The Dukes of Stratosphear were an 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 formed in 1984 by
Andy Partridge
Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writi ...
,
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 th ...
,
Dave Gregory, and Ian Gregory. Modelled after
psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, ...
groups from the 1960s, the Dukes were initially publicised by
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
as a mysterious new act, but were actually an
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 ...
spin-off band. They recorded only two albums: ''
25 O'Clock
''25 O'Clock'' is the debut record by English rock band the Dukes of Stratosphear and the eighth studio album by XTC, released on April Fools Day 1985 through Virgin Records. It was publicised as a long-lost collection of recordings by a late 196 ...
'' (1985) and ''
Psonic Psunspot
''Psonic Psunspot'' is the second album by English rock band the Dukes of Stratosphear, released in 1987. Also counted as XTC's tenth studio album, it is a follow-up to ''25 O'Clock'' (1985).
In 2002, the website ''Pitchfork'' listed the albu ...
'' (1987). In the UK, the records outsold XTC's then-current albums ''
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 ...
'' (1984) and ''
Skylarking
''Skylarking'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the s ...
'' (1986).
Partridge envisioned the Dukes as an amalgamation of "your favourite bands from 1967." He and Dave Gregory conceived the project in 1979, and in December 1984 the band found the opportunity to spend a few days recording what would become ''25 O'Clock''. Three rules were set for its production: songs must follow the conventions of 1967 and 1968 psychedelia, no more than two takes allowed, and use vintage equipment wherever possible. After reuniting for the LP ''Psonic Psunspot'', XTC told interviewers that the group were killed in a "horrible
sherbet accident".
Several sequels were proposed but ultimately abandoned, including the mock
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
''The Great Royal Jelly Scandal'', a prequel album featuring the Dukes in their early
Merseybeat
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...
phase, and a
glitter rock
Glitter is an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is similar to confetti, sparkle ...
parody as "The Stratosphear Gang". In 1993, Partridge conceived a spiritual successor to the Dukes in the form of a "heavily sexual"
bubblegum
Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble.
Bubble gum flavor
While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...
LP. Virgin rejected the album, leading XTC to go
on strike
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
against the label for several years. Some of its songs were later reworked and released on XTC albums and compilations.
The Dukes of Stratosphear anticipated and were celebrated by retro-minded movements such as the
Paisley Underground
Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owin ...
.
In 2003, they reunited to record one song commissioned by the
MS Society, and in 2008, Partridge recorded two tracks credited to "the Dukes" as part of a commission for
Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
. These songs were included as bonuses on reissues of the Dukes albums.
Origins and early influences
As a teenager listening to
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
records,
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 ...
leader
Andy Partridge
Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writi ...
was particularly fond of
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
's "
See Emily Play
"See Emily Play" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single in June 1967. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of the U.S. edition of ...
" (1967),
Tomorrow's "
My White Bicycle
"My White Bicycle" is a song written by Keith West and Ken Burgess. It was Tomorrow's debut single.
Background
According to Tomorrow drummer John 'Twink' Alder, the song was inspired by the Dutch Provos, an anarchist group in Amsterdam whic ...
" (1967), and
the Moles' "We Are the Moles" (1968).
Partridge viewed psychedelic music as a "grown-up" version of children's novelty records, believing that many acts were trying to emulate those records that they grew up with: "They use exactly the same techniques—sped-up bits, slowed-down bits, too much echo, too much reverb, that bit goes backwards. ... There was no transition to be made. You go from things like '
Flying Purple People Eater
"The Purple People Eater" is a novelty song written and performed by Sheb Wooley, which reached No. 1 in the ''Billboard'' pop charts in 1958 from June 9 to July 14, No. 1 in Canada, reached No. 12 overall in the UK Singles Chart, and topped ...
' to '
I Am the Walrus
"I Am the Walrus" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film ''Magical Mystery Tour''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to the single "Hello, Goodbye" a ...
'. They go hand-in-hand."
He also held a preference for
British psychedelia rather than
its American variant: "In the States, it was all about reaction to the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. The music was dark and brooding, filled with angry distortion."
In 1975, he considered renaming his fledgling band the Helium Kidz to "the Dukes of Stratosphear", but he thought "it was too flowery and people would think we were a psychedelic group. ... We needed a fast inventive name."
![XTC live](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/XTC_live.jpg)
When guitarist
Dave Gregory was invited to join XTC in 1979, Partridge learned that they both shared a passion 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 Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
.
"We talked about it a lot, but he wasn't even in the band at the time, and really, to be honest, I didn't have ''any'' spare time at all. I was constantly touring."
Another consideration Partridge had was the
punk movement
The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom ...
's antipathy toward pop music of the past: "A real
Pol Pot
Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
kind of thing, which is ludicrous, and rather nasty." At a ''
Mummer
Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). ...
'' session in 1982, he remembered saying to producer
Steve Nye
Steve Nye is an English music producer for several artists.
Career
Nye started out as a tape op at AIR Studios in London in 1971, where producer Rupert Hine discovered him.
There he got into engineering (and later producing) many well-known a ...
During the making of XTC's 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 ...
'', Partridge began writing material he thought could be performed in a psychedelic style, the first being "Your Gold Dress". He recalled "sneak
ngoff upstairs in Crescent Studios, in Bath, with my cassette machine and whisper these ideas for psychedelic songs into it. I was beginning not be able to contain the desire to do this. You can see it leaking out earlier ... 'Let's get a
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
! Let's put some backwards so-and-so on here.'"
1984–1987
''25 O'Clock''
In November 1984, one month after the release of ''The Big Express'', Partridge travelled to
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
in Wales with engineer
John Leckie
John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...
to produce the album ''
Miss America
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...
'' by singer-songwriter
Mary Margaret O'Hara
Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...
, 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
Nickolas Laurien (born 1959), known professionally as Nick Nicely (stylised nick nicely), is an English singer-songwriter who records psychedelic and electronic music. He is best known for his 1982 single "Hilly Fields (1892)". Nicely released ...
's 1982 psychedelic single "Hilly Fields 1892", and devised a recording project to fill the newfound gap in his schedule. 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.
Partridge said: "I didn't really have songs ready, just ideas. I knew I wanted to do something like
Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
. Perhaps a Beatles-esque track. ... I rung up the other guys and said 'Hey, let's put on a show!'; you know, that kind of thing."
Leckie agreed to take on production and searched for a cheap studio for the band. Partridge invited his XTC bandmates to participate; they were augmented on drums by Dave's brother Ian, since the group did not have a drummer at the time.
The label, although sceptical, lent the group £5,000, and they spent two weeks on the album's recording and mixing at Chapel Lane Studios in
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
, England.
The project was planned as a full-length LP, but only six songs could be recorded due to time constraints.
Partridge looked back on its making as the "most fun we ever had in the studio."
Each musician adopted a pseudonym: "Sir John Johns" (Partridge) "Lord Cornelius Plum" (Dave), "The Red Curtain" (
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 th ...
) and "E.I.E.I. Owen" (Ian). Partridge's moniker came from a 1967
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
martian character, while Moulding's was derived from an old nickname referring to the length of his hair.
The band dressed themselves in
Paisley outfits for the sessions and lit scented candles."
Released exclusively in Britain on
April Fool's Day
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
1985, the mini-album ''
25 O'Clock
''25 O'Clock'' is the debut record by English rock band the Dukes of Stratosphear and the eighth studio album by XTC, released on April Fools Day 1985 through Virgin Records. It was publicised as a long-lost collection of recordings by a late 196 ...
'' was presented as a long-lost collection of recordings by a late 1960s group. Virgin Records publicised the Dukes as a mysterious new act,
and when asked about the album in interviews, XTC initially denied having any involvement. A music video set to "The Mole from the Ministry"—the first in which they were allowed total creative input—was produced for
BBC West
BBC West is one of BBC's English Regions serving Bristol, the majority of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire; northern and eastern Somerset and northeastern Dorset.
Services Television
BBC West's television service (broadcast on BBC One) consists o ...
's ''RPM'' music programme.
Partridge: "That's the only one of our videos that I've liked, the only one I can watch ... every little
romo
Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcadia ...
film
rom 1967
Rom, or ROM may refer to:
Biomechanics and medicine
* Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient
* Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac
* R ...
we could find, we put ideas from them in there." In England, ''25 O'Clock'' 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.
On XTC's next album ''
Skylarking
''Skylarking'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the s ...
'' (1986), the Dukes were mentioned in its liner notes, where they were thanked for the loan of their guitars.
''Psonic Psunspot''
Partridge was reluctant to make another Dukes album, but to appease requests from his bandmates and Virgin Records, ''
Psonic Psunspot
''Psonic Psunspot'' is the second album by English rock band the Dukes of Stratosphear, released in 1987. Also counted as XTC's tenth studio album, it is a follow-up to ''25 O'Clock'' (1985).
In 2002, the website ''Pitchfork'' listed the albu ...
'' (August 1987) was recorded.
He later said that "secretly I was thinking, 'Oh god, I wish they ask for a second one, because I'd love to do another one!'"
This time, a £10,000 budget was supplied, while Leckie returned as producer.
It was recorded in a different studio with more modern equipment. Partridge said: "I think we strayed a little from the truism of old gear and old stuff. It still sounds reasonably in the ballpark."
Originally, the running order was supposed to begin with "You're My Drug" and end with "Collideascope", but Virgin suggested flipping the sides so that "Vanishing Girl" would be the opening track.
After the album's release, it was reported that when Brian Wilson was played its
Beach Boys
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...
pastiche "Pale and Precious", he thought it was styled after Paul McCartney.
Once again, the Dukes' record outsold XTC's previous album in the UK (''Skylarking'' in this case). Partridge: "That was a bit upsetting to think that people preferred these pretend personalities to our own personalities… they’re trying to tell us something. But I don’t mind because we have turned into the Dukes slowly over the years."
Moulding likewise felt that the "psychedelic element was being more ingratiated into the pie" since ''25 O'Clock''.
When issued on CD, ''Psonic Psunspot'' was combined with ''25 O'Clock'' and given the title ''
Chips from the Chocolate Fireball
''Chips from the Chocolate Fireball: An Anthology'' is a compilation album from XTC which was released under the pseudonym the Dukes of Stratosphear. It includes both their 1985 mini-album ''25 O'Clock'' and the ''Psonic Psunspot
''Psoni ...
'' (1987).
Acts such as
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a num ...
,
the Shamen
The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...
and
the Stone Roses
The Stone Roses were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...
later recruited Leckie based on his production work for the Dukes.
Later years and related projects
After ''Psonic Psunspot'', the group told interviewers that the Dukes were killed in a "horrible
sherbet accident".
Gregory felt "I could carry on making Dukes albums for the rest of my career, but there's only so many laughs you can get out of one joke!"
Partridge also did not feel that the Dukes could be taken any further. "We
nlydid the
ukesas a joke and as a thank you to all of the bands that made our school days colorful."
In 1991, he produced two tracks, "It's Snowing Angels" and "Then She Appeared", intended to be released as a hoax flexidisc attached to the cover of ''Strange Things Are Happening'' magazine. The magazine folded before the single could be pressed. "Then She Appeared" would be reworked for XTC's ''
Nonsuch'' (1992), while "It's Snowing Angels" was released in 1994 via
John Flansburgh
John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar.
Common ...
's Hello Recording Club. Both tracks were included on Partridge's 2002 compilation ''
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 2''.
Several sequels were proposed but ultimately abandoned, including the mock
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
''The Great Royal Jelly Scandal'', an animated feature film of ''25 O'Clock'',
a prequel album featuring the Dukes in their early
Merseybeat
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...
phase, and a glitter rock parody as "The Stratosphear Gang" (the last of which Partridge suggested might have comprised songs originally written for the Helium Kidz).
In 1993, Partridge conceived a spiritual successor to the Dukes in the form of a "
bubblegum
Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble.
Bubble gum flavor
While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...
" album. The LP would have disguised itself as a retrospective compilation featuring 12 different groups from the early 1970s. "And all of the lyrics were heavily sexual. There was a song called "Lolly (Suck It and See),' and there was another one called "Visit to the Doctor,' which was vaguely molesting." He recalled playing some demos for Virgin, whose "jaws just hung open like that scene in
he 1967 film''
The Producers'' when people see
Springtime for Hitler
''Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp With Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden'' is a fictional musical in Mel Brooks' 1967 film '' The Producers'', as well as the stage musical adaptation of the movie, and the 2005 movie adaptation of the musical. It ...
the first time. There was a horrible silence for what seemed like an hour. And the project didn't get done".
Several of its tracks were reworked and released on various XTC albums and compilations. "Standing in for Joe" from ''
Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)
''Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)'' is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 23 May 2000 on Cooking Vinyl/Idea Records. Defined by bandmember Andy Partridge as the "eclectric" counterpart to 1999's '' Apple Venus ...
'' was one such instance.
The four members reformed in 2003 to record the track "Open a Can (Of Human Beans)" for the
MS Society charity compilation album ''The Wish List''.
In 2008, Partridge recorded "Tin Toy Clockwork Train", a solo promotional single for
Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
credited to the Dukes, which was given away free at railway stations.
In April 2009, both Dukes records were released on CD for the first time in their own right, along with demo recordings, bonus tracks and new sleeve notes from the band. These editions are credited to "XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear" and were released on Partridge's Ape House record label (they are also the first XTC recordings to which Virgin Records have relinquished the rights). "Human Beans" and another song that had been rejected by Eurostar ("Black Jewelled Serpent of Sound") were included as bonus tracks.
In 2019 all of the Dukes material was reissued on the CD/Blu-Ray compilation set ''Psurroundabout Ride'', the title referring to the fact that all of the tracks were remixed for Blu-Ray in 5.1
surround sound
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...
by
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosio ...
(all except "Open a Can (Of Human Beans)" for which the multitrack masters were presumably unavailable). The set also includes original and remixed stereo versions, as well as instrumental mixes and demos.
Members
The pseudonymous personnel included:
* Sir John Johns (
Andy Partridge
Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writi ...
) – vocals, guitar, bass
* The Red Curtain (
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 th ...
) – bass, vocals, guitar
* Lord Cornelius Plum (
Dave Gregory) – mellotron, piano, organ, guitar
* E.I.E.I. Owen (Ian "Eewee" Gregory) – drums
Both ''25 O'Clock'' and ''Psonic Psunspot'' were produced by
John Leckie
John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...
and the Dukes. On ''25 O'Clock'', the producers are credited as "John Leckie, Swami Anand Nagara and the Dukes"; Anand Nagara was Leckie's sannyasin name, when he was a follower of
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (), was an Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was viewed as a controv ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
25 O'Clock
''25 O'Clock'' is the debut record by English rock band the Dukes of Stratosphear and the eighth studio album by XTC, released on April Fools Day 1985 through Virgin Records. It was publicised as a long-lost collection of recordings by a late 196 ...
'' (1985)
* ''
Psonic Psunspot
''Psonic Psunspot'' is the second album by English rock band the Dukes of Stratosphear, released in 1987. Also counted as XTC's tenth studio album, it is a follow-up to ''25 O'Clock'' (1985).
In 2002, the website ''Pitchfork'' listed the albu ...
'' (1987)
Compilations
* ''
Chips from the Chocolate Fireball
''Chips from the Chocolate Fireball: An Anthology'' is a compilation album from XTC which was released under the pseudonym the Dukes of Stratosphear. It includes both their 1985 mini-album ''25 O'Clock'' and the ''Psonic Psunspot
''Psoni ...
'' (2001, CD issue of ''25 O'Clock'' and ''Psonic Psunspot'')
* ''
Psurroundabout Ride'' (2019, ''25 O'Clock'' and ''Psonic Psunspot'' plus bonus tracks remixed for 5.1 surround sound)
See also
*
Neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukes Of Stratosphear, The
XTC
Musical groups established in 1984
Bands with fictional stage personas
English psychedelic rock music groups