"All You Pretty Girls" is a song written by

Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing and sing ...

of the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

, released on their 1984 album ''

The Big Express ''The Big Express'' is the seventh studio album by English rock band XTC, released on 15 October 1984 by Virgin Records. It is an autobiographical concept album inspired by the band's hometown of Swindon and its railway system, the Swindon W ...

''. It peaked at number 55 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and its music video cost £33,000 to make. Partridge remembers that song came about while he was "dicking around, playing some

Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. ... I was just playing this little two-note, quasi-Hendrix thing, and I liked the inherent melody in it." With the exception of the opening, all the drum sounds in the recording were made with a

LinnDrum The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far m ...

. The reed organ sound comes from a Prophet-5, while the choir sounds were a Mellotron sample played out of a speaker inside a fire bucket.

Personnel

XTC * Dave Gregory – keyboards *

Colin Moulding Colin Ivor Moulding (born 17 August 1955) is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Though he was less prolific a songwriter than his bandmate Andy Partridge, Moulding wrote their first t ...

Additional personnel *

Pete Phipps Peter William Phipps (born 5 August 1951 in Clapham, South London) is a rock drummer, singer and songwriter known for his work with Gary Glitter, The Glitter Band, and later Eurythmics, XTC and Denim. Biography Phipps was a founder member of T ...

– drums

Charts

References

External links

"All You Pretty Girls" on Chalkhills
XTC songs 1984 singles 1984 songs Virgin Records singles Songs written by Andy Partridge Sea shanties {{1980s-single-stub