spent his time in convalescence and writing songs.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> He later surmised that relinquishing Valium inadvertently gave him a new sense of creative direction: "I was thinking clearer and wanted to know stuff. Life's big questions."<ref name="MagnetSkylarking">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2016/03/28/magnet-classics-xtcs-skylarking/ |title=The Making of XTC's "Skylarking" |last=Amorosi |first=A.D. |date=28 March 2016 |magazine=[[Magnet (magazine)|Magnet]]|access-date=13 March 2017}}</ref> In the interim, Chambers moved to Australia and started a family. Feeling dismayed by Partridge's decision not to tour, he had to be persuaded to return to Swindon for the next album's rehearsals in September. At one rehearsal, Partridge recalled asking Chambers for "tiny, cyclical, nattering clay pots", which he replied sounded "a bit fucking nancified".<ref name="Mojo1999"/> The newly-wed Chambers soon left the band to be with his wife in Australia.<ref name="Mojo1999"/>

Drummer [[Pete Phipps]], formerly of [[the Glitter Band]], was quickly hired as a session musician to continue the recording sessions—XTC would never again employ a permanent drummer after Chambers' departure. In the meantime, Virgin released a greatest hits compilation, ''[[Waxworks: Some Singles 1977–1982]]'', to underwhelming sales. The group's new material was rejected by Virgin executive Jeremy Lascelles, who suggested that they write something more commercial. Partridge remembered, "He asked me to write something a bit more like The Police, with more international flavour, more basic appeal."<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Lascelles said that he had actually named [[Talking Heads]], not the Police: "Andy likes to portray us as the strict, stern schoolmasters, but we never wanted him to compromise at anything we thought he was good at. Here were very talented songwriters – surely, surely, surely they can come up with that elusive thing that is a hit single. That was our psyche."<ref name="Mojo1999"/>

After some remixing and additional songs at Virgin's behest, ''[[Mummer (album)|Mummer]]'', the first product of the studio-bound XTC, appeared in August 1983.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Virgin did little to promote the album and delayed its release by several months.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> At number 58, it was their lowest-charting album to date.<ref name="OCC" /> The one single that did chart, "[[Love on a Farmboy's Wages]]", did find significant airplay on BBC Radio 1.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Stafford |first1=Bob |title=Oranges & Lemons |magazine=[[Melody Maker]] |date=1989 }}</ref> It was the first of a handful of XTC songs written over the years that reflected their poor financial state.<ref name="Dom2000" />

Virtually every contemporary review of ''Mummer'' accused the band of falling out of touch with the contemporary music climate.{{sfn|Twomey|1992|p=134}} Journalist Serene Dominic retrospectively wrote that the album was seen as "something of a disappointment at the time of release ... [It was] devoid of silly songs like 'Sgt. Rock' that had heretofore been the band's stock-in-trade and didn't rock out until the last song, 'Funk Pop a Roll.' ... ''Mummer'' signaled a strange rebirth for XTC."<ref name="Dom2000" /> Moulding thought that "when we came back from America after our aborted tour of 1982 ... people like [[Spandau Ballet]] had moved onto the scene; new groups were coming up and there was no place for us."<ref name="RB2002"/>{{refn|group=nb|When asked for a favourite song by Spandau Ballet, Partridge responded: "I used to see them on TV and I wanted to kick in the set. How dare the TV force such crap on me?! They had appalling lyrics! Appalling music! Least favorite band in the history of foreverness! They were a bunch of bankers, for God's sake!"<ref name="Lexicon99">{{cite magazine |title=XTC: Take Another Bite... |magazine=Lexicon |date=1999 |issue=11}}</ref>}} ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' journalist Chris Ingham summed up the period: "In 18 months, XTC had gone from Top 10 hits and critical superlatives to being ignorable, arcane eccentrics. Partridge later said "Your average English person probably thinks we split up in 1982".<ref name="Mojo1999"/>

===''The Big Express'' and ''25 O'Clock''===
[[File:Swindon 3 Loco Works 2088334 f3fad217.jpg|thumb|The impending closure of the [[Swindon Works]] formed a backdrop to ''[[The Big Express]]''.<ref name="Jennings">{{cite web |last1=Jennings |first1=Dave |title=XTC: The Big Express – A Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration – album reappraisal |url=https://louderthanwar.com/the-big-express-by-xtc-a-thirtieth-anniversary-celebration/ |website=Louder Than War |access-date=24 October 2018 |date=18 October 2014}}</ref>]]

XTC released the 1983 holiday single "[[Thanks for Christmas]]" under the pseudonym Three Wise Men. It was produced by [[David Lord (producer)|David Lord]], owner of Crescent Studios in Bath, and they subsequently negotiated a deal that allowed them to work as much as they wanted on their next album at his studio. Some of the album was recorded using a [[Linn LM-1|Linn LM-1 Drum Computer]], and extensive time was spent on its programming.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Partridge envisioned the work as "industrial pop" inspired by Swindon, a "railway town".<ref name="Filter2007"/> The result, ''[[The Big Express]]'', returned the group to a brighter and uptempo sound marked by [[studio experimentation]] and denser arrangements, setting a template that they would develop on subsequent albums.<ref name="AMbigexp">{{cite web|last1=Woodstra|first1=Chris|title=The Big Express|publisher=AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-big-express-mw0000201518|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> He jokingly referred to some parts of the album as the only time the group were befallen with stereotypical 1980s-style production.<ref name="Filter2007">{{cite journal |last1=Pierson |first1=Pat |title=Permanent Bliss: The Immutable Pleasures of XTC |journal=[[Filter (magazine)|Filter]]|date=September 2007 }}</ref> It was released in October 1984, reaching a higher chart position than ''Mummer'',<ref name="XTCAMbio"/> but was "virtually ignored" by critics.<ref name="AMbigexp"/> Virgin invested £33,000 into the music video for "[[All You Pretty Girls]]" to little effect.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> The band were charged for the sum.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090255526066176001|title=WC-"Virgin invested £33,000 into the music video for "All You Pretty Girls" to little effect." A sum XTC would be charged for.}}</ref>

When Gregory joined the band in 1979, Partridge learned that they both shared a longtime enthusiasm for 1960s [[psychedelic music]]. An album of songs in that style was immediately put to consideration, but the group could not go through with it due to their commercial obligations to Virgin.<ref name="Gibron">{{cite web |last1=Gibron |first1=Bill |title=Parcels from a Patchouli Past: An Interview with Andrew Partridge |url=https://www.popmatters.com/119477-parcels-from-a-patchouli-past-an-interview-with-andrew-partridge-2496154616.html |website=PopMatters |date=14 February 2010|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Another consideration Partridge had was the punk movement's antipathy toward pop music of the past: "A real [[Year Zero (political notion)|Pol Pot kind of thing]], which is ludicrous, and rather nasty."{{sfn|Partridge|Bernhardt|2016}}}} In November 1984, one month after ''The Big Express''{{'}}s release, Partridge and John Leckie traveled to [[Monmouth]] to produce the album ''[[Miss America (Mary Margaret O'Hara album)|Miss America]]'' by singer-songwriter [[Mary Margaret O'Hara]], who had recently signed with Virgin. Partridge and Leckie were dismissed due to conflicts related to their religious affiliations or lack thereof (O'Hara was a devout Catholic). Partridge was feeling inspired by [[Nick Nicely]]'s 1982 psychedelic single "Hilly Fields 1892", and devised a recording project to fill the newfound gap in his schedule.<ref name="Mojo1999" /> The rules were as follows: songs must follow the conventions of 1967 and 1968 psychedelia; no more than two takes allowed; use vintage equipment wherever possible. After receiving a £5,000 advance from a skeptical Virgin Records, the group devoted two weeks to the sessions.{{sfn|Rachel|2014|p=203}}

Calling themselves "[[the Dukes of Stratosphear]]", the spin-off group consisted of Partridge and Moulding with Dave and his drummer brother Ian. Each adopted a pseudonym: Sir John Johns, The Red Curtain, Lord Cornelius Plum and E.I.E.I. Owen. At the sessions, the band dressed themselves in [[Paisley (design)|Paisley]] outfits and lit scented candles.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> With "nothing to live up to" as the Dukes, Partridge looked back on the project as the "most fun we ever had in the studio ... We never knew if it would sell ... We could never [subvert everybody's expectations] with XTC, as there was too much money involved and we were expected to be mentally honest and 'real.' Too much financial pressure."<ref name="MagnetSkylarking" /> Released on [[April Fools' Day]] 1985, the album was presented as a long-lost collection of recordings by a late 1960s group.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |author-link1=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=25 O'Clock |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/25-oclock-mw0000811566 |publisher=AllMusic|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> When asked about the album in interviews, XTC initially denied having any involvement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brelhan |first1=Tom |title=XTC to Reissue Dukes of Stratosphear Side Project |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/34690-xtc-to-reissue-dukes-of-stratosphear-side-project/ |website=Pitchfork |date=25 February 2009|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> In England, the six-track [[mini-album]] sold twice as many copies as ''The Big Express'', even before the Dukes' identity was made public. The album also achieved considerable sales in the US.<ref name="HuntPhaze">{{cite magazine |last1=Hunt |first1=Chris |title=Andy Partridge Interview |magazine=Phaze 1 |date=1989 |url=http://www.chrishunt.biz/features16.html}}</ref>

===''Skylarking'' and ''Psonic Psunspot''===
[[File:Todd Rundgren 1978 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Skylarking]]'' producer [[Todd Rundgren]] performing with [[Utopia (American band)|Utopia]] in 1978]]

During a routine meeting in early 1986, Virgin executives threatened to drop the band from the label if their next album failed to sell more than 70,000 units.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> One reason why the group was not selling enough records, Virgin reportedly concluded, was that they sounded "too English".<ref name="Keyboard87">{{cite journal |last1=Greenwald |first1=Ted |title=XTC's Reluctant Keyboardist Reveals Rundgren's Production Style |journal=[[Keyboard (magazine)|Keyboard]] |date=November 1987 }}</ref> The label forced the group to work with one of their selected American producers. When shown a list of their names, they recognised none except for [[Todd Rundgren]].<ref name="Albumism">{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Terry |title=TRIBUTE: Celebrating 30 Years of XTC's 'Skylarking' |url=http://www.albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-30-years-of-xtc-skylarking |website=Albumism.com|date=26 October 2016|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> Gregory was a fan of Rundgren's music, particularly since hearing the 1978 album ''[[Hermit of Mink Hollow]]''. His bandmates were not as familiar with Rundgren, but Gregory urged the group to work with him: "I reminded Andy that Todd had produced one of his favourite New York Dolls records [''[[New York Dolls (album)|New York Dolls]]'', 1973]. In the absence of any better alternatives, he agreed."{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=256}} Once contacted, Rundgren offered to handle the album's entire recording for a lump sum of $150,000, and the band agreed.<ref name="Skylarking diffuser">{{cite web |last1=Zaleski |first1=Annie |title=30 Years Ago: XTC Finds Pop Perfection with 'Skylarking' |url=http://diffuser.fm/xtc-skylarking/ |website=Diffuser.fm |date=27 October 2016|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>

In January 1986, Partridge and Moulding mailed Rundgren a collection of more than 20 demo tapes they had stockpiled in advance.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=257}} Compared to previous XTC albums, much of the material contrasted significantly with its mellower feel, lush arrangements, and "flowery" aesthetic.<ref name="MagnetSkylarking" /> Rundgren responded with the idea of a [[concept album]] to bridge "Colin's 'pastoral' tunes and subject matter and Andy's 'pop anthems' and sly poetry. ... The album could be about a day, a year, or a lifetime.&nbsp;... Using this framework, I [Rundgren] came up with a sequence of songs and a justification for their placement and brought it to the band."{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=257–258}}

After the group arrived at Utopia Sound recording studio in upstate [[New York (state)|New York]], Rundgren played a large role in the album's sound design and drum programming, providing them with string and brass arrangements, as well as an assortment of gear.<ref name="MagnetSkylarking" /> However, the sessions were fraught with tension, especially between him and Partridge, and disagreements arose over drum patterns, song selections, and other details.<ref name="rundbang">{{cite news|last1=Parker|first1=Adam|title=Rundgren still bangs the drum all day Rock and roll titan to play at Music Hall|url=http://www.postandcourier.com/features/arts_and_travel/rundgren-still-bangs-the-drum-all-day-rock-and-roll/article_7b358388-63b5-5e1d-bdbc-02afdcdee8a2.html|newspaper=[[The Post and Courier]]|date=6 February 2016}}</ref> Partridge likened the power struggle to "two [[Hitler]]s in the same bunker".<ref name="Chicago2000" /> He expressed resentment toward Rundgren's contributions when sessions concluded, but later softened his view and praised the result.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Rundgren said that in spite of all the difficulties, the album "ultimately ... sounds like we were having a great time doing it. And at times we ''were'' having a good time."<ref name="rundbang"/>

{{Quote box|quote=On ''[[Skylarking]]'' ... the band has accomplished the remarkable feat of pulling the kinks out of its music without sacrificing its peerless originality. The band members have become the deans of a group of artists who make what can only be described as unpopular pop music, placing a high premium on melody and solid if idiosyncratic songcraft.
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|source = —Writer [[Michael Azzerad]], 1989<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/xtc/albums/album/260407/rid/6211360/ |title=XTC: ''Oranges & Lemons'' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=23 March 1989 |access-date=18 June 2011 |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Azerrad |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203204606/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/xtc/albums/album/260407/review/6211360 |archive-date=3 February 2008}}</ref>
}}

''Skylarking'' spent one week on the UK album charts, reaching number 90 in November 1986, two weeks after its release.<ref name="OCC"/> Moulding's "[[Grass (XTC song)|Grass]]" was chosen as lead single. It was issued exclusively in the UK with the B-side "[[Dear God (XTC song)|Dear God]]", an outtake. "Dear God" became so popular with American [[college radio]] stations who imported the record that [[Geffen Records]] (XTC's US distributor) recalled and re-pressed ''Skylarking'' with the track included.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Controversy also broke out over the song's anti-religious lyrics, which inspired some violent incidents. In Florida, a radio station received a bomb threat, and in New York, a student forced their school to play the song over its public-address system by holding a faculty member at knife-point. Nonetheless, the commercial success of "Dear God" propelled ''Skylarking'' to sell more than 250,000 units, and it raised the band's profile among American college youth.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> In the US, the album spent 29 weeks on the ''Billboard 200'' and reached its peak position of number 70 in June 1987.<ref name="Billboard200">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/277881/xtc/chart?f=305 |title=Billboard 200: XTC |date=2017 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=27 February 2017 }}</ref> The music video for "Dear God" received the 1987 ''Billboard'' Best Video award and was also nominated for three categories at the [[MTV Video Music Awards]].<ref name="Schabe">{{cite web|last1=Schabe|first1=Patrick|title=XTC: A Coat of Many Cupboards|url=https://www.popmatters.com/xtc-coat-2496118960.html|website=PopMatters|date=5 May 2002}}</ref> ''Skylarking'' ultimately became XTC's best-known album<ref name="DahlenFuzzy">{{cite web|last1=Dahlen|first1=Chris|title=Andy Partridge – Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9785-fuzzy-warbles-collectors-album/|website=Pitchfork|date=19 January 2007|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> and is generally regarded as their finest work.<ref name="Skylarking diffuser"/>

Partridge was reluctant to make another Dukes album, but to appease requests from his bandmates and Virgin Records, ''[[Psonic Psunspot]]'' (1987) was recorded. This time, 10 songs and a £10,000 budget was supplied, while John Leckie returned as producer.<ref name="Mojo1999"/> Once again, the Dukes' record outsold XTC's previous album in the UK (''Skylarking'' in this case). Partridge felt it was "a bit upsetting to think that people preferred these pretend personalities to our own personalities ... But I don't mind because we have turned into the Dukes slowly over the years."<ref name="HuntPhaze"/> Likewise, Moulding felt that the "psychedelic element was being more ingratiated into the pie" since ''25 O'Clock''.<ref name="MagnetSkylarking" /> When issued on CD, ''Psonic Psunspot'' was combined with ''25 O'Clock'' and given the title ''[[Chips from the Chocolate Fireball]]'' (1987).<ref name="XTCAMbio"/>

===''Oranges & Lemons'' and ''Nonsuch''===
{{Listen
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|description= "[[Mayor of Simpleton]]", lead single from ''[[Oranges & Lemons (album)|Oranges & Lemons]]'', adopts a [[jangle pop]] style.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Oranges & Lemons – Geffon|magazine=CMJ New Music Report|date=24 February 1989|volume=164}}</ref> It became their highest charting single in the US.
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For their next album ''[[Oranges & Lemons (album)|Oranges & Lemons]]'', XTC traveled to Los Angeles to make use of a cheap studio rate arranged by [[Paul Fox (record producer)|Paul Fox]], who was recruited by the band for his first production gig.<ref name="Contrast1990" /> Another reason for recording in the US with an American producer, said Gregory, was that "America was our biggest market".<ref name="Filter2007"/> [[Mr. Mister]] (and later longtime [[King Crimson]]) member [[Pat Mastelotto]] was the drummer for the entire album. The album was released in February 1989 with music that was in a similar psychedelic vein as the Dukes.<ref name="XTCAMbio"/> In a retrospective review, ''[[The Quietus]]''{{'}} Nick Reed notes: "Nearly every instrument is mixed to the forefront; it's too well-arranged to be cacophonous, but there's a degree of sensory overload, especially given the band's newfound tendency to blast synthesizers in our faces. ... whether or not this album holds up for you depends on how much you like the band's boisterous side."<ref name="O&LQuietus"/> It became the highest album they had in the charts since 1982's ''English Settlement'', rising to number 28 in the UK<ref name="OCC" /> and number 44 in the US.<ref name="Billboard200" /> Additionally, it combined with ''Skylarking'' for the group's best-selling albums to date.<ref name="agony1992"/>  "[[Mayor of Simpleton]]" reached number 46 in the UK<ref name="O&LQuietus"/> and number 72 in the US, making it their only American single to chart.<ref name="XTCAMbio"/>

To support the album, XTC embarked on an acoustic-guitar American radio tour that lasted for two weeks in May.<ref name="Mojo1999" /> The shows were carried out without financial compensation for the band.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=xtcfans |last=Partridge |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Partridge |date=29 January 2019|number=1090257969634103296|title=WC-Re acoustic EU tour...|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507134004/https://twitter.com/xtcfans/status/1090257969634103296|archive-date=7 May 2019}}</ref> Gregory commented that it was an "interesting" style of promotion, but "incredibly hard work", as the band performed at about four radio stations a day for three weeks: "We also did a live acoustic set for MTV in front of an audience which worried Andy a bit but he got through it."<ref name="Ramon"/> This inspired the network to invite more artists to perform stripped-down sets, calling the series "[[MTV Unplugged|unplugged]]".<ref name="Mojo1999" /> XTC's performance of "[[King for a Day (XTC song)|King for a Day]]" on ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'' marked the first time the group played in front of a live audience in seven years.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gibbs|first1=Ryan|title=Favorite Letterman Music Moments|url=https://www.theyoungfolks.com/music/56185/favorite-letterman-music-moments/|website=[[The Young Folks]]|date=19 May 2015|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> A similar acoustic tour was planned for Europe, but cancelled when Partridge discovered that the Paris date would be broadcast from a sold-out 5,000 seater venue.<ref name="RB2002"/> After an unsuccessful attempt was made to coax Partridge back into regular touring,<ref name="Mojo1999" /> they took a short break. Partridge produced ''And Love for All'' (1990), the third album by [[the Lilac Time]], and compered for an unbroadcast children's [[game show]] named ''Matchmakers''.{{sfn|Farmer|1998|p=55}} Gregory played for [[Johnny Hates Jazz]], [[Marc Almond]] and [[Francesco Messina]] whilst producing for [[Cud (band)|Cud]]. Moulding performed a special event concert with David Marx and the Refugees, a Swindon-based band that reunited him with Barry Andrews.{{sfn|Farmer|1998|p=54}}

[[File:Nonsuch Palace - Speed's Map 1610 bigger.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A 17th-century map of [[Nonsuch Palace]] illustrated by cartographer [[John Speed]], which served as the basis of the album cover<ref>{{cite AV media notes| title = Nonsuch| others= XTC| year = 1992| type = liner| publisher = Virgin}}</ref>]]

[[Tarquin Gotch]], who served as XTC's manager for a short time, helped the band reach a legal settlement with Ian Reid in 1989.<ref name="Mojo1999" /> However, they were again left with a six-figure debt. Virgin Records advanced the group enough money to cover their debt in exchange for the promise of four additional albums.<ref name="Filter2007"/> Having written more than two dozen songs by 1991, some difficulties prolonged the start of recording sessions for the next album. Initially, the band had issue with the musical director of Virgin, who, after seeing the songs, was convinced the band "could do better" and asked them to write more material.<ref name="Fevret">{{cite journal|last1=Fevret|first1=Christian|title=XTC – Quality Sweet|journal=Les Inrockuptibles|date=1992}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Jeremy Lascelles: "I said, Andy, you've written this song before, it's another Beach Boys song, another Beatles song ... He wasn't really stretching himself – it was good but a bit comfortable. He didn't like me saying that and I didn't play them to anyone else, which he took to be a great slight."<ref name="Mojo1999" /> In Partridge's recollection, the director threatened that Virgin would drop the band if the band don't write an album "of twelve Top Ten guaranteed singles," and noted that this attitude held the band up in recording the album, which they refused to rewrite, believing its songs to be among the greatest they had written.<ref name="Skene"/>}} With the band sitting on the material, the director left the label a year later, and his replacement liked the band's content, hurrying them to record the album.<ref name="Skene">{{cite web|last1=Skene|first1=Gordon|title=A Chat With Andy Partridge Of XTC – 1992 – Past Daily Weekend Pop Chronicles|url=http://pastdaily.com/2016/08/21/chat-andy-partridge-xtc-1992/|website=Past Daily|access-date=25 September 2017|date=21 August 2016}}</ref> [[Gus Dudgeon]] produced, even though Partridge felt he was the wrong choice, and [[Fairport Convention]]'s [[Dave Mattacks]] was brought in as drummer.{{sfn|Farmer|1998|pp=58–59}}

''[[Nonsuch (album)|Nonsuch]]'' was received with critical acclaim when released in April 1992,<ref name="Orch99">{{cite magazine|last1=Swenson|first1=Kyle|title=Orchestral XTC|date=April 1999|magazine=[[Guitar Player]]}}</ref><ref name="O&LQuietus">{{cite web|last1=Reed|first1=Nick|title=25 Years On: XTC's Oranges & Lemons Revisited|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/14404-xtc-oranges-and-lemons|website=The Quietus|access-date=25 September 2017|date=11 February 2014}}</ref> and like ''Oranges & Lemons'', peaked at number 28 in the UK, becoming their second consecutive and final Top 40 album.<ref name="OCC" /> ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s [[Michael Azerrad]] reviewed: "Emphasizing wonder and wit in opposition to the rage of most [[college rock]], XTC makes alternative music for people who don't like '[[Alternative rock|alternative music]]'."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/xtc/albums/album/174538/rid/5943455/ |title=XTC: ''Nonsuch'' |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=28 May 1992 |access-date=18 June 2011 |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Azerrad |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817201411/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/xtc/albums/album/174538/review/5943455 |archive-date=17 August 2007}}</ref> Lead single "[[The Disappointed]]" reached number 33 in the UK<ref name="OCC">{{cite web|title=XTC|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17667/xtc/|website=Official Charts|access-date=25 September 2017}}</ref> and was nominated for an [[Ivor Novello Awards|Ivor Novello Award]].{{sfn|Rachel|2014|p=203}} Its follow-up "[[The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead]]" reached number 71.<ref name="OCC" /> "[[Wrapped in Grey]]" was intended as the third single, and about 5,000 copies were pressed before being withdrawn from sale. Partridge remembered thinking, "that's it, they've suffocated one of our kids in the cot, they've murdered the album, basically through ignorance."<ref name="Mojo1999" /> In 1993, the album was nominated for a [[Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album]], but lost to [[Tom Waits]]' ''[[Bone Machine]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zt4RAAAAIBAJ&pg=4985,6642121&dq|title=One critic handicaps tonight's Grammys|date=23 February 1993|access-date=29 April 2010|newspaper=[[The Gainesville Sun]]|first=Bill|last=DeYoung}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>